Penguins Trade Oleksiak Back to Dallas

No more “Big Rig”…at least not in the ‘Burgh. The Penguins traded popular defenseman Jamie Oleksiak back to the Dallas Stars today for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 Entry Draft.

The return seems a bit light for the 6’7″ 255-pound blueliner, who showed flashes of genuine promise after arriving in a trade with the Stars in December 2017.

Indeed, Oleksiak piled up eight goals and 25 points in 73 games with the black and gold over a two-season span, to go with a sparkling plus-18 and 235 hits. A performance that earned the former first-round pick a three-year contract extension over the summer for $2.1 million per season.

“We liked how he fit in with us,” general manager Jim Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at the time. “We felt that his game was coming along.”

It’s hard to say exactly when the bloom came off the rose, or why for that matter. Although there didn’t appear to be a noticeable downturn in the big defenseman’s performance, the Pens seemed to sour on Oleksiak roughly around the time he absorbed a concussion in a fight with Washington hit man Tom Wilson on December 19. Sliding behind newcomer Marcus Pettersson and rookie Juuso Riikola on the depth chart, he was a frequent healthy scratch in recent weeks.

With Justin Schultz set to return soon, Oleksiak was obviously deemed expendable. A move Rutherford may come to rue if the Pens are locked in a physical playoff series with the likes of Columbus or Washington.

For now, JR seems happy with extra cap space and flexibility the deal provided.

“Sitting here with potentially nine defensemen, we had to make a move with the possibility of Schultz returning here in the next few weeks,” he said. “We had to move somebody out. It frees up cap space to give us other options.”