Pettersson and DOC to Canucks

[Antonio]

Feels like a better return than what we got for Jake which should have been better in my opinion (that will vary depending of course on how the prospects turn out). Overall, I cannot say I am displeased other than the endless and inexplicable need to keep bringing back useless garbage Sully retreads for no reason. Not an insane haul but solid enough return in my opinion.

[DeHaven162]

I dont like the trade, but at the same time we traded away two upcoming UFAs,so Canucks take a risk for just rentals.

Heinen I actually liked years ago, but at this stage of our team, 29yrs old, 2.25M per, I dont know, not that good,signed thru next season.. next season should be all about giving as much spots to younger guys as possible. Heinen could be traded in offseason I guess for late pick..

Same for big guy Desharnais, signed thru next season at 2M per, guy who really is barely 3rd pair D, but he can PK, soo thats golden for Sully lol..

Young prospect Fernstrom is a big winger, already almost ready NHL body and still some time to develop..

Best thing is 1st rounder - are we sure its unprotected in 2026??
I just read that its protected top 13 in 2025..

I guess Vancouver needed to send these guys to make room for their new acquisitions. For them, DOC is an upgrade over Heinen, who had a good start this season then faded in a very similar way to his years in Pittsburgh.

They also had no room for Desharnais even as #7-8D after acquiring Mancini and are happy to get rid of his cap hit. They now have Hornek, Myers, Mancini and Juulsen as RD options.

Is DOC really an upgrade over Heinen for Vancouver? Heinen has 76 points in his last three season, and that doesn't include his first year in Pittsburgh when he had 18 goals. DOC has 60 points in the last three season. DOC has been wildly overhyped and a massive letdown. There's a reason he went undrafted. He has a big body that either refuses to use it, or doesn't know how. Vancouver has weakened their team over the last 24 hours.

[FLPensFan]

I dont like the trade, but at the same time we traded away two upcoming UFAs,so Canucks take a risk for just rentals.

Heinen I actually liked years ago, but at this stage of our team, 29yrs old, 2.25M per, I dont know, not that good,signed thru next season.. next season should be all about giving as much spots to younger guys as possible. Heinen could be traded in offseason I guess for late pick..

Same for big guy Desharnais, signed thru next season at 2M per, guy who really is barely 3rd pair D, but he can PK, soo thats golden for Sully lol..

Young prospect Fernstrom is a big winger, already almost ready NHL body and still some time to develop..

Best thing is 1st rounder - are we sure its unprotected in 2026??
I just read that its protected top 13 in 2025..

I guess Vancouver needed to send these guys to make room for their new acquisitions. For them, DOC is an upgrade over Heinen, who had a good start this season then faded in a very similar way to his years in Pittsburgh.

They also had no room for Desharnais even as #7-8D after acquiring Mancini and are happy to get rid of his cap hit. They now have Hornek, Myers, Mancini and Juulsen as RD options.

Is DOC really an upgrade over Heinen for Vancouver? Heinen has 76 points in his last three season, and that doesn't include his first year in Pittsburgh when he had 18 goals. DOC has 60 points in the last three season. DOC has been wildly overhyped and a massive letdown. There's a reason he went undrafted. He has a big body that either refuses to use it, or doesn't know how. Vancouver has weakened their team over the last 24 hours.

I don't think DOC for Heinen was what they were focused on. They needed help on left defense. They've been rumored to be targeting Pettersson all season. I don't think it is coincidence either that Rutherford is the GM who made the Sprong for Pettersson trade.

If Pettersson can return to prior year's form by getting away from our horrible defense, it helps Vancouver quite a bit. But, Vancouver certainly gave up a lot for 2 UFAs who are clearly having down seasons.

[EndO FanEra]

So, 2 cap dumps, a nothing prospect, and a conditional 1st. Thank goodness for the 1st.

