Help us, help you? Potential trade pickups for the Penguins

Who could be this year’s Kevin Hayes or Cody Glass?

A look from Daily Faceoff about players that are available or could be on the trading block presents some interesting opportunities for a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last summer the Pens used some of their cap space to bail out other teams. They took on Kevin Hayes and Cody Glass from St. Louis and Nashville respectively, as well as some draft pick compensation to free space up for teams to move on.

The NHL’s salary cap is finally over the hump from deflated revenue years early in the decade, but a $4 million increase only goes so far for contenders. There’s always an appetite for teams to move on from overpaid and/or underperforming players in attempts to reload and try something new. If the Pens operate like last year, they could be the beneficiaries. Pittsburgh has plenty of cap space for next season and nothing to really use it on (unless it’s time to get really aggressive..) which could make them brokers again to get paid to take on other team’s unwanted contracts.

2. Chris Kreider

Left Wing, New York Rangers
Age: 34Stats: 68 GP, 22 G, 8 A, 30 Pts
Contract: 2 years remaining, $6.5 million AAV
Scoop: It was undoubtedly a difficult year for Kreider, the career-long Blueshirt, who dealt with a mangled hand, vertigo and oh yes, the spotlight of a league-wide memo that indicated his GM was open to offers for him. Kreider is just 11 goals away from second all-time for the Original Six franchise and he isn’t interested in leaving. He has a 15-team ‘no-trade’ that could complicate things for Chris Drury. But if we’ve learned anything with Drury (see: Jacob Trouba), when he is motivated to make change, he’ll find a way to see it through.

It’s hard to believe but some speculated Krieder could still retain positive trade value, much the same way that the aforementioned Trouba actually still fetched the Rangers a mid-round draft pick. If that doesn’t come to pass – or if Kreider can manage to throw road blocks with his clauses, perhaps that will be different. Then again, since Kreider can block getting traded to about half of the league, perhaps Pittsburgh won’t exactly be on his clear list these days.

It’s probably unlikely this happens, and the Penguins will have valid reason to not want to help the Rangers’ plans at all if Pittsburgh is getting NYR’s 2026 first round pick, so don’t count on it from happening for a myriad of reasons. But on the surface, offloading Kreider to Pittsburgh for a bit fits the mold of similar moves made.

7. Erik Karlsson

Right Defense, Pittsburgh Penguins
Age: 34Stats: 82 GP, 11 G, 42 A, 53 Pts
Contract: 2 years remaining, $10 million AAV
Scoop: League sources are expecting Karlsson’s name to percolate as GM Kyle Dubas spools up a retool or rebuild to get Pittsburgh back on track. Karlsson has played two seasons in the Steel City and this one was better than the first. That $10 million cap hit will be difficult to navigate. But is there someone willing to give their blueline a shot in the arm with a capable quarterback? Karlsson turned back the clock at 4 Nations Face-Off.

It’s always interesting to get a league-wide perspective on how Karlsson is perceived. What happens here is anyone’s guess, but here’s to a reminder that very few teams actually heavily pursue big name/big salary players. The late Johnny Gaudreau was surprised that many teams sat out making him offers and he had to choose between Columbus and New Jersey. The last time Karlsson was on the market, a few teams kicked around on him but it was really only the Pens that made a serious play to get him (and it took several weeks/months to get a trade completed). The ability and eagerness for several teams to go out of their way to add huge salaries isn’t always there, no matter the cap outlook. It usually ends up being less interest and possibilities than you might think.

Such market forces could mean Karlsson and Pittsburgh have little other option than to keep one another for one more year. No guarantee, but an interesting thought to keep in mind as the summer goes along.

12. Elvis Merzlikins

Goaltender, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 31
Stats: 53 GP, 3.18 GAA, .892 SV%, 1 SO
Contract: 2 years remaining, $5.4 million AAV
Scoop: Are the Blue Jackets going to shake up their crease? When you look at Columbus’ season, they were felled not by their offense (eighth in goals) but by their inability to keep pucks out of the net. They ranked 25th in goals against – giving up exactly as many as they scored. Part of that is on what happened in front of Merzlikins. Part of that is on Merzlikins. He holds a 10-team, no-trade list.

Hypothetical theater: Tristan Jarry for Merzlikins, who says no? Merzlikins hasn’t been very good but acquiring him would trim off one year from the commitment Jarry has on his contract and almost identical cap hits ($5.375m for Jarry, $5.4m for Merzlikins). CBJ would need and have to think Jarry can rebound and play back towards his typical talent level to make it possible, which may or may not be the case.

14. Erik Haula

Center/Left Wing, New Jersey Devils
Age: 34Stats: 69 GP, 11 G, 10 A, 21 Pts
Contract: 1 year remaining, $3.15 million AAV
Scoop: If there’s a list of disappointing seasons in New Jersey, Haula’s name will appear toward the top of it. The Haula Famer has typically been very consistent throughout his career, but he struggled to produce as the rest of the Devils‘ depth scoring dried up. He has the ability to play center, which is a nice versatile bonus, but if GM Tom Fitzgerald is beefing up his middle/bottom six forward group, Haula could be on the out.

Here’s one the Pens should be all over, to at least get a sense of out what is what. There’s double value here, if Haula is good in 2025-26, he’s definitely a candidate as a center to flip at the deadline for even more of a return. Pittsburgh can give minutes to a player like this to inflate his value and give him a great opportunity to get back on track. Even if the Devils wouldn’t pay a pick to clear Haula, if the price is right this could be a prime chance for the Pens to get low, pump up and sell for something a little better.

17. David Kampf

Center, Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 30Stats: 59 GP, 5 G, 8 A, 13 Pts
Contract: 2 years remaining, $2.4 million AAV
Scoop: With a late-season injury, Kampf really faded into the background, with coach Craig Berube opting to keep him out of the lineup for most of the Stanley Cup playoffs as a healthy scratch. Now, Kampf has two years left at a number that isn’t problematic, but probably still less than ideal for the Leafs. He is a quality utility player who competes, so they should be able to find a taker.

The Maple Leafs could use all the cap space they can get and Kampf was a healthy scratch at the most important time of the year. Kyle Dubas showed he could make transactions with Toronto by picking up Conor Timmins and Connor Dewar, and now Brendan Shanahan is out of the picture. If the Leafs wanted to hand Kampf (or Calle Jarnkork) over, a team like the Pens could easily accommodate if the terms were right.