The biggest storyline from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization over the last couple of weeks has been the ongoing extension negotiations with captain Sidney Crosby. However, the Penguins have another extension candidate in defenseman Marcus Pettersson who has been a consistently steady defenseman since they acquired him in 2018.
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In an article from Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, he reports that the organization has delayed extension negotiations with Pettersson until Crosby has signed his new contract. There has been no indication that Pittsburgh is uninterested in extending Pettersson, but the delayed negotiations could cause some unfortunate consequences for the team moving forward.
Pettersson is far and away the best left-shot defenseman on the Penguins’ roster entering the 2024-25 NHL season as Ryan Graves and newcomer Matt Grzelcyk will handle the other left-side positions in the defensive core. If Pittsburgh is out of playoff contention by next year’s deadline, they could look to move Pettersson for a quality haul, but it would create a massive vacancy in their lineup.
The Penguins’ current roster construction does not allow wiggle room on the left side of the defense. The team could move Erik Karlsson or Kris Letang to the left side on the top pairing, but that would significantly weaken the other two defensive lines. Pettersson has never been a top point producer from the blue line, but his possession and defensive metrics show him to be a valuable presence in their lineup.
Pittsburgh did not significantly improve this offseason to the point of being considered a surefire playoff contender. Although the team would like to have Pettersson around for the long haul; the situation could become complicated if a defensive-needy team is looking to pay a big price at next year’s deadline. Much like the Jake Guentzel situation from last year, the Penguins may be better served by letting Pettersson’s extension candidacy play out and ascertaining his trade market next spring.
