It’s no secret Penguins GM Kyle Dubas was hoping to make a splash move or two (or three) over the summer. For one, there was his hotly rumored (and ultimately fruitless) pursuit of Stars RFA sniper Jason Robertson. Apparently, Dubas also tried mightily to trade up (or down?) during the Entry Draft, perhaps in an attempt to gain leverage for other deals.
While he was able to land Jason’s kid brother, Nicholas, in a swap with Toronto, our POHO/GM was largely unable to execute the third spoke of his plan: acquiring young talent from other organizations in need of a change of scenery. Unless you count former Cap Hendrix Lapierre.
According to Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, a shifting trade market featuring rising prices coupled with diminishing returns pretty much put the kybosh on Dubas’ plans.
As the last sands of the off-season trickle through the hour glass, is there still time to make a high-impact move? One that could potentially alter the course of the franchise for seasons to come.
Perhaps.
Roughly 185 miles due west as the crow flies, a situation is brewing in Columbus involving Adam Fantilli. The rising young star is still without a contract and by all accounts is unhappy with what Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell is offering. Fantilli’s rumored to be seeking a deal in the neighborhood of $15 million per season. Connor Bedard-type money.
According to Puckpedia, the Jackets have $12.6 million in available cap space. You do the math.
What makes Fantilli special? The former University of Michigan standout (and teammate of Rutger McGroarty) was picked third overall in the 2023 draft, two slots behind Bedard. Since entering the NHL as a callow 19-year-old rookie, he’s produced a highly respectable 67 goals and 140 points in 213 regular-season games. An average of roughly 54 points per 82-game slate.
Embedded in those numbers, a 31-goal season in 2024-25.
As for his attributes? Fantilli’s big (6’2” 205). He’s durable. He’s a strong skater who possesses a high motor, excellent puck skills and a booming shot. Most important, he projects to be a first-line center. Those guys don’t grow on trees. And with Sidney Crosby approaching his dotage?
You see the fit.
An RFA, Fantilli is offer-sheet eligible. However, given his projected salary, it would cost a team their next four first-round picks.
Ouch. Too rich for my blood.
PP colleague Caleb DiNatale, who first broached the subject of acquiring Fantilli during a recent conversation (and inspired this article), prefers to go the trade route.
“What would it cost us?” I asked.
At the very least, Caleb thinks we’d have to pony up two legit prospects and a first-round pick. He specifically mentioned one of two budding power forwards, Bill Zonnon or Will Horcoff, along with McGroarty.
Doing the math on the Pens’ end, we have $10.9 million in cap space. So we’d also need to shed salary (i.e. Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust) to be able to meet Fantilli’s contract demands.
Would such a deal be worth it?
Yes.
Is it likely to happen?
After all, Dubas and Waddell hooked up on last season’s Egor Chinakhov swap, which worked out extremely well for our Pens. Could the two do business again?
In this case, I’d say probably not.
Yet as a friend is fond of saying, “You just never know.”
Pens Prospects Prevail
Speaking of the Pens and Blue Jackets, our kids prevailed over the CBJ youngsters, 2-1, in a shootout yesterday afternoon at the Prospects Tournament in Detroit.
Forward Brayden Edwards, who split time between the Baby Pens and Nailers last season, scored our regulation goal. Recent draftees Tomas Galvas and Pierce Mbuyi tallied in the shootout.
