Familiar Faces Could Land On Penguins Radar

The Pittsburgh Penguins could reunite with a few former players through the trade market.

Following the Valtteri Puustinen signing, the Pittsburgh Penguins have 12 forwards under contract for the 2024-25 season. However, with a few of those players potentially on the move this summer, the Penguins may have more room remaining.

President of hockey ops Kyle Dubas could look to fill those positions with one of a few prospects like Ville Koivunen, Sam Poulin, or Vasily Ponomarev. But the Penguins should (and probably will) want a handful of proven commodities as a contingency in case those young players aren't ready to start next season.

A pair of former Penguins could fit that mold and potentially be on the trade block this summer.

The Penguins lost Brandon Tanev to the Seattle Kraken in the 2022 expansion draft. The 32-year-old forward is coming off a down year, 16 points in 66 games, but would bring more physicality to the bottom of the Penguins lineup without sacrificing speed.

With the cap-strapped Kraken having to re-sign top forward Matty Beniers and add three more forwards and a defenseman, Tanev could find himself as the odd-man out.

Evan Rodrigues faces a similar situation with the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are gunning for a Stanley Cup, and a few of their top players, Brandon Montour and Sam Reinhart, are playing on expiring contracts.

Add on the already guaranteed raises for Eetu Luostarinen and Gustav Forsling, and the Panthers may need Rodrigues' $3 million salary off their books.

Rodrigues and Tanev would bring terrific penalty-killing ability back with them and the flexibility to move throughout the Penguins' bottom six. While both are on the wrong side of 30, neither has lost their skating ability and could come at a cheap price this offseason.

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