For the first time in several years, the Pittsburgh Penguins are going into training camp with a plethora of centermen.
Earlier this summer, they acquired veteran Kevin Hayes from the St. Louis Blues. They signed Blake Lizotte, formerly of the Los Angeles Kings, to a two-year deal after the onset of free agency. Then, in early August, they acquired Cody Glass, a former first-round draft selection in 2017, from the Nashville Predators.
The Penguins’ top two centers – as they’ve been for the past 18 years – are set in stone. So where does this leave the two other centers – Lars Eller and Noel Acciari – on the roster?
Acciari spent a good chunk of the 2023-24 season injured, and in the games that he did play, he was good defensively but underwhelming on the offensive side of the puck. He has two years left on a three-year, $6 million contract he signed with the Penguins last summer, and – at this juncture – it’s unlikely that Pittsburgh would fetch a favorable return for him.
Then, there’s Eller. There are reasons for him to go, and just as many for him to stay.
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Why he should be traded
The primary reason Eller should be dealt is fairly simple: It’s just good business.
Aside from top-four defenseman Marcus Pettersson – another pending UFA next season – Eller is the team’s most valuable trade asset. At 35 years old and after registering a respectable 15 goals and 31 points as the Penguins’ third-line center, he’s an attractive and useful veteran center option for contending teams looking to shore up their bottom-six.
As the season progresses – even if he puts up numbers similar to last season’s – his trade value will decrease as he grows closer to unrestricted free agency. Plus, at 35, it’s hard to say if numbers and health will hold up. So, there may be no better time to deal Eller than right now, when they can almost surely get a decent pick (and perhaps another mid-late rounder) for him.
In addition – as reiterated several times over – the Penguins now have center depth to spare. They have a few youngsters like Rutger McGroarty, Valtteri Puustinen, and Vasily Ponomarev (another center prospect) who will be fighting a tough battle for roster spots.
Although it’d be nice to keep Eller around, trading him now makes a lot of sense.
Why he should stay
Even though it seemingly makes sense to trade Eller – especially given GM and POHO Kyle Dubas’s desire to stockpile draft capital – a lot of that kind of hinges on whether or not the organization believes it has built an NHL roster that is capable of competing this season.
Prior to the McGroarty trade, that seemed like wishful thinking to some. But since the Penguins will, more than likely, have one of hockey’s best prospects on their NHL roster at some point this season – and given all of their other moves – it stands to reason that they believe they are in position to fight for a playoff spot.
If that’s the case, having a guy like Eller around to center the fourth line is great insurance, and it’s a testament to the fact that the bottom-six is actually deeper than it has been in several years. Between he and Hayes, they can center younger forwards with energy and some offensive upside, and the Penguins could end up having a pretty decent forward lineup along the lines of:
Drew O’Connor – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rakell
Rutger McGroarty – Kevin Hayes – Cody Glass
Blake Lizotte – Lars Eller – Noel Acciari
Extra Forwards: Valtteri Puustinen, Anthony Beauvillier
That lineup looks a lot better with Eller in it. So, if the Penguins feel they can compete this season, they can always – like they’re, presumably, doing with the Pettersson situation – wait out any Eller trade talk to see how the season plays out.
There’s no correct answer for this scenario. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how everything unfolds over the coming weeks.
Related: Where does Rutger McGroarty fit in the Penguins’ lineup?
Related: Three Penguins Most Likely to Be Traded Before Opening Night
Related: Five reasons to be optimistic about the Penguins in 2024-25
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