This is one of the craziest pre-draft weeks in the history of the NHL.

In the last few days alone, we’ve seen Brady Tkachuk, Simon Nemec, Jordan Kyrou, Bowen Byram, William Eklund, and Alex Tuch, all moved. With two days left until the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday, who knows what other kind of deals could sprout up?

The Pittsburgh Penguins, meanwhile, have been rather silent. General manager Kyle Dubas has watched from the sidelines, observing teams far and wide wheeling and dealing. With the prices some of these players are going for, it’s hard to blame Dubas for not selling large parts of the farm and moving off the longer-term vision the Penguins have.

But, if they do want to get involved in this market, there’s a new player available north of the border who feels like a much better fit, both in price and archetype.

Per Darren Dreger of TSN, the Calgary Flames are reportedly looking to trade forward Connor Zary. And Zary is a prime example of a Dubas-type acquisition.

Calgary took Zary in the first round back in the 2020 Draft, 24th overall out of Kamloops and the Western Hockey League. He spent a little more time in juniors before making the switch to pro hockey, playing two years in the American Hockey League.

His last season in the AHL, 2022-23, saw him score 21 goals and added 37 assists for 58 points in 72 games, impressive totals for a 21-year-old in the AHL. That success helped propel him to a 63-game season in the NHL the following year.

In his rookie season, Zary scored 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points, finishing eighth in the Calder Trophy race. To date, those are all still career-highs, but he was on pace to best those in his sophomore campaign. In only 54 games, he scored 13 goals and 14 assists (27 points), still good for a point every two games.

Last summer, the Flames signed Zary to a three-year contract extension, worth $3.75 against the salary cap, starting in 2025. It’s this last season that has cast some doubt over Zary. Now as a 24-year-old, he scored 12 goals and 13 assists, but did that in a career-high 75 games.

Now, the Flames, who already sent two late first-rounders out the door for the defenseman Nemec out of New Jersey, are reportedly interested in bringing a pick back in for Zary. That’s something the Penguins should be all over.

For starters, Dubas has more than enough draft capital to make a deal like that work. If Dreger’s report is correct and the ask from Calgary is a second-rounder, Dubas could do that deal nine times over.

The Penguins have nine second-round picks in the next four drafts, including this year. Dubas owns two in 2026, two in 2027, three in 2028, and two in 2029. You can play the odds game that Zary, who already has 191 games to his name, is better than whoever you would take in the second round. But when you have an aresenal like the Penguins do, it’s almost a no-brainer.

On the ice, however, Zary still has plenty of upside. This year’s numbers weren’t great, but it’s important to keep in mind that no one in Calgary was. Matthew Coronato was the team’s leading scorer at just 45 points. The Flames were dead-last in goals for last season.

Zary’s decline in production was real, but no one in Calgary could score last year. It’s reasonable to believe that Zary, whose expected goals sat at 15.1 last season, could perform better on a more offensively-inclined club.

Put him in a better forward unit, under a head coach in Dan Muse who helps develop young talent, and you might have something there.

Even if 0.33 points-per-game as a third liner is all the Penguins get with Zary, that’s still decent value. With the salary cap skyrocketing, those types of players are going to earn more and more; in a year, less than $4 million for that won’t look bad at all.

Zary was almost created in a lab to be acquired by Dubas. A forward in his mid-20s, once highly thought of but perhaps slightly soured on, and available for trade. We’ve seen this movie before.

Back in December, Dubas swung that trade for Egor Chinakhov out of Columbus. Chinakhov, like Zary, was a forward in his mid 20s, a former first-round selection, already on his second contract, and had fallen out of favor with his draft club.

Even the scouting reports are similar. Chinakhov has one of the most lethal shots in the NHL; when Zary was drafted, scouts raved about his shooting ability.

“It’s Zary’s shot that leads the way,” the EliteProspects draft guide for 2020 wrote. “He’s a deceptive triggerman, one with excellent shot placement, a deceptive release, and the ability to fire two-touch missiles on a moment’s notice.”

The comparisons between Zary’s situation and Chinakhov’s are seemingly endless, and Dubas might be able to bring Zary in at a cheaper price. Dubas did it then, he can do it now. Zary still has upside and is easily worth the risk for a team with picks to burn.