Though we are still a month and a half away from the actual, official, March 8th trade deadline, it’s never too early to start looking at who the Penguins should be interested in.

While we don’t fully know if the Penguins will be buyers, sellers, or attempt to stand pat once trade season really heats up, it is probably a safe bet that if the team is even within shouting distance of a playoff spot, they will try and bolster their roster to make a push.

If that is the case, a prime target that the Penguins should be looking at is Anthony Duclair.

All the way out west in San Jose, Anthony Duclair would be a good fit for this Penguins team. He’s a versatile forward that can fit in almost anywhere in the lineup, but would work best in the middle six forward group.

On a Sharks team that is near the bottom of the standings in the NHL, Duclair has managed 8 goals and as many assists in 40 games in San Jose.

An unconventional type of journeyman over his career, Duclair really came into the mainstream during his time with the Florida Panthers. Coming off a 40 point season in Ottawa, Duclair registered 32 points in 43 games during the Covid season in 2020-21.

The following year, he racked up a career high 58 points in 74 games, and scored 30+ goals for the first time in his NHL career.

Last season in Florida, injuries severely limited his season; Duclair appeared in only 20 games, with 9 points. He made up for it in the playoffs though, tallying 11 points in 20 playoff games during Florida’s shocker run to the Stanley Cup Final.

In the offseason, he was traded to San Jose in a bit of a cap space move, fetching forward Steven Lorentz (who has played 26 games as a Panther this year) and a fifth round pick.

San Jose is Duclair’s seventh NHL team, which is hard to believe considering the Quebec native is only 28 years old. His three year run in Florida was the longest time he played with one team.

He’s also no stranger to trade deadline deals. At 19, he was traded from his draft team, the New York Rangers to the Arizona Coyotes as part of a deal that Keith Yandle to New York.

Four years later, he was flipped from Columbus to Ottawa as the Blue Jackets tried to gear up as much as possible for a playoff run before losing Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency. Duclair was part of a deal in that year that sent Ryan Dzingel to the Blue Jackets.

His constant change of scenery is not indicative of poor play, however. He’s incredibly skilled as a puck-handler, and can thrive in the right environment, as we saw in Florida.

He’s currently projected for 30 points on the year, a little low for his standards. That could actually help the Penguins in an acquisition, with his value being a little lower given the down year. The Sharks are devoid of much offense, so I would expect Duclair to rise back up to the mean after the deal.

Assuming the Pens could get San Jose to retain half of Duclair’s deal (which they would likely have to to get any deal done), his reduced $1.5 million dollar cap hit should be reasonable for the Penguins to slot in. His contract is up at the end of the year as well, making San Jose much more likely to want to move him for assets.

I’ve always been a personal fan of Duclair; I like his game, I love his skills, and I think he has been underrated for vast portions of his career. I’d love to see him in Pittsburgh.

(Featured photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)