NHL Rumors: Penguins Trying to Clear Cap Space via Trade

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall would love to have some more money to work with on July 13 when free agency begins. The Pens executive recently admitted he's trying to make a trade as soon as possible so he can free up some more financial flexibility.

The options to be dealt on the Penguins roster include the likes of Jason Zucker, Marcus Pettersson and Brian Dumoulin. Pettersson is priority number one as he's signed through three more seasons at $4.02 million annually. There's been some interest from the St Louis Blues and LA Kings, but to this point, no deal has gained any steam.

The Penguins have Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell and Evan Rodrigues they would like to re-sign, however it doesn't sound like talks have gone so well, with Malkin in particular. The team recently brought back legend Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby and head coach Mike Sullivan have made their feelings known as they've both stated Malkin needs to be re-signed. We'll see if Hextall can find a suitor for Pettersson or Zucker before July 13 so they can bring back some big pieces of their team.

I feel more optimistic about Malkin signing with the Penguins than I did a week ago. You know why? Because a lot of very powerful people in the organization are making it very clear that they want it to happen.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) July 9, 2022