There are some quality wingers available on the trade market, although the Penguins would be hard-pressed to meet the asking price for either, even if they would decide to pursue one of them aggressively.
Columbus left winger Rick Nash, a premier power forward, is coming off a soap-opera season that included a request to be traded. Blue Jackets management is trying to accommodate him — the Columbus Dispatch reported that the Penguins are on a list of teams to which Nash would approve a trade — but Columbus is hoping to add goal-scoring forwards, and the Penguins have none to spare.
Anaheim, meanwhile, would like to get a second-line center as part of any package for Bobby Ryan. The Penguins have a pretty fair one of those — whether it’s Crosby or Evgeni Malkin who carries that label depends on who you ask — but they aren’t planning to part with either anytime soon.
Still, situations can evolve, and deals that seemed unthinkable can come together with a single phone call.
“We’ll continue to do our homework here and see if we can upgrade our team at some point,” Shero said. “We’ll see what the summer brings us.”
