The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly among the teams that are interested in acquiring Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Marcus Pettersson.
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe mentioned in his most recent article that the Swedish blueliner could be traded by the struggling Penguins before the trade deadline. The Vancouver Canucks are the other team that has expressed interest in his services, though Yohe notes that many more are bound to enter the sweepstakes in the coming weeks.
“In the final year of his contract, Pettersson is set to break the bank when free agency opens next summer,” Yohe wrote regarding Pettersson. “The Penguins value Pettersson, but they value replenishing their system considerably more. This is essentially the Guentzel situation all over again. Pettersson is as good as gone.”
This comes after reports emerged last week that Penguins president and GM Kyle Dubas made it known to the rest of the league that everyone but Sidney Crosby is available. Lars Eller was the first shoe to drop as Pittsburgh shipped him to the Washington Capitals in exchange for two draft picks, and more are sure to follow as the season progresses.
It is no secret that the Oilers are in need of some defensive reinforcements, especially in the wake of Darnell Nurse’s injury on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Vincent Desharnais leaving for the Canucks and Philip Broberg being offer-sheeted, there has been a gaping hole in their second pairing that will most certainly be at the top of their to-do list in terms of trades.
Although Pettersson is a left-handed defenceman, he would make a lot of sense for the Oilers to be looking at if they are interested in nabbing anyone from the Penguins. He is currently second among Pittsburgh defenceman in scoring with eight points through the first 20 games, two back of Erik Karlsson for the team lead. His underlying metrics are the best among Penguins blueliners, including a pristine 56.54 xGF% and 57.79 HDCF% at 5v5. What drags those numbers down is 42.86 GF% and a .863 on-ice save %, which are both not entirely his fault and more of a by-product of the team around him not playing well. Those two numbers are therefore bound to improve in a better system such as what the Oilers have.
It would make sense why Edmonton would be vying for Pettersson’s services given what he has been able to accomplish on a bad team, but that also makes him an attractive target for other contenders looking to shore up their back end. A pending UFA at the end of the season at a$4.025-million cap hit, the Penguins have not done much talking with his camp regarding an extension which signals their intentions to leave him available for a trade.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Dubas’ preference for a return package for any hypothetical deal is to get back ‘young NHL players, followed by already-drafted prospects.’ If Bowman and the Oilers want to put themselves in a pole position to acquire Pettersson’s services, they will likely need to consider giving up one of their top prospects (ex: Matt Savoie, Beau Akey).
There are certainly reasons for the Edmonton faithful to be hesitant to give up a lot to acquire a rental player, especially one who is not a right-shot defenceman. But make no mistake: Pettersson would help vastly improve the Oilers defensively and has plenty more left to give considering he is currently in the prime of his career.
All of which is to say that Pettersson is a defenceman that Oilers fans should be keeping an eye on for the next little while.
