3 Very Crazy Trade Ideas for Penguins

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Elliot Hicks. Follow him on Twitter @ehicks39

Here are three players the Penguins will NOT be trading for at the deadline…or maybe they will? 

As the NHL trade deadline fast approaches, most of the media you will consume will discuss who teams, in this case our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins, are wanting to or going to acquire to bolster their chance at a Stanley Cup.

That’s not what this is, however. Today I’m going to tell you about three people the Penguins are NOT going to be trading for…but damn, wouldn’t it be fun if they did.

Two former Penguins and a third player whom the Pens are very familiar with are reportedly available on the trade market. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of good hockey reasoning to bring in any or all of this trio. Otherwise I wouldn’t bring it up even in this context. And while I don’t think any of these deals will happen, let’s go through the pros and cons of each.

Marc-Andre Fleury (Chicago Blackhawks)

Since it became clear that Fleury was not going to remain in Las Vegas, where the now 37-year-old goaltender went when he departed from Pittsburgh, the main question has been “when is he coming back to the Penguins?” There were even rumors that Fleury would elect to retire rather than play anywhere else but Pittsburgh. Alas, he was dealt to Chicago for essentially nothing and has had a relatively solid year for the Blackhawks. 

Pros: Fleury is still a solid goaltender who’s been capable of holding up a starter’s workload, something he wouldn’t have to do with the Pens. Though his 2.92 GAA is nearly a full goal worse than last year’s Vezina-winning campaign, Fleury has still kept a roughly even win-loss record and a .908 save percentage. 

At this point in his career, there’s the baseline veteran guarantee of relatively solid play that comes with a future Hall-of-Famer, which would go a long way toward a Cup chase.

Cons: The biggest one here is that Fleury, still showing enough quality to be a good starter, will be dealt somewhere where he will be the main man in net. While it would be truly awful to see perhaps the most popular goaltender in Penguins history put on a Washington Capitals sweater, you can’t disagree with the fact that he improves the Cup chances for them or any other team he goes to. 

Even if he would want to come back to Pittsburgh to back up Tristan Jarry, having a guy like Fleury behind him would mean every single move and every single mistake Jarry would make would immediately be under a microscope and receive heavier criticism, something we really don’t need for a guy who we hope is going to be a longtime starter in the Burgh. 

Phil Kessel (Arizona Coyotes)

Kessel is still hanging out in Arizona, where the Penguins dealt him in the summer of 2019, and notably still has his Ironman streak which is now at 956 consecutive games after being in the news recently for playing a single shift before witnessing the birth of his child. Hey, why not bring him back and give the family the access to Magee-Women’s to help their new adventure?

Pros: Kessel still has shown flashes of talent despite being on a poor Coyotes roster, and wouldn’t have to be quite as prolific as he was during his previous stint in Pittsburgh. We can’t forget just how clutch he was as part of the beloved HBK line as well. 

Cons: This one would be the unlikeliest of unlikely to happen for a myriad of reasons. The same coaching staff that he supposedly wore out his welcome with is still in place here. He’s got just six goals in 56 games this year, which would be by far his lowest total in a season. Not to mention that he is a -16 on the ice, if you put any weight in the plus/minus stat, which would be his fifth consecutive season in the negatives. 

Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)

With the Flyers near the bottom of the standings, it may be time for our hated rivals to begin a full-scale rebuild, which would involve moving on from their 34-year-old captain. How amazing would it be for one of the most beloved Flyers in recent history to win a Cup in Pittsburgh?

Pros: Giroux would bring another strong veteran presence to a lineup that is full of them, though that doesn’t always work out well. With that being said, Giroux still has put up strong numbers, on pace for his most goals in four years. Stats aside, just seeing the steam come out of the ears of Philadelphians seeing Giroux in a Pens jersey outweighs anything on the ice.

Cons: There’s no room for Giroux at his natural position of center, so he’d have to play on his alternative position of left wing, which may affect his style of play negatively. Such a big trade being pulled off between not only conference and division rivals but between two teams involved in one of the fiercer rivalries in hockey could be quite complicated. Also, how unfortunate would it be if any of the prospects or draft picks sent to the Flyers for Giroux actually pans out? Probably not even worth taking the chance.