Acciari>>Heinen>>Nieto. Don't mind him as a serviceable bottom 6 vet, but we already have a few we need to clear out. Hopefully we can find a taker for a late or conditional pick at the deadline or offseason.
Desharnais. Big physical dman sounds good, but it sounds like he's a 3rd pairing guy at best. He also sounds like a player Sully will have no use for. I wonder if we'll try to flip him, or keep him as bottom pairing fodder.
Fernstrom. It sounds like, if everything goes right, he might be a serviceable middle 6 forward. To me, that sounds like he'll be lucky if he even sniffs the NHL.
Ranger's 1st. At first, I was bummed it was the Ranger's first and not Vancouver's. Once I looked at the standings though, I think I might prefer the Ranger's pick, even with the condition.

They're currently sitting in 12th. Ideally, they'd finish somewhere between 14 & 20. That hopefully gives us our top 10 pick and another one in the top 20. If the Rangers happen to drop below 14th, the pick becomes unprotected in 2026. If they're in the bottom half of the league in 2025, there's a chance they could be even worse in 2026. If they manage to drop into a lottery pick in 2026, I hope they use the same lottery balls they used in the 2020 Lafreniere draft and just put a Pens sticker over the Ranger's logo. There was something special about that ball.

The cap dumps aren't anything crazy that we can't deal with or get out of without too much pain. Don't care about the prospect. Stoked about the 1st. Would have maybe liked a little more (maybe a better prospect) since O'Conner was involved, but we got what is most likely a mid-first for two rentals. I'm not going to complain.

Now, go get one more 1st for Rakell or Karlsson, and try to collect some usable assets for some of our expendable assets.

[y2jimmie7420]

Two things. If the rangers pick falls in the top 13 I know we don’t get it this year. Do we get the rangers unconditional 2026 pick or Vancouvers 26 1st?
Also I love DOC but he didn’t do too much this year to increase his trade value. I believe there was a 30+ game goalless streak in there also. Plus being a ufa doesn’t help. I’m sure with another coach and opportunity he will be another Evan Rodriguez in the playoffs for another team.

[Victor]

I dont like the trade, but at the same time we traded away two upcoming UFAs,so Canucks take a risk for just rentals.

Heinen I actually liked years ago, but at this stage of our team, 29yrs old, 2.25M per, I dont know, not that good,signed thru next season.. next season should be all about giving as much spots to younger guys as possible. Heinen could be traded in offseason I guess for late pick..

Same for big guy Desharnais, signed thru next season at 2M per, guy who really is barely 3rd pair D, but he can PK, soo thats golden for Sully lol..

Young prospect Fernstrom is a big winger, already almost ready NHL body and still some time to develop..

Best thing is 1st rounder - are we sure its unprotected in 2026??
I just read that its protected top 13 in 2025..

I guess Vancouver needed to send these guys to make room for their new acquisitions. For them, DOC is an upgrade over Heinen, who had a good start this season then faded in a very similar way to his years in Pittsburgh.

They also had no room for Desharnais even as #7-8D after acquiring Mancini and are happy to get rid of his cap hit. They now have Hornek, Myers, Mancini and Juulsen as RD options.

Is DOC really an upgrade over Heinen for Vancouver? Heinen has 76 points in his last three season, and that doesn't include his first year in Pittsburgh when he had 18 goals. DOC has 60 points in the last three season. DOC has been wildly overhyped and a massive letdown. There's a reason he went undrafted. He has a big body that either refuses to use it, or doesn't know how. Vancouver has weakened their team over the last 24 hours.

I meant an upgrade in roster composition, not production. As you pointed out, neither production is impressive for 3rd line wingers, but DOC is younger, cheaper and UFA this summer. They can just walk away from him if they want to. Adding cap space and flexibility over the summer is a win for them, even, as FLPensFan said, they weren't the main pieces of this trade.

I'd agree that Vancouver's forward group is weaker by swapping Miller with Chytil, but their main target here is to solve their dressing room shenanigans. One could argue however that their D is stronger now. They subtracted Brannstrom and Desharnais and added their third Pettersson and Mancini. Pettersson can slot in their 2nd or 3rd line behind Hughes - I can see Tocchett trying him with Hronek as their 2nd pair, and Mancini will probably play 3rd line RD behing Myers and Hronek. If they solve their locker room issues and fix their defense, those trades are wins for them.

