2 New Names Becoming Penguins Trade Candidates

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be sellers at the March 7th trade deadline. Just how much they will sell off is still up for debate.

While names like Marcus Pettersson, in particular, and Drew O'Connor are consistently found on trade boards around the NHL these days, and others like Rickard Rakell and Noel Acciari have been heard as well, two names that haven't gotten a lot of attention have now been listed as likely trade candidates in a new report.

According to senior writer Dan Rosen of nhl.com, veterans Matt Grzelcyk and Michael Bunting are names to watch.

Matt Grzelcyk

Grzelcyk, 31, is in his first year with the Penguins, and is on an expiring deal at $2.75 million. During the first eight years of his career with the Boston Bruins, the left-shot d-man consistently held a double-digit plus-minus rating, at +137 through those eight years. This season with the struggling Pens, he is a minus-14, though has already set personal highs in offensive production with 26 assists and 27 points through 53 games. His 20:14 of average time on ice is also a career-best.

On a contending team, he can be a solid addition to the blueline down the stretch.

Michael Bunting

The former Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes forward came over in the Jake Guentzel trade at last year's deadline, and still has another year to run on his deal at a $4.5 million cap hit.

He performed very well after coming over to Pittsburgh last year, with 19 points in 21 games. This season, his numbers aren't tremendous, but with 13 goals and 27 points in 51 games, he can be a secondary scoring option for teams looking for that in their middle-six. He's on a 22-goal pace, which is right around his average career mark.

Because he's not a rental, the Pens could get some additional value over and above a single draft pick.

The Penguins will continue to look for ways to trade veterans and get younger pieces into the fold, and these two veterans could help in that regard.