The Pittsburgh Penguins have spent the offseason trying to strengthen the aging core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang while they remain under contract.
Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas has shown no interest in entering a full rebuild. For now, Dubas hasn't sold the farm as he's protected young players and accumulated assets, but that can change if he can find a proper long-term addition in the market.
Pittsburgh has already been linked to such players, including Dallas Stars winger and pending restricted free agent Jason Robertson, who filed for arbitration in early July.
Now, another possible target has entered the discussion, with both Rick Dhaliwal and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman floating his name as a potential Penguins addition.
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Dhaliwal appeared on the "Oilers Now" show on Thursday and said Pittsburgh has shown interest in Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson, though he cautioned that no deal is imminent.
“I do believe Pittsburgh has some degree of interest in Elias Pettersson,” Dhaliwal said on Oilers Now. “I am not hearing the rumour that the Canucks have asked for (Penguins prospect) Ben Kindel. No way the Penguins are gonna give up such a promising young player for a bad contract.”
Friedman also floated Pittsburgh as a possible match because of the veteran leadership already in place.
"Look, he's got to play better in that $11.6 million everyone's been talking about, but again, the ground has shifted here in a huge way," Friedman said of Pettersson. "I've sat there and I've said 'Where could he go that could be good for him?' I wonder if the Penguins with Crosby and Malkin might be good for him."
Pettersson has six years remaining on his eight-year, $92.8 million contract and carries an $11.6 million annual cap hit. He scored 15 goals in each of the past two seasons after producing 39 goals and 102 points in 2022-23.
Even though Pettersson has underperformed of late, he would address Pittsburgh’s need for another top-six center and could remain a key Penguins player after Crosby and Malkin retire.
Any move, whoever, could be complicated as Pettersson holds a full no-movement clause and has control over where he is sent. For now, a Penguins and Pettersson union looks more like a fit on paper than a deal about to materialize.
