Countdown to TradeCentre: Penguins want to add as playoff race heats up

The NHL's March 3 Trade Deadline is approaching and teams are making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Penguins looking to add

With his team fighting for a playoff spot in the crowded wild-card race in the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall is looking to add at the trade deadline.

The Penguins dropped out of the playoff picture with Monday's 4-2 loss the New York Islanders, but have four games in hand on the Florida Panthers, who are one point ahead of them, and the Islanders, who are two points ahead.

Hextall told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic he's looking to avoid paying high prices for a pending unrestricted free agent while trying to boost their lineup.

“It depends on the fit, it depends on the price," Hextall said. "I’m not willing to give up the world for rentals. But we’re looking at everything and looking at the prices, and we’ll see what makes sense for us.

"Obviously there’s cap constraints so we’ve got to be creative, like a lot of teams.”

Hextall specifically pointed to the team's bottom-six as an area he'd like to address ahead of March 3. 

“Those pieces haven’t quite fit, so if we could adjust a little bit, we would certainly look at it.” Hextall said.

Pittsburgh, with a 4-5-1 record in their past 10 games, will face the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, followed by back-to-back games against the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and Sunday.
 

Can the Oilers land Karlsson?

With no teams emerging as a clear front-runner in the Western Conference this season, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal believes Oilers general manager Ken Holland should do whatever it takes to acquire San Jose Shark star defenceman Erik Karlsson.

Matheson believes Karlsson could immediately slide into a top-pairing role beside Darnell Nurse, allowing Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak to complete the Oilers' top four, and then suggests Holland should make another move to strengthen the third pairing with either Evan Bouchard or Philip Broberg exiting the lineup.

Despite their limited cap space, the Oilers have been linked to Karlsson for several weeks, with TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reporting earlier this month that Edmonton had re-engaged with the Sharks on trade talks. Johnston added it was at least the second time the two sides had talked about a potential deal.

Karlsson continues to put up numbers at a torrid pace during a resurgent season in San Jose, with 18 goals and 76 points in 58 games this season. 

The 32-year-old has already surpassed his best scoring totals since joining the Sharks in 2018 and is on pace to blow past his previous career-best points total of 82 with the Ottawa Senators in 2016.

Listed at No. 6 TSN Trade Bait board, Karlsson's contract could be the biggest hurdle in trade talks. He signed for four more seasons after his one at a cap hit of $11.5 million.
 

Matching the Leafs?

The Toronto Maple Leafs made the first big move in the Atlantic Division ahead of the trade deadline, adding Ryan O'Reilly as well as Noel Acciari in a deal with the St. Louis Blues on Friday.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan joined SC with Jay Onrait to discuss what the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are fighting with the Maple Leafs for second in the division, and the league-best Boston Bruins might do try to match the Leafs' move.