Breaking news: Penguins are reportedly in talks to acquire Nicolas Deslauriers from Anaheim

With less than 24 hours before the NHL deadline, the Pittsburgh Penguins are working on it. In what would be his first trade as the general crib of the Belly, Ron Hextall envisages the acquisition of Nicolas Deslauriers, 6’3 wing, 220 pounds from the Anaheim Ducks.

The deal, according to Elliotte Friedman, has not been done yet, but it sounds like the teams are completing the move and sending Deslauriers to Pittsburgh.

As the agreement has not yet been made, it remains unknown what the Pens would still have to give up for Deslauriers. But we do know that the 30-year-old winger has a $ 1.0 million contract for this and next season.

Hextall and hockey industry president Brian Burke made no secret of their desire to add a big and physical forward, and Deslauriers certainly fits the bill there to make a smaller Pittsburgh team a little bigger than he is. indeed acquired.

However, deslauriers are also not really that good of a hockey player. He can manage the defense stats with OK, but as an NHL career of 411 with 35 goals and 70 points indicates, he is of almost no value if he takes offense, and his WAR% rating over the past three seasons has Deslauriers as one of the worst forwards in the league.

Although he is not so good in hockey, and does not even kill penalties for Anaheim, Deslauriers does throw his body around, he is attributed with the Ducks 102 hits in 35 games this season. Only two Penguins (the injured Brandon Tanev and Sam Lafferty) have more than 60 hits this season.

It will be interesting to see where Deslauriers will fit into the Pens series. With injuries to Tanev and Kasperi Kapanen, there is at least a short-term window in which the team can use a big, physical, energetic forward.

However, Deslauriers are not going to bring many real tangible features to the ice to help the team win, and he has a contract for next year at a hit of $ 1.0 million. This is not great at best and a minimum limit at the bottom end of the team.

It depends on what Pittsburgh has given up on how it’s going to shake up, but other than throwing a few more hits, it remains to be seen what Deslauriers will offer that players like Radim Zohorna and Anthony Angello will not do. Deslauriers do not look like a guy good enough to pick up the Pens’ playoff game if they have health, but they know (and we do not know) how long Tanev and Kapanen will be on the shelf.

At worst, Deslauriers are depth and an extra large body. But if the Penguins actually expect him to make a contribution or play any kind of role when the games matter, they will probably find this step, despite the fact that they add a large body, it will contribute positively.

If Pittsburgh really do take this step, they should not give up much. Players like Deslauriers do not move the needle, and his contract status for next year makes him even undesirable of an overall asset.