[Victor]

Two things. If the rangers pick falls in the top 13 I know we don’t get it this year. Do we get the rangers unconditional 2026 pick or Vancouvers 26 1st?
Also I love DOC but he didn’t do too much this year to increase his trade value. I believe there was a 30+ game goalless streak in there also. Plus being a ufa doesn’t help. I’m sure with another coach and opportunity he will be another Evan Rodriguez in the playoffs for another team.

In this case, Pens would get Rangers' 1st in 2026 and it would indeed be unprotected. All the hopes they would implode and Zibanejad is Miller's new Pettersson

[FLPensFan]

Two things. If the rangers pick falls in the top 13 I know we don’t get it this year. Do we get the rangers unconditional 2026 pick or Vancouvers 26 1st?
Also I love DOC but he didn’t do too much this year to increase his trade value. I believe there was a 30+ game goalless streak in there also. Plus being a ufa doesn’t help. I’m sure with another coach and opportunity he will be another Evan Rodriguez in the playoffs for another team.

The first round pick we receive is coming from the Rangers no matter what. If there Rangers finish in position to pick 13th overall or better in 2025, then we get the Rangers 1st round pick in 2026 no matter what.

[dark_forces]

Two things. If the rangers pick falls in the top 13 I know we don’t get it this year. Do we get the rangers unconditional 2026 pick or Vancouvers 26 1st?
Also I love DOC but he didn’t do too much this year to increase his trade value. I believe there was a 30+ game goalless streak in there also. Plus being a ufa doesn’t help. I’m sure with another coach and opportunity he will be another Evan Rodriguez in the playoffs for another team.

The first round pick we receive is coming from the Rangers no matter what. If there Rangers finish in position to pick 13th overall or better in 2025, then we get the Rangers 1st round pick in 2026 no matter what.

For me, the trade comes down to Pettersson and DOC for the 1st round pick and Fernstrom. The two now former Vancouver players are just to balance the contracts and clearly they weren't in Vancouver's plans anyway. I don't mind getting Heinen back—he'll like put up more points than DOC would have. Desharnais gives us a much needed R stick on the bottom pair and hopefully adds a little nastiness back there. All and all, a pretty decent return for two players that probably weren't going to be resigned.

[Tico Rick]

Desharnais is big, slow, and kind of stupid. Not saying that to be mean, but, he was scratched a few times in the playoffs for Edmonton last season, and when he did play in the finals (1 game) he tried to take a cheap shot EVERY time after the whistle. Refs finally had enough and gave him a 10 minute misconduct.

Bringing up Imama, and now trading for Desharnais, tells me that Dubas sees the team as soff and is attempting to remedy the situation. Desharnais may jut be a big lug, but he'll only be getting third pairing minutes. Kudos to Dubas for at least trying to address the lack of truculance on this team.

[Pens4Life]

Overall, yeah, because 2026 1st rounder is unprotected it feels better about trade. Too bad just that Heinen and Descharnais arent UFAs as well.. I hope they are gone sooner than later, in off season or next season, to not take away spots from younger guys. But it all lives and dies with moron Sully on bench and we know he loves his vets over young guns.

[Gunnerfan]

I love the people who dislike the trade or say say things like “a nothing prospect” like they know something. We didn’t trade Gretzky here. We traded expiring contracts of declining players for a 1st rounder and skilled 3rd draft chose who is 18 playing at the highest level in Sweden which is an accomplishment. Relax man

[FLPensFan]

I also wouldn't put money on us keeping the 1st or Fernstrom. It's very possible that both of those assets are used to acquire a young NHL player. Seeing that Fernstrom is only 18, my gut says he's just another asset Dubas acquired to obtain a different asset at a later date.

Dubas's focus is on the future and now, with the now being young assets that can help in the next year or two....just like he did in the Yager for McGroarty trade.

[Antonio]

Honestly, kind of as is already been said, I basically see this as mp for a mid-round first. None of the rest of it makes any difference or matters. I'm happy with it.

