Madden Monday: Don't rule out Penguins signing Jake Guentzel, trading Marcus Pettersson

As the NHL trade deadline looms on Friday, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive has picked up a few interesting rumors about the Pittsburgh Penguins. He shared them during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast.

The first one is that, despite a wide sense of resignation that the Penguins will end up trading Jake Guentzel, Madden is hearing the Penguins might keep him.

“I’ve heard they may yet sign Guentzel,” Madden said. “I’ve heard he’s come down off his asking price a little bit. But is that the right move to make? You’re going to have to sign him for six, seven, maybe eight years, and you want the team to get younger? Is that facilitated by signing a 29-year-old to that length of deal?”

Madden emphasized that what he heard is just a rumor, but it’s one that makes some sense because captain Sidney Crosby would clearly prefer the franchise retain the guy who has been the most productive scorer he has ever had on a wing.

“I don’t totally discount it because Sid would like the Penguins to keep his preferred linemate,” Madden continued.

“I would 100% trade him. That’s assuming the return is what I would expect it should be. I’ve heard that (general manager) Kyle Dubas is now asking for two first-round picks or a second-round pick that would flip to a first in some conditional fashion — like the team that gets Guentzel achieves a certain level. But I think this team needs change. And if you go into next season with Crosby, (Evgeni) Malkin, (Kris) Letang, (Erik) Karlsson, what has changed?”

The other potential deal Madden is hearing about is a move on the blue line.

“I also know there’s a lot of interest in Marcus Pettersson,” Madden said. “Why wouldn’t there be? He is a great defensive defenseman, and that could mean a lot to a legit contender. Should the Penguins trade him? Depends on what they get. If they got a real big return, I’d say yeah. But you’ve still got to play games next year.”

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Madden said Petterson is highly important to how the other defensemen play.

“You can’t get rid of Karlsson or Letang because of their contracts,” Madden said. “They’re not going to get rid of Letang no matter what anyway because he’s part of the core three that they’re committed to keeping together. Pettersson is a good partner for either. Frankly, either has played his best this year whenever he’s been paired up with Pettersson.”

Back to Guentzel, Madden says Sunday night’s opponent, the Edmonton Oilers, should be the frontrunners to acquire him from Pittsburgh.

“I think Edmonton wants to get him,” Madden said. “But Edmonton doesn’t want to give anything up for him. I’ve heard Edmonton doesn’t want to give up their top prospect, (Philip Broberg) who’s a defenseman under any circumstances. They ought to be giving up all their prospects, all their draft picks. They’ve had ‘McJesus’ (Connor McDavid) for how long? He’s 27, and they still haven’t been to a final. They’ve got to play for now. But I’m not sure they’re gonna.”

Madden thinks an Eastern Conference rival would be the best destination for Guentzel.

“You know who would be the best fit? Florida,” Madden said. “I heard Florida wants Guentzel, and if they got him, (they) might get him to sign the day (they) traded for him. You’d have to iron out their cap, but he likes warm weather. Doesn’t everybody? And they have no state income tax.”

According to Cap Friendly, Guentzel has a 12-team no-trade list. Pettersson has an eight-team no-trade list.

Also, in the podcast, Madden discusses the sad state of the Penguins’ playoff chase, the Pirates and Omar Khan’s comments about the Steelers’ quarterback situation at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Listen: This week’s Gerger Construction “Madden Monday” podcast on the Pens’ struggles and trade options, Steelers’ QB talk and the Pirates at spring training.