NHL Trade Rumors: Penguins among teams interested in Radim Vrbata

Arizona Coyotes forward Radim Vrbata is drawing interest from a variety of teams, including the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Arizona Coyotes have been aggressive as sellers at the 2017 NHL trade deadline. They’ve already shipped out defenseman Michael Stone to the Calgary Flames. Moreover, the Coyotes got a massive haul by sending Martin Hanzal and Ryan White to the Minnesota Wild. They aren’t quite done yet, as they’d like to trade Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan as well. According to Craig Custance of ESPN, the former is getting a lot of interest from other teams.

Vrbata is a very tempting deadline option for buyers. He’s dirt cheap and the aging forward is still quite productive. This season, Vrbata has 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points in 62 games on a very bad Coyotes team.

Of the teams allegedly interested in him, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the most intriguing. They could use another productive wing, especially after the Washington Capitals traded for Kevin Shattenkirk. The Penguins aren’t going to top the Caps defensively, so why not add to their already stellar forward group? Vrbata would allow Pittsburgh to trot out three forward lines capable of scoring. Remember, that’s what got them the Stanley Cup last season. Even when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin went cold, the Penguins had their third line which dominated their competition.

Considering the market, the Coyotes could easily get a second round pick for Vrbata. A first round pick is quite likely, as one could argue Vrbata is the best offensive player available. The Coyotes are in a position to infuse their rebuild with a ton of talent. They’ve stockpiled draft picks and could make a huge move this offseason.

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Draft picks are a currency and, quietly, Arizona has a lot of them. A bidding war for Vrbata could net them even more.