Pittsburgh Penguins general manager (GM) Ron Hextall has some work to do before the March 3 trade deadline. The Penguins are far from a complete team and their many holes are being leaked throughout the first half of the 2022-23 season. Hextall needs to make a significant move to upgrade the roster and one team to watch as a blockbuster trade partner would be the Arizona Coyotes.
The Coyotes are in complete sell mode and will talk trade on just about all of their players. With the Penguins fighting for their Stanley Cup Playoff lives in the Eastern Conference and with the Coyotes a basement dweller in the Western Conference, these two teams have serious potential to become trade partners.
Coyotes Have Several Pieces Who Fit Penguins Needs
Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong has been receiving a ton of trade calls these past few weeks as the team continues to try and sell their assets. Here’s who would be a fit in Pittsburgh:
Jakob Chychrun
Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun remains one of the best defensemen available on the trade market. He’d fit in perfectly for the Penguins.
Chychrun is a top-two defenseman who can play in all situations. His hockey sense is off the charts, he’s capable of one day reaching 60-point seasons and with a cap hit of only $4.6 million through the 2024-25 season, Hextall needs to seriously consider meeting the demands of Armstrong and the Coyotes.
Chychrun wants to play for a Stanley Cup contender and if he’s added to the Penguins, they are exactly that. At 24 years old he’d quickly become one of the franchise’s core players and would be one of the players who could take over the reigns for the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, once they decide to hang up the skates.
Related: Penguins & Oilers Emerging as Potential Trade Partners
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The price tag here is significant and would likely cost the Penguins defenseman Ty Smith and top defensive prospect Owen Pickering. Pickering is a towering 19-year-old prospect who the Pens selected in the first-round in 2022. The Coyotes are after first-round picks or recent high draft picks, and with Smith being only 22 years old, he fits the bill as there’s still ton of potential in his game.
Karel Vejmelka
Recently, beloved hockey insider Elliotte Friedman tossed around the idea of the Coyotes listening to trade offers on goaltender Karel Vejmelka, and if that is indeed the case, the Penguins…
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