Madden Monday: Why Ron Hextall 'shouldn't trade a 1st-round draft pick under any circumstances'

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall met with the media Sunday, and he was asked about a wide range of topics.

He didn’t necessarily answer all of the questions that were asked. At least not directly.

But when it came to the idea of trading a first-round pick as a way to clear salary-cap space, Hextall was pretty clear in saying that was something he didn’t want to do.

In other words, would Hextall be interested in trading a first-round pick to another team along with an expensive contract or two, just to clear that cap room and get very little in return?

“In terms of first-round picks for getting salary out, I don’t see that as being an option for us,” Hextall said.

Speaking with me during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE said that he’s hoping Hextall takes that philosophy one step farther.

“He shouldn’t trade a first-round draft pick under any circumstances because whatever return he got wouldn’t be good enough,” Madden said. “It just wouldn’t be. I mean, they are not going to win a playoff series, let alone four. They might not even make the playoffs.”

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Madden said that Hextall better prepare himself for another difficult potential situation: the notion of being a seller before the March 3 trade deadline.

“What if they are six to eight points out a week before the deadline? Then, to me, you become sellers. You trade (Jason) Zucker. You trade (Brian) Dumoulin. Maybe you even trade (Tristan) Jarry,” Madden said.

Hextall doesn’t seem willing to entertain that scenario.

“If we play the way we’re capable of playing, I see us certainly making the playoffs,” Hextall said. “With injuries and with our inconsistencies this year, I guess it’s a fair question. But as I said, I think when you look at our top players, for the most part, they’ve performed well. I think some of our role players need to be better at times, and we certainly expect that.”

For a team that hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2006, that strategy wouldn’t go over well with veterans on the roster. But Madden said if the players can’t play their way into a better situation, their opinion shouldn’t be one that is weighed very heavily.

“I know that wouldn’t be popular in the dressing room. But we are long since past the point where what the dressing room thinks should matter that much,” Madden said.

Also in this week’s podcast, Madden and I look at all the gimmicky festivities the NHL and NFL staged around their All-Star weekends. We talk more about the Penguins and the state of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Madden and I have Super Bowl picks, and we get into some off-season Steelers conversation about Kenny Pickett too.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk Penguins, Steelers and more