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NHL Rumours: Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes

NHL Rumours

It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. We’re closing in on the March 8 trade deadline and the gossip is getting juicy. Teams are trying to figure out if they’re going to be buyers or sellers in the next couple of weeks. What teams will push their chips into the middle and what teams will fold for another day? Today’s NHL rumorus focus on the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes.

All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.

NHL Rumours

Pittsburgh Penguins

Rumour: The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun said the Penguins and general manager Kyle Dubas are listening on all non-core players. This was revealed during LeBrun’s weekly notes column.

Analysis: Pittsburgh has had one of the more disappointing seasons so far. Dubas went in and got Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks in the off-season. Many thought he would be the piece that pushed the Penguins back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, Pittsburgh is eight points off the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

This means that Dubas has a hard decision to make and might have trade off some assets. Jake Guentzel is a name that has come up plenty in the last weeks. The Omaha, Neb. native is out injured, but could be back before the March 8 deadline. He could be a sought-after asset for a team looking to shore up some of their scoring.

Another name that’s come up in conversations is Reilly Smith. The forward was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the off-season. One thing that could complicate a Smith trade is his no-trade clause. The Toronto native has a 10-team list that he can submit. That list drops down to eight teams in the 2024-25 campaign.

Smith also makes $5 million for this season and for next season. Contenders don’t usually want a player for more than one season at that price. However, someone like the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t in the rental market. This could make Smith more attractive to a club that doesn’t do rentals.

Pittsburgh might have to make a choice soon on if it will contender. The Pens are at least going to listen to offers at this juncture.

Arizona Coyotes

Rumour: TSN’s Chris Johnston was on Insider Trading and talked about what the Coyotes might do at the deadline. The 10-game losing streak has likely turned the team into sellers.

Analysis: Arizona has fallen off a cliff in the second half of the season. General manager Bill Armstrong was hoping the club was finally making some progress. However, those forward steps have run into a brick wall. Arizona had a glimmer of hope to finally make the playoffs earlier in the season. However, that’s been snuffed out.

Armstrong is likely to spin some veterans in the last year of their respective deals into draft picks and prospects. Upcoming UFAs like Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker seem to be the first names that jump off the page. Both players are veterans the Coyotes could probably get some sort of return for these players.

Coyotes management has stockpiled draft picks as they have 20 in total in the first few rounds of the next three drafts. Johnston added that Arizona will be glad to add more selections because the franchise can have flexibility down the line when they’re trading picks out for players.

There’s still uncertainty if the Coyotes will be calling Arizona or another location home next season. However, the Coyotes have a chance to add a ton of new faces or have plenty of draft capital going forward. Armstrong has plenty of chances to remake his team via the draft or trades.

Main photo by: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Mount, Editor

Dan Mount, Editor

Longtime sportswriter for the Watertown Daily Times. I have covered minor league and NCAA hockey in women's Division I and men's Division III. Also produce the nationally-syndicated Spadora on Sports radio show.

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