NHL Trade Rumors: Mikkel Boedker and Roman Polak among options for Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t done making moves as they could express interest in Mikkel Boedker and Roman Polak

The Pittsburgh Penguins have already made two significant trades during the 2015-16 season. They traded defenseman Rob Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley and also traded forward David Perron to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Carl Hagelin. Their cap situation is a disaster but they could still be active at the trade deadline, according to Pierre LeBrun. They could even be interested in Arizona Coyotes forward Mikkel Boedker.

From ESPN:

"I think on defense, pending unrestricted free agent Roman Polak is among the available defensemen the Penguins are monitoring; he’d be a nice fit on their third pairing and penalty kill.I think a guy that would be a terrific add-on for the Penguins is winger Mikkel Boedker, should he not re-sign with the Arizona Coyotes. His speed would be a nice complement to that top-six group in Pittsburgh."

Of those two options, Polak is by a significant margin the most likely. He’d be a classic buy low option for Pens general manager Jim Rutherford. The Pens defense doesn’t need a big splash, but they simply require depth. Polak would provide that.

Boedker, while he would be a significant acquisition, might not be as big of a splash as one might think. Rutherford could pull the reverse of what he did in the Perron for Hagelin trade. Perron is a pending free agent while Hagelin still has term. Swapping wing Chris Kunitz, who has two years left on his deal, for Boedker –who will be an unrestricted free agent– could work.

Center Sidney Crosby might not be too pleased if Kunitz is traded since the two have great chemistry. But Boedker would be an upgrade over Kunitz.