Rumour: Penguins’ trade in the works despite no GM in charge

The Pittsburgh Penguins are believed to be in a rush to replace Jim Rutherford with a new general manager after the 71-year-old resigned last month. But the fact that no one has been named to officially become the Pens’ new GM isn’t stopping the team from attempting to make moves. 

According to team insider Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, the arrival of Penguins rookie defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph could turn another blue liner into a possible trade chip. 

The new general manager could deal with this as soon as he gets the job. It doesn’t sound like that is something that could be done by interim GM Patrick Allvin, unless it becomes more pressing. 

At the moment, the Penguins have the luxury to wait and see how Joseph continues his strong play over the course of this season. However, when the team gets back to a fully healthy blue line, it will have five left-shot defensemen. Kingerski feels Marcus Pettersson would be the trade chip that could net the best return: he could fetch a couple of draft picks to replace the second, fifth and sixth-round picks that the Pens lack in the 2021 draft.

Maybe that’s a situation that is getting presented to the candidates for the GM job in Pittsburgh. The one with the best trade scenario for this situation might end up getting the job.