The Penguins made a bit of an odd announcement this morning, when they published a trade between themselves and the St. Louis Blues.
In this deal, the Penguins acquired a 2026 second round pick and a 2025 third round pick, in exchange for a 2025 second round pick and a 2026 fifth round pick.
If you saw this post without any context, I’m sure only one word was running through your mind: why?
So let’s break it down.
The Penguins had originally acquired St. Louis’ 2025 second rounder in a trade earlier this summer. That deal sent Kevin Hayes and his contract to the Penguins, with Pens general manager Kyle Dubas being paid that second rounder to take on the contract
Kevin Hayes has continued to cause poor asset management by the Blues; to first trade for him, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong sent a sixth round pick to Philadelphia, but after one uninspiring year, Armstrong was forced to pay a much higher pick to get out from under his deal.
Now, Hayes has put even more stress on the Blues’ draft pick pool.
But why now would the Penguins swap picks with the Blues and move that second rounder back a year? Because St. Louis needed that specific second rounder.
Also in the news today were two offer sheets made by the Blues to restricted free agents Phillip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, both of the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers, who according to PuckPedia are currently $7.2 million over the salary cap, are now are up against the clock. New Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has seven days to clear out the cap space to sign one or both of those players, or lose them to the Blues.
It’s an incredibly bold move by Armstrong, who is taking serious advantage of an Oilers team that is living in cap hell.
To sign a restricted free agent that is not your own, you have to tender offer sheets to them. It’s a move that can be seen as a slight or as disrespectful only because of the lack of times we see it happen in the NHL. DailyFaceoff did a good job recounting instances in the past, an article you can check out here.
If the team that currently owns that player’s rights matches the offer, then the discussion is over. However, if that team does not match, either because they do not wish to or can’t due to the salary cap, then after seven days that player can officially sign with the new team.
Depending on the salary given, the offer sheet team will have to give up draft compensation to the original team. In the case of Broberg, who was tendered at $4.58 million (for two years), he will cost a second rounder. For Holloway, who was tendered at $2.29 million (also for two years), he will cost a third rounder.
But here’s where the Hayes trade and the Penguins come back into play. To go through with that process, the signing team must give the original team their own picks in compensation. St. Louis didn’t have their own second rounder, due to the Hayes trade.
So Armstrong had to pick up the phone and see what could be done to re-acquire that pick, and it involved giving up a little more capital as a result. The Penguins agreed to move back a year, getting St. Louis’ second round selection in 2026. For their services, they also pick up a third round pick in 2025.
St. Louis gets their 2025 second rounder back, and they drop down to a 2026 fifth round pick.
Personally, I’m not quite sure why Dubas gave up a fifth rounder in this deal. The Penguins were literally the only team that could have made this deal happen, so it sort of looks like a missed opportunity to really play hardball. But, there’s also always the risk of overplaying your hand.
In any event, the Penguins to improve on draft capital, and we will have to see if the Blues are successful in poaching Broberg and/or Holloway.
(Featured photo by Jeff Le/AP)
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