Dubas Explains Eller Trade; Full Analysis & What Comes Next

The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals Tuesday night for a 2027 third-rounder and a 2025 fifth-round pick (from Chicago) as Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas decided to clear roster space for the glut of the team’s centers.

However, do not expect a rush of Penguins trades or prospects on their way up from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Dubas tamped down fears or excitement of more pending moves in an email to reporters late Tuesday night.

Dubas conceded Eller has been on the block since the spring, and it was Washington that finally met the modest price for the 35-year-old defensively responsible center who scored 15 goals last season.

“With Blake Lizotte returning from injury and having depth options at center with Cody Glass, Noel Acciari, and Sam Poulin on the roster plus younger centers progressing in our system, we wanted the minutes for those players and give them greater opportunity plus increase our assets and cap space to give us greater flexibility,” Dubas wrote. 

Eller’s $2.45 million salary comes off the Penguins’ books, and according to Puckpedia.com, the Penguins have just under $1.8 million in salary cap space. While it might seem a perfect fit for Eller, Dubas also confirmed the player did not request a trade nor have a say in the destination.

Read More: Give ‘Em Eller; Penguins Dish on Eller on the Ice & In Locker Room (+)

For the many who have been anxiously awaiting a Penguins youth movement, Dubas cautioned this is not the start of an influx from WBS.

“Players will be recalled and given opportunity only when we feel they have maximized their development at Wilkes and are ready to make that step,” wrote Dubas. “Some guys earned that out of camp, and others are starting to make a strong push while helping Wilkes get off to a great start. We look forward to seeing which guys can continue that push with Wilkes, help them win, and earn their chance to come up when those opportunities arise.”

Center Tristan Broz is second among all AHL rookies with six goals, and Vasily Ponomarev recently returned from the injury he suffered in the preseason. The Penguins acquired Ponomarev when they traded Jake Guentzel at the 2024 NHL trade deadline, and Dubas then said he planned to recall Ponomarev after a brief adjustment period with WBS. However, the player was injured just four games later. Ponomarev has two NHL games experience with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Penguins Trade Analysis

Then a Capitals center, Eller commanded a second-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche at the 2023 deadline. In a moment wherein the Penguins need leadership as the times are getting tough, as evidenced by the horrendous performance against Dallas Monday night and the 6-9-2 record, the team will miss Eller. They are not better off today, as he was one of the consistent players in effort and production, so the return seems a little light.

The Capitals must be delighted. Eller will supplant young center Hendrix Lapierre, who has been a Washington prospect for a few years, much like Sam Poulin with the Penguins, and the middle of Washington’s lineup just immediately improved.

The Penguins lineup will take a hit. As Dubas noted, Glass, Acciari, Lizotte, and Poulin are available (Glass is out with a concussion), but Acciari’s game at center is radically different than when he’s on the wing. In the middle, Acciari is conservative and cautious. On the wing, he’s a physical, gritty winger who hunts pucks on the forecheck. Lizotte has scored more than 30 points once in his previous five seasons, notching just 17 in 67 games last season with the LA Kings.

It would seem Glass, whose analytics well outpace his bottom-line statistics, would be in line to become the third-line center. Glass, 27, had 14 goals and 35 points in 72 games with Nashville in 2022-23 before dropping significantly last season.

This season, Glass has an outstanding 59.5% Corsi, 64% scoring chance ratio, a 69% high-danger scoring chance ratio, and 66% expected goals-for (xGF). In the bottom-line stats, Glass has four assists and is a minus-7 in 14 games.

This might also put a bow on Dubas’s trip to the Nashville-Washington game last Wednesday. While most, including this reporter, assumed Dubas was looking at Nashville, it now looks like it was Washington.

The Penguins acquired picks probably won’t amount to much anytime soon. A 2027 third-round pick might see in NHL ice in 2030, if ever. Even Sidney Crosby might be retired by then.

Ultimately, it’s a small trade but will leave a large hole in the lineup. Coach Mike Sullivan has not been shy about using Acciari at center despite the significant difference in his game at wing. So, he will likely take the third-line spot for the time being. However, despite Eller’s limited offensive production, it was still significantly more than the rest of the cited group. Should Sullivan need to reunite Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the top line, there would be an enormous drop to the second-line pivot.