Penguins' Pettersson Becoming Trade Candidate

The Pittsburgh Penguins are once again struggling this season and it could be a long one if they aren't able to pull back into the playoff race. While it is early and there's lots of time, the team hasn't looked good.

The longer the below .500 play continues, the larger the gap between the Penguins and the playoffs. This will eventually lead to some more changes like last season when the Penguins missed the playoffs as well. One of the leading candidates to be traded by the deadline is Marcus Pettersson.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said that Pettersson may become available closer to the deadline if the Penguins are still out of a spot.

Pittsburgh is 5-7-2 and not many players outside of the stars have looked very good. Pettersson is one of three defensemen on the Penguins on an expiring contract. He has a cap hit of $4.025 and an eight-team no trade clause. This shouldn't be too difficult to trade him, especially considering the Penguins have one retention spot available and can retain $2 million.

Pettersson is a top-4 defenseman who has size and a grittiness to his game. He's 6'3, is able to chip in offensively, but also does everything a team could want in his own end. He has recorded at least 130 blocked shots in consecutive seasons and 120+ hits in three straight seasons.

Pettersson is already at a goal and six points through 14 games. continues to play top-4 minutes, and is on the top penalty killing unit. This is the seventh season Pettersson has been in Pittsburgh and if the price is right and the opportunity strikes, the team could very well move on from him.