NHL Trades and Rumors

Burke Says Penguins Looking for Two Pieces Prior to NHL Trade Deadline

Brian Burke noted that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on the lookout for two things ahead of the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.

by
NHL Trade Talk
April 2, 2021

According to an article by NHL.com, “The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the market for a center ahead of the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline on April 12, president of hockey operations Brian Burke told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Wednesday.” With injury news to two of the Penguins’ centers, Burke notes that the team will be on the lookout to see if an option will present itself over the next week.

ICYMI: Brian Burke doesn't want Penguins 'going to a gun fight with a knife' https://t.co/Ix3eq6IVrd
— Post-Gazette Sports (@PGSportsNow) March 31, 2021

The comments from Burke come from an interview he with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette where he noted that injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Teddy Blueger have left the organization wondering if they need to find replacements. Malkin has missed the past seven games and Blueger the past eight, but to date, Jared McCann and Frederick Gaudreau have filled in well. Bruke said, “I’m not sure it was as dire a need as it was. But when two of your top four centers go down, you start looking around.”

While the team looks around, Burke also added that the Penguins will see if there’s the potential add some team toughness. There are still some conversations to be had between management and the coach about how useful grittier players will be versus guys who can score, but Burke said it would be nice to have the option to go to those types of players in a playoff situation.

Evgeni Malkin Penguins — Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins

What the Penguins Are (Or Aren’t) Willing to Give Up

Even though the organization has identified two potential needs this season, they aren’t willing to spend any price to land what they need. Burke has ruled out moving the team’s second-round pick in this year’s draft. Instead, the article suggests, “The Penguins have a number of left-shot defensemen who could be used in a trade, including Brian Dumoulin, Mike Matheson, Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola and Pierre-Olivier Joseph”. That said, Burke isn’t sure he’d be willing to use that depth for help in another area. “Maybe there’s enough depth there to make a move. Maybe not. We’ll see. But that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t listen if someone calls in a trade,” he said.

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