The eyes of Pittsburgh are on the Steelers today as Saturday kicks off a weekend that will decide their playoff fate, but the Penguins are busy as well, making a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Penguins traded forward Rem Pitlick, who has spent the year so far in the AHL, to the Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional seventh round pick all the way out in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Pitlick was originally acquired from Montreal in the three-team Erik Karlsson trade. The forward was coming off a season split between the NHL and AHL. At the NHL level, he had 15 points in 46 games for the Canadiens.

At the time of his arrival, I wrote that he had a real chance to make the NHL roster for Pittsburgh and make an impact. I thought he could have some middle six potential for the team.

However, after a less than stellar preseason, the Penguins opted to start him in the AHL. The Penguins waived him on the first possible day back in late September.

He had tons of playing time in the AHL, leading the team in games played at the time of his departure. He also led the WBS Pens in points, with 24 in those 32 games. As the season went on, however, it seemed that Pittsburgh had no real interest in seeing him play at the NHL level for them.

Numerous forwards have been called up this season from the AHL, but Pitlick remained in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as teammates all around him got looks at the NHL level, including Vinnie Hinostroza, Alex Nylander, Marc Johnstone, Joona Koppanen, and Jonathan Gruden.

The biggest benefit in the trade is cap space for Pittsburgh. Pitlick’s contract was one way, meaning his $1.1 million salary counted against the salary cap even though he was playing in the minor leagues.

With that money gone, perhaps that opens the door for Jesse Puljujärvi to soon sign an official contract with the Penguins. Puljujärvi has been with the team on a professional try outside since December 10th, and just recently signed an AHL PTO, which allows him to play games for the WBS Pens while not officially under contract.

The Penguins seem keen on getting Puljujärvi into the fold for the team, evident by their signing of him mid-season and using their farm team to get him up to playing speed; Puljujärvi has ben recovering from offseason double hip surgery.

For Chicago, still in the thick of their rebuild, they get an NHL-capable forward who can play minutes for them. With how many players the Blackhawks currently have on Injured Reserve, Pitlick would be primed for a great chance in Chicago.

The Blackhawks currently have eight forwards on Injured Reserve, and two more on Season Opening Injured Reserve. That list just recently had rookie phenom Connor Bedard added to it, after the 18 year old suffered a fractured jaw as a result of a hit sustained last night.

Pitlick, 26, will be wearing a fourth different NHL uniform when he suits up for the Blackhawks.