Penguins
Final Days as Penguins? How Pettersson, O’Connor Are Handling It (+)

SALT LAKE CITY — There are two trade deadlines this season, one hard and one soft, and the Pittsburgh Penguins trade chatter has revolved around the players leaving. The team has two pending free agents who have essentially grown up within the franchise, establishing deep emotional bonds to the mission and organization, but neither Marcus Pettersson nor Drew O’Connor is likely to remain with the team beyond the next few weeks.
Neither Pettersson nor O’Connor wants to leave, but both remain unsigned for next season at the wrong time of the Penguins franchise arc as general manager Kyle Dubas aggressively seeks to acquire future assets. The foreshadowing for their departures isn’t quite Shakespearean, but it remains as obvious as the Penguins’ increasingly speedy fall in the standings.
Both spoke with Pittsburgh Hockey Now, and the undeniable truth was both said and unsaid. Some of the emotions conflicted with the very words spoken, and it seems both understand that a Penguins trade could include them at any moment.
The official NHL deadline is on March 7, but the coming Four Nations Face-Off tournament also offers a two-week roster free beginning on Feb. 10. The coming soft deadline could juice a few general managers to move quickly rather than face the compressed two weeks after the freeze.
Tomorrow is not guaranteed for either.
The contrast in reactions between O’Connor and Pettersson was somewhat striking.
Pettersson answered the million-dollar question but with a heaviness that may have belied his words, meant to deflect what will be a parting of the player and organization that grabbed a 23-year-old Pettersson out of the press box in Anaheim and gave him a chance—one which he never relinquished.
(But Mike Sullivan hates young players, eh?)
Pettersson is a veteran now. The expiring five-year contract that former general manager Jim Rutherford splashed on him beginning in 2019 was a slight overpay at the time but a reward for taking one for the team when he signed a one-year qualifying offer that was well below market value in the previous season.
“I’ve said this before. I’ve got more questions about it this year, and it’s something that’s there and it’s there for every single player in the league,” Pettersson said. “You know, everybody knows it’s the business. You saw what happened the other day with the big (Colorado-Carolina) trade. So, I mean, you’ve just got to focus on what you can control and bring your best foot forward every day.”
Pettersson said the words, but he had absolutely no conviction in saying them. Perhaps you’ll forgive a reporter’s interpretation of the situation, but when Pettersson speaks about the game, he does so with his head up, and he looks you in the eye. On this subject, his voice trails.
There’s a sad acceptance instead.
However, in keeping with Pettersson’s well-spoken intelligence, he also made a keen point about the new world in which we all live. Surprisingly, he doesn’t bother trying to avoid sports news or social media.
“I mean, it’s everywhere. So it’s all the sports, and (the rumors) are everywhere. So it’s tough to stay away from social media, but it’s a part of the lives that we sign up for, right,” said Pettersson. “You know, a lot is with social media nowadays. Back in the day, (the rumors) were just from the media. They were a little more believable. You can see some of the stuff coming on social media (now), and it’s just about anybody. So, yeah, you’ve just got to try to block it out.”
Pettersson and I chatted about the paradigm shift of media vs. citizen “journalists” and the seeming distrust of media versus the embrace of anonymous or “citizen” accounts. You might be surprised to know that this is not an outgrowth of the current U.S. political environment. It’s the same in Sweden, too.
This season, Pettersson has not achieved the same level of steady reliability that marked his 2023-24 campaign. His turnover behind the Penguin’s net Monday against the San Jose Sharks quickly set up San Jose’s game-winning goal. His point total (17) isn’t terribly off his typical pace, but his goal differential is uncharacteristically low (46%).
Perhaps his trade value has taken a hit, but he still appears prominently on Sportsnet, Nick Kypreos, TSN, and Daily Face Off’s trade boards.
Drew O’Connor
Perhaps O’Connor got a first-hand look at the process when Pittsburgh Steelers fans and the organization packed the bags of his friend Kenny Pickett and put him on the first train out of town.
While Pettersson seemed just a bit walloped by the wound of not yet being retained, O’Connor projected an air of disappointment with a noticeable dose of pursed detachment.
“I don’t know. It’s it’s it’s pretty new to me. I guess it’s the first time I’ve been in this situation. So I think it’s just kind of learning how to block it out and focus on the games, and obviously (we need to) really help ourselves by winning games, so things start to change,” admitted O’Connor. “So, I want to be here and play here, but at the end of the day, we need to get the results to make that happen.”
Winning games is not something the Penguins have done well for most of this season; in 52 games, they’ve won just 20.
After an uplifting start that forecasted a rain of dollar bills, O’Connor didn’t score a goal from Oct. 18 to Dec. 31. He has just one goal in January and six for the season. It’s been a grind that has often worn on O’Connor, his face and shoulders unable to hide the weight of failing to keep pace with last season’s 16 goals and this season’s raised expectations.
O’Connor is a big body who skates well, forecheck with a wide wingspan, and is responsible defensively. When he finds the mindset, he can emulate a scoring power forward. He’s done so especially well in the second half of each of the last two seasons.
“I mean, I’ve been off Twitter, honestly, for most of this year,” O’Connor admitted. “It’s the first time I’ve kind of been off that. Not Instagram much, either … Some of that stuff pops up regardless of whether you like it or not. I think I could say it’s difficult, but it’s not a unique circumstance. It’s a lot of players throughout the league play through these types of situations. So it’s just something I feel I have to do.”
Sullivan just doesn’t like him in the middle, and he’ll never tell you, but it sure seems like he’d prefer the middle but is happy to draw NHL ice on the wing. PHN likes him in the middle, too, but we don’t get a say.
It is with some irony that with a lack of production, perhaps O’Connor has played himself out of a trade and into a second-chance contract with the Penguins, who very well know what he can do.