Will Penguins Flip Schenn? ‘Insiders’ Think Dubas ‘Gauging Market’

The intrigue deepened Thursday morning as the TSN insiders cast the Pittsburgh Penguins trade involving Luke Schenn as a potentially temporary relationship.

As the NHL trade deadline at Friday 3 p.m. ET approaches, the Penguins may or may not hold onto the 35-year-old right-handed defenseman.

Schenn was part of the Penguins’ bigger trade Wednesday evening as the team traded Michael Bunting to the Nashville Predators for Schenn and 27-year-old center Tommy Novak. The move immediately raised eyebrows as Schenn would appear to be a poor fit for a team transitioning to rebuilding.

Would the Penguins immediately flip Schenn?

Read More: ‘We Are Positioned Well’: Dubas Answers Penguins Trade Questions

In an email Wednesday night, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas strongly implied the team would keep him.

“…We feel that Luke’s defensive play, character, leadership, toughness, and spirit are what we need here to help push our program through this phase and preserve our culture and standards as we work to return to contention,” Dubas wrote to Pittsburgh media, including Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

The Novak portion of the trade was easy to understand, as the Penguins have been shopping for younger players. Acquiring a center gives both Dubas and coach Mike Sullivan more roster flexibility than a Cirque du Soleil performer.

However, it would seem the Penguins are wasting a valuable trade chip by keeping Schenn when the locker room already has leaders such as Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Kris Letang, Kevin Hayes, and more.

On the TSN Insiders segment, Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger sided with Dubas potentially—though not necessarily—moving Schenn. Johnston believes Dubas is testing the waters to see what Schenn is worth.

“Two sellers doing business doesn’t seem to make sense at the deadline, but in this case, I do think Pittsburgh will at least listen and gauge the market on Luke Schenn,” Johnston said on the Canadian sports network.

“They’ve got to get a sense of what he could get, but I’ll tell you this, (if) you look at Trade Bait, (there’s) not a lot of defensemen on there. So, I think if the offers are strong, we see him flipped in the next couple of days.”

On the TSN board, there are five RHDs, including the Philadelphia Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen, who carries a high price tag that includes a first-round pick, and Chicago Blackhawks defender Connor Murphy.

In 2023, as the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dubas acquired Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks for only a third-round pick. However, the market scarcity of Schenn’s increasingly rare skill set (a tough, stay-at-home right-handed defenseman) combined with a very affordable $2.75 million cap hit should increase his 2025 price tag.

Schenn did dish out an astounding 318 hits in the 2022-23 season split between Vancouver and Toronto.

In fact, in February, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic wrote that Schenn, who was the Maple Leafs’ first-round selection in 2008 (fifth overall), should be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ top trade target.

So, Dubas, the former Maple Leafs GM who left in an acrimonious split with president Brendan Shanahan, now has something the Maple Leafs badly need. Of course, Toronto has a few young assets that the Penguins would surely like to acquire, too.

The Maple Leafs currently possess several young forwards whose talent should be quite tantalizing to a team desperately scouring the hockey universe for players under 30 who could contribute in meaningful ways. The list of Toronto’s youngsters includes 2023 first-round pick Easton Cowan (28th overall), who nearly made the team out of training camp before being returned to the London Knights of the OHL. Fraser Minton, 20, has played 15 NHL games this season with two goals and two assists.

And, of course, Nick Robertson. All three have been floated as potential trade bait in the right deal.

Minton and Cowan were selected by Wes Clark, the current Penguins vice president of player development, who was the Maple Leafs’ director of player personnel at the time.

Could the two sides find common ground if it involved some combination of draft picks, a good young player, and Schenn?

Could any team find the right price for Schenn?

There’s ample evidence Dubas’s words about keeping Schenn should be taken at face value. As a precursor, the Penguins dealt Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks to clear a lineup spot for Schenn. Also, it might not be the best look to reverse course so quickly and after such strong words.

After the trades Wednesday, the Penguins have 27 draft picks over the next three drafts, including four first-round picks and 15 within the top three rounds.

It would seem an odd part of a trade to acquire a 35-year-old defenseman who improves the team. After all, Dubas failed to make an acquisition to salvage last season or fortify the roster when it was in playoff contention earlier this season.

The clock is ticking.