Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Does an Elias Pettersson trade make sense for the Penguins?

Episode Date: June 22, 2026

Kyle Dubas and the Penguins have said they're looking for mid-20s players who could be part of the team for the long run. Does Elias Pettersson fit that bill? Patrick and Hunter begin the show discussing whether Elias Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks is worth acquiring. He's 27, he makes just a shade over $11 million for the next five years, and while he's seen a decline in his numbers the past two seasons, it could be more attributed to his environment rather than his talent. They touch on what they think it would take to get him, and where he would fit on the Penguins if acquired. (0:00) Then, the NHL Draft is just a few days away, and the Penguins still hold the 22nd overall pick, so they profile a big, powerful forward out of the QMJHL, Maddox Dagenais, who could be available when Kyle Dubas steps to the podium. (16:27) Finally, the Penguins have hired Ron Francis as a special advisor for the hockey operations staff. They talk about how even if this is just a franchise legend coming home, it's a smart move for the hockey ops department. (25:54)  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Decagon Ready to transform your customer support? Go to decagon.ai/LOCKEDONNHL to get a personalized demo and see what Decagon can do for your team.   RugietGet 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhlRugiet. Performance medicine for men. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.  Indeed Now, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. KALSHI For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code LOCKEDON to get ten dollars when you trade ten. Kalshi. Trade on anything. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now. 5-Hour ENERGY Get candy-flavored chaos with Fruity Rainbow 5-hour ENERGY®️ Shots - available online at https://5hourENERGY.com or Amazon FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With less than a week to go until the NHL draft and just over a week until free agency begins, the penguins still find themselves needing to reach the salary cap floor. So could they target a reclamation project out of Vancouver? We're going to talk about it on the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, Patrick Damp. You can find me on most social media platforms at Sinem for Wet,

joined as always by my good pal, Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Before we get going, today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. The biggest stage in world soccer is here. Let there be goals on Fandul. Visit Fandul.com to get started now. More on them later. On today's show, Ronnie franchise, Ron Francis is back with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is officially NHL draft week. So we're going to target and talk about one of the prospects that our Friday guest, Jesse Marshall, absolutely loves. But before we get into

that stuff, let's get really silly on this episode, Hunter, because after a weekend that gave us a massive blockbuster trade. It is officially silly season. We're obviously not going to dive into the Brady Kachuk trade. You can check out more on that with our pals at locked on senators and locked on Panthers. But there is a name that the penguins could be in the market for. Elias Pedersen out of Vancouver. Been a tough few seasons for him. He hit a career high in 22, 23 with 39 goals in 102 points, followed it up with a 34 goal, 89 point season in 23, 24. But the last two years, 45 and 51 points respectively and has only scored 30 goals in his last 138 games. Full no move clause in his contract that is worth $11.6 million through the 2031, 32 season. I will say this. The Penguins

have the cap space. He's 27 years old. And the more I watch the tape of him the last couple of years in Vancouver, his time there is just done. I don't think he's going to be a hundred plus point player again, but I don't think he is going to be as bad as he has shown the last couple years. It just feels like a toxic marriage that has to come to an end for him to find his game again. it's not going to happen in Vancouver, but I do think you give him a new team, a change of scenery, a different environment, maybe even an environment where he's not the alternate captain,

he's not the guy, and he can just focus on his game, that would do a lot of good for him. And it does kind of feel like this is the type of player that Kyle Dubus wants to get. First off, Pat, if you like crashouts, go to Lockdown Senators because they had an epic one yesterday with the Brady-Cutchuck trade.

I had to get that out of the way because that was hilarious to watch and listen to what a day it was in the NHL on Sunday. But yes, when it comes to Olias Pedersen, 27 years old, he's coming off a season where he had 15 goals, 51 points in 74 games. It was a nightmare year for everyone in Vancouver. They were awful. They had a one-and-done head coach. He has since been fired Adam Foote, and they have a new head coach now.

