There hasn’t been much happening lately on the trade front, but that could change soon..
There haven’t been many big times trades, but that could be a function of the biggest winger free agent still mulling his decision. Chris Johnston talked about how Nikolaj Ehlers could be holding up the trade market as teams waited for his decision that took 50 hours into free agency to sign with Carolina.
Something to keep an eye on: Once Nikolaj Ehlers makes his free-agent decision, there’s a sense it could spur trade activity among the team(s) who fall short in their pursuit of the talented winger.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 3, 2025
It’s believed that many teams are either in the running or have made strong offers to Ehlers, which puts them in a bind with cap flexibility until they figured out whether or not he is going to sign with them.
For a team like the Penguins, they’re not going to be adding Ehlers but the waiting game for them is about shoppers lining up if they have to fall back to their Plan B.
Kyle Dubas said he would be active in trade talks. And from what I hear, this is very much the case today.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) July 3, 2025
The Penguins are overstocked right now with 15 NHL caliber forwards after the signings of Anthony Mantha, Justin Brazeau, Philip Tomasino and Connor Dewar to contracts earlier this week.
Add in the young players of Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen who are knocking on the door for decent-sized NHL roles and the Pens are crowded right now up front. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be in the top-six, add in potentially Mantha and Tommy Novak and some young players and suddenly a team is forming without the presence of Rickard Rakell and/or Bryan Rust.
Lots can change in the course of a phone call by Dubas, so we’ll have to see. Early in free agency he’s added enough quantity to the ranks to have the flexibility to sell off a piece or two. The only question now is when it happens, for how much and what team will step up to the plate with an offer that the Penguins like for the future.