The NHL trade deadline is eight weeks away, and longtime Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson knows it is only getting closer with each game that passes.
Pettersson, 28, has learned to not allow himself to get swept away in swirling trade speculation. After all, it seems as if he pops up in a trade rumor or two every year. But a decision has to be made here with his contract set to expire after this season.
Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas continues to reiterate publicly that he is not looking for a quick fix with his NHL roster and instead aspires to build Pittsburgh back up to being perennial contenders. He remains on the prowl for young NHLers, prospects and picks, and Pettersson may be the best piece Dubas can offer deadline buyers.
With no substantial contract talks taking place between the team and Pettersson’s agent, Pettersson has a choice. He can let the uncertainty unravel him. Or he can play his game, help the Penguins stay in the playoff race through the March 7 trade deadline and hopefully convince Dubas to hang onto him at least a little bit longer.
Pettersson acknowledges it is easier said than done, but he prefers option No. 2.
“Yeah, that’s what you can control. So just one game at a time,” Pettersson said after Friday’s practice. “If you play well and put your team in position to win games, then good things will happen. That’s really how I try to look at it as much as possible. But it’s human nature to [want to] know what’s going on with the bigger picture.”
Setting aside the bigger picture that is the longer-term plan under Dubas, the Penguins do value Pettersson as a player and are high on the human, too. He was a skinny kid from Sweden when he arrived in 2018 and slowly developed into their top shutdown-style defender. He’s as respected as they come in the dressing room.
Last season was his best in the NHL. He had a plus-28 rating on a team that missed the playoffs and he set career highs with 30 points and an average ice time of 22:40.
Pettersson was a little more up and down at the start of this season. Then he missed six games due to a lower-body injury. He got back in the lineup on New Year’s Eve.
It took him a week to find his footing. But over the last two games, Pettersson has a plus-4 rating. He had a pair of assists in Thursday’s win over the Edmonton Oilers.
“I feel good. I have no limitations whatsoever,” Pettersson said. “I think it’s more about getting my timing back. It’s a very fast game out there. But yeah, I feel good.”
That sure appeared to be the case Thursday, as the Penguins had to weather one last storm against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and a high-powered Oilers offense.
Mike Sullivan relied on Pettersson when the Penguins, up 5-3, had to kill a dubious penalty on Michael Bunting. Pettersson was on the ice for 70 of those 120 seconds.
And when the Oilers pulled their goalie in the late stages and left their big guns out onto the ice, Pettersson played the final 3:45 of action to help lock down a huge W.
Given his role on the team, Pettersson said those are the opportunities he relishes.
“You get up for that type of moment. And one thing I’ve learned throughout my career is that you need to see a challenge like that as an opportunity and not kind of sit back and be afraid of that challenge as it comes at you. It’s an opportunity to do something good,” he said. “I’m glad we could get it done. It was a great game.”
Coincidentally, the losing squad at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday could be in the market for a steady defender who will not melt in those moments when the playoffs arrive. The Oilers are a team to watch if the Penguins make Pettersson available.
They will not be the only one. As national outlets such as TSN begin to put out their “trade bait” pieces ahead of the NHL trade deadline, Pettersson is high on those lists.
That said, Pettersson made it clear that his preference is to stay here in Pittsburgh.
He is trying to tune out all the trade chatter and pick up his play in the second half.
“It is what it is. It’s the business that every player in the league is in. There comes a time for every player to go through those moments,” he said. “Everybody says, ‘You know what you’ve signed up for.’ And you’ve got to kind of look at it that way. I just have to take one game at a time, and whatever happens, it was just meant to be.”
First Published: January 10, 2025, 7:55 p.m.
Updated: January 10, 2025, 8:38 p.m.
