The non-Olympians return to practice today. While the trade freeze is still in effect, that doesn’t mean deadline plans are not being put into place. The Penguins, and the rest of the NHL, will only have a few days after the freeze is lifted to construct their teams for the rest of the season.

The Penguins specifically, unless taking a big swing to get a star forward, will likely be looking into adding on the backend. Before the season, the blue line was the largest area of concern for the team especially on the left side. Ironically, the left side has actually been pretty damn good thanks to Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon significantly outplaying their expectations. They also already added Brett Kulak to the left side. The right side has been more of the issue and the more likely side for them to add a new piece. In general, the blueline isn’t very deep which is why they added Soloyvov. You already have Letang/St. Ivany/Jones out injured or suspended. While Letang is expected back shortly after the break he is older and was decidedly not good to start the year, though his play was on a major upswing once him and Kulak got comfortable. Those injures, age, and lack of depth are the contributing factors to adding to the right side. In the event that Letang is injured again, you really don’t want to start a playoff series with Shea playing his offside and/or St. Ivany elevated to a 2nd pairing role.

Right side defensemen are typically one of the more expensive assets to buy, but the Penguins are well equipped to pull of any trade they want. I will go over a few options at varying prices. The one name I won’t write about is Pavel Mintyukov because he plays on the left-side. He fits everything Dubas has been targeting recently; young, high draft pedigree, and Russian (Chinakhov/Soloyvov). If they can’t get Shea resigned, maybe they explore talking with Anaheim.

Connor Murphy:

The Blackhawks are once again selling. Murphy is one of their better tradeable assets. He is on the final year of his contract, making 4.4 million, and is 32 years old. He isn’t an acquisition that would fit with the long-term plan but would rather be a true rental. Considering Murphy is not much of an offensive dynamo, on pace 17 points this season, the cost to acquire may be more in line with what the Penguins are willing to do in the rental game. If Murphy is acquired for a 2nd (they have plenty) or a 3rd (they also have plenty) and a middling prospect, this could be an avenue Dubas pursues. Murphy would be an upgrade on the third pair over Clifton, but not so much of an upgrade that I would personally make a move for him. Especially considering he would have to step up in Letang’s role on the second pair barring another injury, it would leave the defense just as offensively hamstrung as they are right now with 58 out of the lineup. Nevertheless, he is going to be a name a lot of people will be speaking about in trade circles so it’s worth considering his services.

Colton Parayko:

St. Louis is willing to essentially listen on every single player on their roster. Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Jordan Binnington are all seemingly available. Not much about Parayko has been whispered throughout the trade circles, but you’d have imagine that he’s available. Parayko is currently playing for Canada and has 4 years remaining at 6.5M on his deal. This would obviously be a huge splash for Dubas. Parayko doesn’t fit the age scheme for the Penguins, but he is cost controlled and at a relatively good number with the rising cap. The price would likely be exuberant as Parayko is a top-pairing defender. It is hard to imagine this deal getting done without a 1st round pick, McGroarty, and more pieces. I’m not sure it makes too much sense for the Penguins. While this season has been great, they have Brunicke coming next year, and selling high value pieces doesn’t make a ton of sense at this stage of the rebuild. If the Penguins are able to make a separate deal to acquire a 1st that they then swing to St. Louis for Parayko, then I could understand the thinking. Letang’s long-term health is the reason you make a trade for Parayko; you don’t do it for a playoff run that was seen as impossible at the start of the season. I’m a sucker for the Penguins getting involved in blockbusters, but I would prefer that to include the name Jason Robertson, not Colton Parayko.

Braden Schneider:

With the Rangers spiraling, writing another letter to their fans, they are looking to move just about everyone. Schneider is under team control as he’s an RFA at the conclusion of the season. He’s only 24 so he fits Dubas’ age profile and enjoyed a good season in 2025. The problem is, he has played like most the blueshirts this season, very poorly. Defenders on bad teams are hard to judge because they are constantly put in tough situations, Dubas would be banking on the Penguins system being more suited for Schneider, similar to what we have seen with Chinakhov. The cost to acquire is going to be the most interesting case here. I don’t believe anyone is paying a 1st for his services but given his age/contract the Ranger’s could be looking to get a 1st equivalent in trade value. The Penguins could offer two seconds, similar to the Sherwood deal. I don’t like the idea of doing that, but I do believe that Schneider is the most likely of three that I have written about. At the end of the day, I trust Dubas. He’s batting close to 1.000 since the Guentzel trade so if he sees something in the player, I am inclined to agree with him.