With Another Young Forward On Trade Market, Penguins Need To Take Advantage

The weeks leading up to NHL free agency – as well as the 2025 NHL Draft on Jun. 27-28 – have been quite eventful and interesting up to this point.

And that is especially true for young forwards on the trade market, as yet another name was added to the list.

On Sunday, it was reported by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast that Buffalo Sabres young star forward JJ Peterka is now on the trade market.

Elliotte Friedman updates on how things may have shifted regarding JJ Peterka’s future in Buffalo (32 Thoughts) pic.twitter.com/BmRPccNxzR

— sabresource (@sabresource1) June 15, 2025

Peterka, 23, joins other young players allegedly on the trade market, such as Tampa Bay Lightning forward prospect Isaac Howard, Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi, Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, and – potentially – Dallas Stars star forward Jason Robertson.

Realistically, Pittsburgh Penguins’ GM and POHO Kyle Dubas should be calling on all of these guys to at least get a feel for what the price would be. Pittsburgh has 30 draft picks over the next three seasons – including 18 in the first three rounds – which is more than any other team in hockey.

They also have valuable trade chips in Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson, who have each generated some degree of interest on the trade market.

But, of all these names, Peterka may just be the perfect fit for the Penguins.

Penguins Have Prime Opportunity To Target Lightning’s Top Forward ProspectOn Saturday, news about the potential departure of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top prospect from the organization became one step closer to being confirmed.

His defense isn’t something that is going to “wow” anyone, but the talent is there. The young right winger keeps getting better year-by-year, as he put up 28 goals and 68 points in 77 games last season – an 18-point increase over his 2023-24 totals.

Peterka’s goal-scoring ability, creativity, disruptiveness, and forechecking ability – to pair with his age – is the kind of thing that the Penguins should be looking to add at this juncture in their rebuild.

A pending-restricted free agent (RFA) this summer, Peterka is, apparently, displeased in Buffalo and is looking for a change, while Buffalo still prefers to keep him, if possible. Therefore, the price will likely be a bit hefty, but it’s something that should be well-worth the risk.

Dubas mentioned that the Penguins may dabble in the RFA trade-then-sign market. Peterka is the perfect opportunity for him to swing a bit bigger and, potentially, help the organization in the long-term.

With Robertson’s Name Out There, Could Penguins Swing Blockbuster Trade?With both the NHL Draft and free agency on the horizon, trade speculation is running rampant in hockey circles at the moment.