And they're trying to take steps going into next. year, though, they're also rebuilding. So I think trading Pedersen for that reason alone makes some sense. Obviously, Pat, the big thing that everyone's going to want to talk about is his contract. You're right. 11.6 million until 2032. He has a full no move. Vancouver, there's been reports that they're willing to retain a little bit. So if you're able to potentially get that, I think more fans would be comfortable with it. Though you probably have to pay a little bit more to get them to retain, at least for this trade. If you take the whole contract, you'll have to pay a little bit less. Either way, I don't think he is going to cost as much as some people have said that he is

going to. I mean, come on, Matt, it's coming off a 50-point season. Yes, I know. He has been a 102-point player during his career before. He's been over a point per game. In another season, when you look at 23, 24, 89 points, and 82 games. But last couple of years, his value has cratered a little bit. So I think this is a situation where you're buying a bit low, but at the same time, the risk is high considering the way that he has played these last couple of years, but also the reward is high. Because if you can get him back to that player you saw a couple of years ago where he was a two-way force over point per game, you don't even need him to be a hundred-point player. But if you get him pat to, you know, 80, 85-ish points, two-way force, you're cooking pretty good

there. That's the thing, though, because he's been one of my favorite players to watch when he's on, the question would be whether the penguins can get him back to that level. And if they can, I am fine to summit that contract. I would be personally willing to take that risk. That might be a hot take to some. That's fine. I am way more willing to take that risk with Pedersen than I am someone with Darneau Nurse. Like you look at his contract. He's also making a lot of money. He's also a bit older than Pedersen. The Penguins have interest in Nurse, of course, though. I've also heard the penguins have called Vancouver on Pedersen. I've heard that from a couple of people so far the soft season.

But when you're looking at those two contracts, I am more willing to take a risk or a chance on Pedersen, considering the level of play that he has been at rather than works, where I think for sure his best years are way behind him. And hell, even for Pedersen, I don't even know,

I don't think he's going to get to 102 points, but I think he can get back to 80, 85-ish points in the right environment. Dan Muses has done a really great job with reclamation projects for this past season, getting more of players that the former staff was not getting enough out of. So those are some of my main thoughts there. And also, Pat, again, it kind of feels like a dubious move as well.

27 years old, he fits that age where it's a mid to late 20s player who is not working out with his respective teams that probably needs a change of scenery. There you go, Elias Pedersen. The biggest thing I know for people is going to be the contract, how much money he makes, and the level of play has dipped these last couple of years. But as I said, high risk, high reward. I would personally be willing to take that risk. I would too.

And I'm going to make a very loose comparison here. It's obviously not in any world the same thing. But it does remind me a bit of when they got Phil Kessel. Because one of the problems that Phil Kessel had in Toronto was that he is just not a leader. And that doesn't mean that he's a bad player. It doesn't mean he's a bad guy. I think we're seeing in Vancouver, along with all of the other problems that they have, Pedersen's not a leader. And maybe he will be one day. Maybe he was at one point. But right now, they have done just about everything to keep him happy, whether it's trading away players or

signing certain players. And it really hasn't helped him because they're, treating him as if he needs to be the guy. And he just isn't. If you can get him at a reduced rate, and I think honestly, if you can just get it down to 10 even, if you can get Vancouver to eat 1.6 of that deal and get it down to an even 10, they would probably be willing to stomach that with where the salary cap is going, where it is now. For the next five years, if you've just got 1.6 million of retained salary on your books, that is next to nothing. We're not talking about the flat cap era where you've got to wonder if you're going to need that 1.6 down the road to really fill out your roster.

You can live with just over $1.5 million on your books in dead cap. And I look at the way he plays the game. I look at what he's done in his career, 545 regular season games, 200 goals, 308 assists, 508 points. And you look at his last couple of seasons, and they're not great. 30 or 51 points last year, 45 points the year before that. But before he fell into this black hole, 100 or 89 points, 102 points, 68, 21 points when he only played 26 games in the shortened COVID season.

And then he had 66 points in 66 games or 68 games, excuse me, in 19. and then 66 points again in 71 games. I think all things considered, he has just become a product of the environment that he's in. Vancouver has been radioactive the last couple of years for everything, vibes, coaching, players on the team. Him and J.T. Miller, that feud was that was been reported on a lot. And he won't run into that problem here, excuse me, in my opinion.

And that's also another second line center pat. You can put him there with Hvgeny Malkin and Igor Chinov. It's a pretty good second line heading into next year, at least. And then you can figure out what you want to do with Tommy Novak, moving him down if you send him out in a trade. But Pedersen right there, right behind Sid. But I do think to that point, you brought this up. An underrated part of Pedersen's game is he is a solid two-way player. That's he is.

Way forward. When he is at the top of his game, he got all the accolades. for being able to score, especially with a few years ago putting up more than 100 points. But he is a defensively accountable center. And if you put him on a second line with Evgeny Malkin and Igor Chinikov, you can let Chinikov and Malkin just pile up the points. Get them the puck, get them moving, let them play offense, and let Pedersen handle a lot of the two-way stuff and distribution of the puck.