[Toke]

I like the trade. As many have pointed out, DOC & Petey were UFAs that most likely weren’t coming back. Every GM knew that as well. We got a 1st and a prospect with upside. For the short term Heinen is > than DOC and we got a D that can add some jam to arguably the softest D core in the league. With the draft in mind I can now look forward to tuning in to witness my team’s selections….because they will finally have some!

[KG]

Dubas said they considered taking Fernstrom with one of their 2 second round picks last draft.

At least they seem to know and like the player. Maybe he will hit.

[Puck-Lurker]

It's a hockey trade. I think we won out, with what was on offer.

DOC and Heinen is kind of a wash for me. More salary and another year coming in (Heinen) but also a very slight upgrade in player. Bottom six fodder, which DOC has been for a while now too. Bit annoying that we added another 'Sullivan guy' type player. We need to ditch more of those not add. I suppose the contract is not utterly immovable. On a whole DOC is bit of a worse player.

Desharnais.. meh? Needed a Ludvig replacement in the org. This is it. Bit more expensive than I would like again.. and remaining term. But if I suppose Grz is not returning next year, it makes some sense. Also needed the salary to come in to make room for MP. Desharnais is no comparison to Pettersson of course. Just the spare body we got back and salary.

What we actually got, a mid to late 1st (2025) or an unprotected 1st (2026). And a middling prospect.

I think this is a good trade like the Guentzel trade was a good trade.

[Daniel]

My friend in Vancouver doesn't like the deal. From his viewpoint, we got their 6th best prospect and a potential unprotected 2026 1st rounder for 2 pending free agents.

The Rangers might actually meet the condition. I haven't looked at the standings in awhile and didn't realize they're having such a bad season.

Desharnais is intruiging. 6'7 225 lb RH defenseman. Seems like an eh player so wonder if he'll be moved soon. Heinen is kinda whatever but where is going to play, they have Nieto?

Desharnais is big, slow, and kind of stupid. Not saying that to be mean, but, he was scratched a few times in the playoffs for Edmonton last season, and when he did play in the finals (1 game) he tried to take a cheap shot EVERY time after the whistle. Refs finally had enough and gave him a 10 minute misconduct.

Sounds about in line with what I read about him, other than the slow part. Clearly depth and doesn't seem to fit what Sullivan wants. Obvious throw in and will likely rarely play.

[BigMcK]

At least the two most likely to be traded players have been traded. A good trade for the future.

It seems that big named players are getting traded early this season. Trade deadline day could be a snoozer. Or, maybe for the Penguins, EK and /or one of RR or Bunting is moved out as part of a blockbuster trade?

Curious what the roster card looks like for tonight's game.

Did Vancouver change their team name?

[Victor]

Did Vancouver change their team name?

Word is they are trying to acquire all the remaining Petterssons around the before they do so

[DelPen]

Unless specified, lottery protected just means that the Rangers can chose to exercise the option or not in case they win the lottery and move up a bunch in the draft. Granted if they do finish bottom 13 they might make the decision that they will finish much higher next year and won't want the pick but that also gives them one less piece next year to make a deal with so we could still get it this year regardless of where they finish. Next years draft is supposed to be deeper than this years too so that could play into it too.

[Puck-Lurker]

Did Vancouver change their team name?

Word is they are trying to acquire all the remaining Petterssons around the before they do so

They almost have a full set. Just two left in Anaheim and Ottawa

[Michael74]

Great value the Pens extracted from the Canucks. They're doing exactly what they should be doing relative to their aging core and position in the standings.

[thehockeyguru]

Great value the Pens extracted from the Canucks. They're doing exactly what they should be doing relative to their aging core and position in the standings.

Especially considering DOC was an undrafted signing

[Michael74]

Great value the Pens extracted from the Canucks. They're doing exactly what they should be doing relative to their aging core and position in the standings.

Especially considering DOC was an undrafted signing

DOC is a serviceable player but won't move the needle for us. It was a very solid trade for us. We need to get younger and accrue picks and prospects. We need to hit on the high draft picks and develop them well. That's where the focus moving forward should be IMO.