To Trade Or Not To Trade: Forward Anthony Beauvillier

It’s that time of year again, folks! The NHL trade floodgates have officially opened, and with that, rumors and movement will be abound.

And the case is no different for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Since the team is looking to compete and rebuild its prospect pool simultaneously, it’s probably safe to assume that they will be looking to move out some of their pending unrestricted free agent contracts.

So, The Hockey News – Pittsburgh Penguins site will take a look at each Penguins’ trade candidate, the pros and cons to trading them, and the likelihood that they’re moved prior to the Mar. 7 trade deadline – as well as some potential landing spots.

Next up: forward Anthony Beauvillier.

The case for a trade

Simply put, the 27-year-old forward is on pace for his best goal-scoring season since 2019-20 with the Islanders, when he potted 18 goals and registered 39 points in 68 games. He has 11 goals and 16 points this season, and he has shown an ability to produce in the top-six when he gets those minutes.

Beauvillier would be a good bottom-six option for a contending team in need of a depth scorer, and his $1.25 million pending-UFA contract makes him a cheap one, too. He is good down low and on the forecheck, he works hard along the walls, and – even though he’s pretty small – he is a grinder at the net-front.

Even though the Penguins wouldn’t – by any means – get a king’s ransom for Beauvillier, they are in a position where stockpiling draft capital and future assets is top-priority. His pending-UFA status makes him an easy trade chip, and even if they only net a fourth- or a fifth-round pick for the forward, it’s probably a win.

The case against a trade

With the Penguins’ top-six already severely depleted, Beauvillier remains one of their six best options. Although he can’t fill the hole at center left by injuries to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, guys like Rickard Rakell and Cody Glass have to – leaving their top-six spots open.

If Penguins’ top-six players keep dropping like flies, they may need to keep Beauvillier around simply for lineup stability. He’s one of their more consistent top-six players this season – all 11 of his goals have come at five-on-five, and eight of them have come playing top-six minutes – and the return may not be enough to justify losing a guy like him if he is needed in that role.

Also, Beauvillier is no stranger to the NHL trade market. After spending most of the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the New York Islanders, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks before the 2022-23 trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Bo Horvat to Long Island.

Then, in 2023-24, he was traded twice: once from Vancouver to the Chicago Blackhawks for a fifth-round pick, and the next from Chicago to the Nashville Predators for a fifth-round pick before the deadline last season.

Honestly? The guy could probably just use some piece of mind and actually stay somewhere again for once. I’m sure he’s sick of being bounced around from city to city.

The verdict: Trade

If the Penguins are without both Crosby and Malkin for any period of time, their season is probably all but done, anyway. So, it makes little sense to keep Beauvillier around, especially if a younger player or prospect can take his place in the lineup.

And if those two are okay? It definitely doesn’t make much sense to keep him around. The Penguins have enough talent on the verge in their system to offset his loss, and – being that their plan is to sell off pending-UFAs, anyway – their playoff chances are dwindling as the season grows older.

They will be best-suited to get whatever return they can for him, even though he’s done some serviceable work in Pittsburgh this season. If he can continue to play the way he has for the Penguins, a playoff-contending team like the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, or Ottawa Senators would be happy to have him.