The Pittsburgh Penguins have reportedly zeroed in on Elias Pettersson, and Ben Kindel is the name Vancouver wants coming back.
That's the report making the rounds this week, and it's a big one. Penguins analyst Tyler Kennedy was cited by Andrew Fillipponi for the story.
According to the report, Pittsburgh has shifted all of its attention toward acquiring Pettersson from the Canucks. Vancouver, in turn, wants Kindel included in the return.
Tyler Kennedy, a Pittsburgh Penguins analyst, was cited by Andrew Fillipponi for this report.
The Penguins have reportedly shifted all of their attention into acquiring Elias Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks.
Kennedy mentions Vancouver wants Ben Kindel in return.
Pettersson has posted 51 points in 74 games this season, with 15 goals and 36 assists. He's gone minus-30 on a Canucks team that's struggled all year.
The power play numbers stand out too. Pettersson has chipped in 4 power play goals and 18 power play assists, still a factor with the man advantage even during a rough stretch.
His recent form tells a different story. Over his last 10 games, Pettersson has just 6 points, and in his last 5, that number drops to 3.
Vancouver sits at 25-49-8 this season, ranked 32nd overall in the league. Manny Malhotra's club is mired in an L1 streak and has gone 4-6-0 over its last 10.
Why Kindel matters more than his numbers suggest
Kindel is only 19, and he's already logged 77 games with Pittsburgh this season, putting up 17 goals and 35 points. He added 4 game-winning goals, a real number for a teenager.
His power play production is legitimate too, with 4 goals and 6 assists on the man advantage. He also chipped in a shorthanded goal and a shorthanded assist, showing up on both special teams units.
Kindel's recent stretch has cooled off, though. He's got just 1 point over his last 10 games and was held scoreless in his last 5.
Here's the thing. Trading a 19-year-old who's already playing top-nine minutes and logging power play time for a 27-year-old center with an 11.6 million dollar cap hit and a minus-30 rating is not a layup. Pittsburgh needs to think hard about what they're giving up.
Pittsburgh sits at 41-25-16, good for 98 points and 10th overall in the league this season. Dan Muse's group has actually beaten Vancouver twice already this year, winning 5-1 in October and 3-2 in January on the road.
Kyle Dubas has never been shy about making a splash, and pairing Pettersson with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin down the middle would give Pittsburgh a scary group of centers on paper.
But paper doesn't win in April. Pettersson's underlying numbers this season raise real questions about whether he's the center Pittsburgh thinks he is, or a player who's simply wearing down in a losing environment.
Vancouver, meanwhile, gets a controllable, cost-effective piece in Kindel if this gets done. For a rebuilding club sitting last in the league, that's not a bad starting point at all.
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Nothing is finalized here, and reports like this move fast. But if Pittsburgh is really all in on Pettersson, the price tag conversation in Vancouver is only getting started.
Should the Penguins trade Ben Kindel for Elias Pettersson?
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