The Pittsburgh Penguins may have missed the postseason for a second straight year, but it wasn’t enough of an excuse for GM Kyle Dubas to begin an inevitable rebuild.
Looking to keep the Pittsburgh Penguins’ competitive window open for ageing veterans Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, Dubas acquired veteran winger Kevin Hayes via trade with the St. Louis Blues and signed former 20-goal scorer Anthony Beauvillier and blueliner Matt Grzelcyk.
In some ways, it’s impressive that the Pens finished with 88 points (just three points short of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference). This team had no real strengths last year, finishing 18th in goals for (255) and 15th in goals against (251).
With Jake Guentzel being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the deadline, Crosby, Malkin and Bryan Rust are the only returning forwards for 2024-25 that hit the 20-goal and 50-point marks last season.
Fortunately, a team out west has the perfect solution for the Pittsburgh Penguins to target; a talented albeit underachieving center who could help them re-emerge as an offensive powerhouse.
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Enter Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras, who’s been widely mentioned as a likely trade candidate since the start of the year. The rebuilding Ducks seem open to dealing the two-time 20-goal, 60-point scorer who had just 15 points in 31 games during an injury-riddled 2023-24 campaign.
You need two quality centers to win in today’s NHL, but the Penguins need to rely less on a 37-year-old Crosby and a 38-year-old Malkin. Adding Zegras would give Pittsburgh a dangerous 1-2-3 punch down the middle, and they could even reduce Malkin’s playing time by moving him down to the No. 3 center role.
What Pittsburgh Penguins Should Offer For Trevor Zegras
The No. 9 pick of 2019 has yet to hit his full potential, but Zegras’ skill set and age (only 23) means he won’t come cheap.
With Pittsburgh in win-now mode, they should offer 26-year-old forward Drew O’Connor (16 goals and 33 points last season), and their 2025 first and third-round picks to Anaheim in exchange for Zegras.