And you got yourself a solid second line there. So the thing I'll end it on here, Hunter, is I don't think the acquisition cost is going to be that high. We're not talking about Marcus Pedersen, or Elias Pedersen, I should say, Marcus Pedersen is the other one that we used to have. But we're not talking about the 100 point player here. And we're talking about, again, a team and a franchise that it just feels like they need to move on from one another. and if you throw them a roster player, one of your prospects and a pick to get them to retain 1.6

and you get them for 10 million, that feels like where that deal would head. Yeah, I don't want to like exactly predict who would go back in this trade. I feel like that's a fool's area, but I do think price-wise, it's going to be lower than some people expect.

I don't think you're sending a first round pick for him. I think it's going to be a bit of a lower pick and maybe just a prospect going back or maybe a prospect in a place. later round pick. I don't know. I'll just say this. It's not going to be as high a price as you've seen some of these other trades recently. That's all I'll say on that. But again, I think this makes sense. I would personally take that risk, but I know some people are going to disagree, and that's fine. This is a fun topic. And I do think Kyle Dubus is probably looking at this.

Again, I've heard that they have called. So I'm sure he's doing homework. So we'll see if they can potentially do this, or if other teams are also looking at it. I'm sure they are. The main X factor in what will make this trade happen or not happen, depending on the cost, is what Vancouver is willing to eat from his contract, if they're going to retain. If you're taking on the full salary, I think a lot of teams are going to say, no, we're not giving you a premium. But if they're willing to eat a certain amount, I think the price gets higher depending upon how much they're willing to retain. So I think looking at it from the way I brought it up, if you can get it down to, to a 10 million even contract. You're probably not paying a high price,

but you probably will have to put just a little bit of sugar on that deal just to make it worth their while. But overall, even just nine or 9.5 million. Yeah, there you go too. But overall, much like you,

I think this juice is very much worth the squeeze with where he can play, how he would fit. And just with the penguin salary cap situation, with it going up. And if you can get him for the next four to five years, cost controlled, That's a good place to be if you're the penguins.

It's a risk worth taking. But that is going to do it for this opening segment. When we come back, the draft is this week. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop doing draft profiles. We've got a really fun one. And it's one that we talked about briefly with Jesse Marshall. We'll get deeper into that when we come back right after this. But we've got a couple of sponsors to get to before we do that, starting with Hym's.

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interruptions. Click the link in the show notes or go to Lockedonpodcast.com slash Everydayer club and find our show to get that free trial. We have got just a less than a week, just a few days until the NHL draft in Buffalo. And first off, hope that our Friday episode with Jesse Marshall really helped you feel a little bit more prepared for the draft. Jesse brought it as he always does. With that said, Hunter, let's talk about a potential pick at 22 that Jesse loves,

both of us loves Maddox de Janeiro this is a definition of a power forward six four one hundred and ninety six pounds huge year with the Quebec ramparts 30 goals 62 points in 62 games followed that up with three goals six points and eleven playoff games you just wrote about him for the hockey news we briefly touched on him with Jesse the more I watch this kid, Hunter, the more I start to like him. Yes, he's a lot of fun. And once he gets around the net front, it's game over for anyone that tries to move him. He uses all of his 6-4 frame, 196 pounds.

You are not moving him once he gets to the front of the net. And he likes going to the net to get some greasy goals. But another part of his game that I love, whole boy, he can really rifle the puck. And he's also very patient with his release. He really times it up, make sure he's getting it right. And if the defensemen are going to give him that time, he's just going to say, thank you very much. I'm just going to beat you every single time.

And even when he doesn't have as much patience, patience, excuse me, he can still find holes in the goaltender, whether it's one-timer, whether it's his beautiful wrist shot, doesn't matter. His release is really fun to watch. As a playmaker, I still think he has pretty good vision. He moves around a lot on the power play, whether it's at the point, half wall, below the dots, in front of the net.

He's a unicorn. You can use him in literally any situation on the power play, and he will do the job really well. Finds the open players when they're there. Again, that's due to his excellent vision. Defensively, I think he's fine. It's an area that he can improve on as he gets a bit older as he develops more. But I like this kid quite a bit.

