Penguins' Petry not expected to be available at deadline
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are not expected to make defenceman Jeff Petry available on the trade market ahead of the March 3 deadline, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.
LeBrun noted there had been some speculation around Petry, who is signed through the 2024-25 season at a cap hit of $6.25 million.
The 35-year-old has three goals and 19 points in 40 games this season, his first with the Penguins after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens last summer.
A veteran of 843 NHL games, Petry has 90 goals and 341 points over his career with the Edmonton Oilers, Canadiens, and Penguins.
Penguins' playoff push
Set to host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the Penguins currently sit one point back of the Florida Panthers for the final wild-card spot with four games in hand.
Penguins general manager Ron Hextall told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic this week he's looking to be a buyer at the deadline.
Hextall added, however, 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 forward group 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.