Penguins trade Lars Eller to Capitals for pair of draft picks

Mired in a 6-9-2 start to the season and fresh off a humiliating 7-1 loss home to the Dallas Stars on Monday evening, it was reasonable to expect roster changes to be forthcoming for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The first move came Tuesday when the Penguins sent reliable veteran center Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for two draft picks, a third-round choice in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2025.

Eller, 35, has been largely effective for the Penguins this season.

He has four goals and three assists with a minus-3 rating in 17 games, averaging 16 minutes, 25 seconds of nightly ice time.

Eller played parts of seven seasons with the Capitals, winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Late in the 2022-23 season, he was traded by Washington to the Colorado Avalanche, with whom he completed the year.

The Rodovre, Denmark, native was a unique voice in the Penguins locker room.

Unafraid to give honest assessments about himself, teammates and the overall state of the Penguins, Eller was blunt last spring during the team’s season-ending media availability.

In particular, Eller didn’t hold back when asked about the Penguins’ struggles in the lead-up to and aftermath of the Jake Guentzel trade March 7.

“There was some games there where I didn’t recognize our team,” Eller said at the time. “I was surprised at how far from our best we were from some of those games.”

Eller also assumed a leadership role in Pittsburgh, helping along young wingers he skated with, such as Drew O’Connor and Valtteri Puustinen.

“Lars is a good pro,” coach Mike Sullivan said of Eller during the preseason. “He’s very well respected in our room and for good reason. He’s had a terrific career to this point. He was a good player for us last year. He was everything that we hoped that we were going to get.”

Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas brought Eller aboard ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, inking him to a two-year deal worth $2.45 million annually.

Eller, part of Dubas’ first haul of offseason free agents upon being hired to lead the Penguins’ front office, performed capably in Year 1 with Pittsburgh, playing in all 82 games while contributing 15 goals with 16 assists.

Last year, Eller was largely deployed as the club’s third-line center, averaging 15:58 on ice per game.

So far this season, as a result of expirimentation due to the Penguins’ slow start, Eller had seen action centering the second line.

Known for playing a responsible defensive game while adding scoring touch, Eller was also used on both the penalty kill and power play during his year-plus with the Penguins.

Eller’s departure continues a stockpiling of draft capital by Dubas.

In 2025 and 2027, the Penguins are set to have 10 selections, while in 2026, they currently have nine.

Following Tuesday’s trade, the Penguins now have $1,782,625 of salary cap space according to Puckpedia. That figure also accounts for forward Matt Nieto ($900,000) who is currently on long-term injured reserve, a designation that allows the Penguins temporary relief from most of his salary cap hit.

Eller, originally chosen 13th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2007 NHL Draft, has played 1,053 career games, scoring 182 goals and 227 goals, primarily with the Montreal Canadiens (2010-16) and Capitals (2016-23).