And you look at his skating. He might be a big dude, Pat, but he can really motor. around the ice and once he gets going he is a handful so you know there's a lot of players in this range that i would be totally fine with the penguins taking maddox d'agney is one of them i feel like when they make their pick at 22 or whenever they do if caludubis decides to trade down or trade up i feel like there's not too many players that i would be disappointed by with that pick just considering how many solid players there are at that range in this class where I'll be like, you know what?

I see the vision that you're going for. Now, there are players that I like more than others, and we'll talk about as we get later on in this week where I kind of have my tears, but I will be totally fine with Maddox Dajunay as the pick. And hell, if he somehow slides out of the first round, he could be an option for them at 39 in the second round. And I think that would be a steal for them at that point. So those are my main thoughts on Dajne after watching his tape and writing my article.

Dajnay is a lot of fun. I mean, you brought up his skating. You wouldn't think a guy of that size in that build would move as well as he does, which is an underrated part of his game. The thing that I like the most about his game, and this will be kind of a repeat of what we said with Jesse, is that he isn't just physical for physicality's sake. You're not counting, you know, three Mississippies after the puck gets moved

and he comes into frame and hits a defenseman. When you watch his tape, he is hitting to change puck possession. He is hitting on the forecheck to maintain possession. And it's really smart because a lot of players for years and it even continues into this era of hockey love empty calorie hitting where it's just, hey, the defenseman made a pass. I'm going to throw a hit to make myself look good and to get the fans going. And not to say that there's anything wrong with that. But when you have this player's level of skill, when you have his level of ability and he's doing this,

it's another tool in the tool belt that makes him an attractive option because it would be really easy for a guy his size, his aggressiveness, his tenacity to just hit for no reason. And there's certainly some examples of it. But most of the time, when you watch his tape, the puck is right there. he's helping his team gain possession or at the very least he's creating a 50-50 puck that is going to help his team in the offensive zone and then the other thing yeah i was going to say speaking of that pat like his forechecking ability below the dots really underrated part of his game like there was one game one play specifically from a game against victoria bill that i had a write down because it was so nice he was following a defenseman deep into the

offensive zone defenseman misplays the puck he's able to forecheck the hell out of of it steals the puck pretty easily, sets up his team main front of the net for a wide open goal. It's plays like that where he's also really deadly as a four-tracker, but go ahead. And then the last thing that I wanted to say on him was what you touched on, his shot. He has so much velocity and strength behind his shot. Now, as we have seen with some players, he's going to have to adapt to the speed of pro hockey. He is obviously taking advantage of playing in a junior level. environment, but if he can find himself getting up to speed to the NHL level and the pro

levels, and he's able to get that shot off, it is going to be a nightmare for a lot of goaltenders because there is so much power behind it that it is going to take a quick reaction time from goalies to make a save on it because it is on his stick and off his stick in the blink of an eye. And you see a lot of his goals, especially from this last year, Goaltenders are just kind of frozen. So the shot is a very underrated part of his game. Yeah, a lot of the goalies are frankly just guessing whenever he has the puck on a stick and when he's winding up his release.

Like they don't know which way he's going to go. They don't know how fast it's going to be. But the puck explodes off his stick. I love his release, whether it's a one-timer again, whether it's a wrist shot, hell, whether it's a snapshot. Like just his release in general is great. He utilizes it a lot. And I want him to continue doing that as he continues to develop again.

Like the way that he can pick corners, really impressive. The way that he's so patient with the puck, it's also a lot of fun to watch. So, yeah, there's our profile on Maddox-Nay. We're going to continue to keep the profiles coming later on this week. And we'll get to some teeters as well as players who I love, players I'd like. And we'll eventually get to a list where I'd be on. But again, there's not as many this year compared to last year. No, especially when you're picking in the bottom half of the draft.

At that point, I've said it quite a few times. You're mostly going BPA, best player available. You're not really worried about fitting a certain mold. You just want to get the best player available when you're in the bottom half of the entry draft. But as Hunter said, I've got plenty of more profiles coming for you before Friday. So make sure you're subscribed. Make sure you're following us. And we will keep you as ready as you can be.

as we head toward the NHL draft. But that'll do it for this middle segment. When we come back, a franchise legend is back in the black and gold. We're going to talk about it to close out the show right after this. But we've got one more sponsor to get to, and that is five-hour energy. If you've got a sweet tooth like I do,

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Get candy-flavored chaos with fruity rainbow, five-hour energy shots, available online at five-hour energy or on Amazon. We're closing out the Monday edition of Locked-on Penguins, Patrick Damp, along with Hunter Hodes, and the Penguins, they went and made a hire late last week, naming Ronnie Franchise, John Francis, a special advisor in the hockey operations department.

