After an embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday, it felt like a game that could end up being a season-altering loss for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Only one day later, that appears to be the case.
On Tuesday, the Penguins made just the first in what could be several moves, trading veteran center Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick.
Eller, 35, is a pending unrestricted free agent, so this news isn’t all that shocking, even taking out the disaster of a showing against the Stars. Eller had put up four goals and seven points on the season for the Penguins and is a solid third or fourth-line center for any contending team.
Given that the Penguins are trying to rebuild on-the-fly, selling off expiring contracts – especially valuable ones, like Eller’s – should come as a surprise to no one.
But where does GM and POHO Kyle Dubas go from here?
Well, that could be a whole lot more interesting.
It’s no secret that the Penguins are due for a shake-up. They are staring down a 6-9-2 record and are just two points from the basement of the Metropolitan Division.
However, they currently sit just one point out of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, which – given how this season has gone – seems completely inconceivable.
Make no mistake: the Penguins are not a playoff team in their current state, and a lot would have to go right for them this season to have a chance at the postseason, none of which has happened thus far. But – as Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports reported on Monday – the Penguins aren’t interested in a full rebuild yet.
And what this means is that, yes, they’re going to stockpile draft capital, as evidenced here – but there’s a whole lot more to the story than that.
What is the corresponding move?
© Timothy T. Ludwig – Imagn Images
On the surface, the Eller trade was a futures-oriented one. But, looking at it from a cap-savings perspective, that might not be entirely true.
When factoring in all players on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and injured reserve (IR), the Penguins now have $1.78 million in extra cap space with Eller’s $2.45 million off the books. They currently do not have an extra healthy forward on their roster and have one remaining roster…