In the wee hours of Friday night, president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas traded away two pending free agents in a move that was in line with his vision for the Penguins moving forward.
The Penguins dealt both defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor to the Vancouver Canucks for the New York Rangers’ 2025 first-rounder (a conditional pick), forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais and 2024 third-round draft pick and forward Melvin Fernstrom.
“Moving two long-time Penguins is never an easy decision,” Dubas said in a statement. “Marcus and Drew have competed day-in and day-out for the organization since the day they arrived. Both players are high-quality people, highly competitive players and zero maintenance for their fellow teammates and the staff of the Penguins.”
Pettersson, whom the Penguins acquired from Anaheim during the 2018-19 campaign, had blossomed into one of the club’s most steady defensemen in recent seasons. But he had long been rumored as a likely trade candidate this season for a multitude of reasons and, as part of a package, helped the Penguins fetch a first-rounder.
O’Connor, meanwhile, is in the midst of a down season after a breakout campaign in 2023-24. The 26-year-old forward has just six goals and 10 assists in 53 games and is well behind his career highs set last year.
As part of the trade, the Penguins will receive whichever of the New York Rangers’ 2025 or 2026 first-round draft picks that Vancouver receives as part of their trade with the Rangers earlier Friday that included Pittsburgh native J.T. Miller.
The Penguins also receive a familiar face in Heinen, who is signed through the 2025-26 campaign with a contract that carries an average annual value of $2.25 million. The 29-year-old forward spent the 2021-23 seasons with the Penguins but played in Boston and Vancouver for the last two years and experienced varying levels of success. He has six goals and 11 assists this season.
Desharnais, meanwhile, is in his third NHL season after being a seventh-round pick by Edmonton back in 2016. The right-shot defenseman adds to the Penguins’ depth on that side and on paper would be a logical candidate to operate on the third pair in the immediate future. Desharnais has three assists in 34 games this season.
Femstrom, meanwhile, was the No. 93 overall pick and is just 18 years old. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound forward hails from Sweden and is currently playing in the country’s top professional league for Orebro HK.
The addition of Femstrom bolsters the Penguins’ pool of forward prospects, which also features the likes of Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev and Cruz Lucius — all of whom were acquired in last March’s Jake Guentzel trade. While this move diminishes the Penguins’ active roster in the interim, it does add to a franchise that evidently did not have either Pettersson or O’Connor in its plans moving forward.
“Tonight’s trade continues to move us in the direction set one year ago which is to continue to add young prospects, young players, and draft capital to the Penguins as we chart our course to return the club back into contention as urgently as possible,” Dubas said. “We are pleased to add Danton Heinen back to the Penguins and Vincent Desharnais to the club and look forward to seeing both in uniform in the coming days.
“The addition of Melvin Fernstrom also gives us a prospect that was highly regarded at the 2024 NHL draft, and the Rangers’ first-round draft pick provides us with another strong asset that we can use to acquire an elite young player in the draft or via trade.”
First Published: February 1, 2025, 5:20 a.m.
Updated: February 1, 2025, 2:44 p.m.
