NHL Rumors: Penguins Willing To Trade Defenseman

According to Josh Yohe, the Pittsburgh Penguins are willing to trade Mike Matheson for the right price.

This is a little bit of a surprising development. Matheson has been playing very well for the Penguins this season, and the truth is in his stats. In 50 games thus far, he has seven goals, 14 assists, and a plus-5 rating. However, if they can make an upgrade to their roster, it seems that they are at least open to the possibility of moving the 28-year-old.

One reason why Pittsburgh may be open to moving Matheson is because of his contract. He carries a $4.875 million cap hit until the completion of the 2025-26 season. With players like Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust all needing new contracts after this season, trading him would give them more cap space to do that.

Since being traded to the Penguins from the Florida Panthers, Matheson has been able to rebound. He's emerged into a solid defenseman for them, so unless they get something very notable for him, he could be staying put. Time will tell what ends up on that front.