NHL Rumors: Penguins & Wild Discussing Trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild both appear to be playoff bound, but nothing is certain just yet. It appears as though they have been discussing a potential trade that would benefit both of them this season, per Dan Kingerski. Neither have the most cap space, so something would have to be worked out in regards to that.

Rumours are that the Penguins are looking for defensive help while the Wild need some depth scoring. There are multiple potential forwards the Penguins could move, but one defenceman in particular the Wild will likely be moving - Matt Dumba.

Dumba is expected to be traded by the deadline this season. He has a cap hit of $6 million AAV and is a UFA at the end of the season. This addition for the Penguins would be to help with injury concerns with Kris Letang and Jeff Petry while giving them another top-four defenceman to push for the playoffs. The Wild have more than enough NHL defenceman fighting for spots in the lineup and it only makes sense to use what they have an abundance of to upgrade an area of need.

The Penguins have two players in particular that would be the subject of a trade - Kasperi Kapanen and Teddy Blueger. Trading one and having the Wild retain some salary on Dumba to even out the trade in terms of cap space would work, but don't count out both forwards being dealt in exchange for Dumba. Kapanen has one more year of his at $3.2 million AAV while Blueger is a UFA at the end of the season and has a cap hit of $2.2 million.

Kapanen has been inconsistent since joining Pittsburgh, but has the potential to score a great deal in bunches. He has just six goals and 17 points in 34 games this season, but has put together four consecutive 30 point campaigns and scored 30 points in 40 games for the Penguins in 2020-21. Blueger doesn't bring as much scoring, but he is very reliable and a strong bottom-six forward that would surely add to the depth of Minnesota. Watch for a player swap between these two teams in the coming weeks.