Potential Penguins Trade Returns; What Are the Veterans Worth?

Kyle Dubas admitted he wants draft picks. The Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations/GM wants to acquire them urgently, or at least as urgently as he can do it.

It is a stark departure from more than a decade of tossing away draft picks chasing fixes and improvements by using the selections as capital on the NHL trade market. They’ve tossed a first-rounder and second-rounder for Erik Karlsson, a second-rounder for Mikael Granlund the year before.

Between 2014 and 2021, the Penguins had just one first-round pick, selecting Sam Poulin in 2019. The lack of prospects and a discernible pipeline of replacements compounded their need for trades, and the vicious cycle depleted the Penguins’ prospect pool.

Dubas said he will attempt to undo the decade of neglect quickly, but whether he can stockpile the picks without gutting the Penguins roster is another matter.

Recent history gives a pretty good window into what players can bring back, and the rising salary cap should help Dubas’s quest but many teams have already spent their extra cap space.

So, what can Dubas get for his players?

Penguins Value on Trade Market

Tristan Jarry

It’s not happening, but with so many of you clamoring for it, we’ll throw you a bone. Jarry would not command the king’s ransom that the Calgary Flames will get if GM Craig Conroy trades Jacob Markstrom or the Boston Bruins part with Linus Ullmark.

At the 2024 NHL trade deadline, the New Jersey Devils parted with a third-rounder for Jake Allen, whose value is probably a bit less than Jarry due to a consistent sub .900 save percentage and is 33 years old. The Vancouver Canucks also included a third-rounder when they traded Tanner Pearson for Casey DeSmith.

DeSmith and his backup status should need little introduction to Penguins fans.

The goalie market in 2022-23 was barren. The LA Kings gave Columbus a first-round pick, a third-rounder, and fading Jonathan Quick in exchange for Vladislav Gavrikov and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. The high cost for the Kings was in part to shed Quick’s hefty salary.

Perhaps the easiest comparison was the Washington Capitals trading Vitek Vanecek to New Jersey on July 8, 2021, for a second and third-round pick.

Given Vanecek’s talent and potential but lack of consistent production in 2021, that’s probably the closest comparison. So, let’s say trading Jarry would net a second and third-round pick.

(And that’s why it won’t happen).

Reilly Smith

At the 2023…