According to the team, Francis will basically have a hand in just about everything across the entire organization. They say he's going to help with key events that include training camp, the draft, the trade deadline, free agency, as well as work with a lot of the staff in the minor league operation, the baby penguins, the Wheeling Nailers, if they continue to be the team's ECHL affiliate. And this is where I land on this, Hunter. I'm good with it for a couple of reasons.

First, it's known that he is one of the smartest minds in the game today. But as we saw with both Carolina and Seattle, if he's running the entire operation, it doesn't go all that well. But if you put him as one of the people in the room in the front office, he brings a good amount of value, a good amount of experience. So I'm totally good with him being part of the team rather than being the guy at the top. Secondly, we also know that the NHL's board of governors meeting is coming up this week. And that will likely make the sale of the penguins from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffman family official.

And by all accounts, the Hoffman family really wants Mario Lemieux to play a bigger role with the organization once they take over. And what better way than getting one of his favorite teammates and favorite friends in the front office like Ron Francis? And they may not stop there also, Pat, according to Josh Yohie of the athletic, they're trying to get Yarmier Yager to spend more time in Pittsburgh and have a role in the organization. So I guess we're just getting the band back together from those cup teams as well. Why not at this point? And another thing about the Hoffman family, I don't know if you noticed, the Blues now have a new ECHL affiliate.

So I think we might be getting to the point here where the Florida Everblades are going to be the Penguin's new ECHL affiliate. Nothing is confirmed. But it feels like if you're reading the tea leaves, they're going to take over here, the Hoffman family. The only Everblades. Kind of think that's where this is heading. Again, nothing's confirmed.

I just think that's probably the way this is heading at this point. But as for Ron Francis, I completely agree with you. His GM tenures, not very good to say the least. but if he's someone that adds an extra voice gives his opinion but Kyle Dubus still has the final say I am totally fine with it. The biggest thing though had for me, I just find it really cool. Franchise legend coming home, that's the way it should be, gets to have a cool gig here. He's not making the decisions. Kyle Dubus is doing that, but he's still part of the staff. Sign me up for it. Like, it's totally fine with me. Right. And by all accounts as well,

and Francis has said this himself on multiple occasions that as deep as a history as he has with Hartford slash Carolina and everything that he did in Seattle, he's made it clear the best time in his career was with the penguins. He actually a lot of people kind of forget that there was a season in the mid-90s that Marya Lemieux completely missed due to health reasons. Ronnie Francis wore the sea in his absence. And they probably don't win a back-to-back Stanley Cup in 1992 without Francis's contributions while Lemieux was out with a hand injury after the Adam Graves slash. So he has been a giant in Penguins history. By all accounts, he loves the Pittsburgh Penguins. He loves Pittsburgh.

So as soon as Seattle let him go, it did kind of feel like, all right, it's just a matter of time before he finds his way back to Pittsburgh. Because I do think, and as much as I love Ron Francis, and as much as he is a top tier penguin for me, it was no secret. His tenure as a GM or a president of hockey operations around the league, people kind of knew. he was not very good at being the top guy. So I didn't see any world where he was going to get the big chair again somewhere else. Right. I'm with you on that. I just think everything he did,

especially like in his most recent tenure with Seattle, not very good to say the least. And Pat, uh, do you know where he's from? Sue St. Marie. Of course.

It has to be like that. Kyle Dubis, again loves Sue St. Marie. We're going to get a draft pick this weekend. And that player is going to, to be from Sue St. Marie. They're going to acquire someone this off season. That player is going to be from Susiemry. It's just going to be a running joke at this point every offseason as long as

he'll do this is here that he's going to bring in people from Sue St. Marie. The Greyhounds to Penguins pipeline is going to be so overstuffed. You won't believe it. It's going to be absolutely insane. But really solid hire by the Penguins. It's a little bit of fan service, but it's also a good way to bolster your front office with a very, very bright hockey mind in Ron Francis. It's really cool also. He gets to come home like gone. And he's not making the decisions. It's not.

He's just here. And he'll add his expertise, which if you're someone in hockey, Ron Francis is somebody's expertise, you should want. But that will do it for the Monday edition of Locked on Penguins. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode for you again. on Tuesday, more draft profiles, talking about maybe some other trade ideas we might have because it is silly season and anything else that happens between now and then. But for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp.

Thank you as always for tuning in. We will talk to you again on Tuesday.