Addressing Penguins’ biggest positional needs: Top-six winger

We began addressing the Penguins’ positional needs on Monday, when options for upgrading their third-line center situation were discussed.

Today, we will take a look at perhaps their most pressing need: Another top-six winger to fill the hole left by the departures of wingers Jake Guentzel and Reilly Smith.

The Penguins can look to add either a left or right wing, since Rickard Rakell’s positional flexibility affords them the option to deploy him either on Sidney Crosby’s left or Evgeni Malkin’s right. They’re unlikely to add the Mitch Marners of the league – and we’ve already discussed some RFA trade options – but it’s fair to say that IF the Penguins are going to go bigger in a trade, it will likely be for a top-six talent.

And there may be some viable options for the Penguins to bolster their top-six.

The days of avoiding trades within your own division are mostly a memory – and, by all indications, the 24-year-old Farabee is on the trade block.

Farabee, entering the third year of a six-year, $30 million deal, had a career-best season in 2023-24, registering 22 goals and 50 points. His production took a hit late in the year during the Flyers’ playoff push – he scored only one point in 11 games down the stretch – which led to the top-six winger’s role being lessened on the third line.

But make no mistake: Farabee is a good NHL player:

Not only does the left winger have the talent to play in the top-six, but he’s also another Michael Bunting-type of player who makes his living around the net-front. With steady playing time on Sidney Crosby’s left, he could very well continue to develop even further as an offensive weapon.

Depending on the asking price, the Penguins should highly consider this one. And they’d have to move out another contract – perhaps Lars Eller – to get it done.

After putting up 18 goals and 40 points in the 2022-23, Kakko followed that up with a disappointing campaign, registering only 13 goals and 19 points in 61 games last season. He signed the $2.4 million qualifying offer from the Rangers this summer, but despite that, the team has “aggressively” been shopping him – and the Penguins have, apparently, been in on trade talks:

Kakko’s relatively small cap hit wouldn’t be too much of a gamble for the Penguins, but they should only consider a deal if the price is right. Considering Kakko’s disappointing season – and his RFA status following the 2024-25 season – the price shouldn’t be too steep.

The 23-year-old is a buy-low, safer option for the Penguins, and they should look into it if other deals for more surefire, higher-end talent don’t make sense for them.

When the Jets drafted University of Michigan star McGroarty 14th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, they probably didn’t imagine being in a position to trade their top prospect just two years later.

But that appears to be the case, as McGroarty desires to move, and – apparently – the situation is so complicated that the Jets, as well as other teams, are having issues negotiating with McGroarty’s camp:

If the rumors are to be believed, the Penguins could not only find themselves in a bidding war against other teams for McGroarty’s rights, but they’d likely have to give the 20-year-old right winger some assurances as far as playing time. Although the Penguins should have no issues doing so, given their needs – that is far from a guarantee, especially considering the team’s questionable history with deployment of younger players.

The situation is messy, and the asking price is allegedly a first-round pick or high-end prospect. But, considering the upside – McGroarty has registered 91 points in 75 career games for Michigan – this is the exact kind of younger player they should be willing to sacrifice picks to acquire.

You can probably file Laine’s situation under “semi-complicated” as well, and he costs a lot more than any other option on this list – he’s owed $8.7 million for two more years – but the 40-goal potential of Laine alongside Crosby may just be too intriguing to ignore, and the winger is seeking a “fresh start” with a different club.

Laine, 26, recently entered the NHL’s Player Assistance Program, and without clearances from the program, teams cannot speak with him. Whenever Laine again becomes available, however, he is sure to be a hot commodity, as he has cemented himself as one of the best pure goal-scoring snipers in the league.

There would need to be a lot of moving parts in order for the Penguins to make this work. They have only $3.54 million in cap space, so a trade for Laine would likely require a larger contract such as goaltender Tristan Jarry’s or defenseman Ryan Graves’s (unlikely) somehow moving out, even though the Jackets are, reportedly, willing to retain. And the asking price is a combination of picks and prospects.

Still, if the Penguins do indeed want to go bigger on a younger, high-end talent, it’s not going to get much better than Laine right now. But any trade for the left winger would need to have high regard for risk v. reward in terms of futures involved.

Related: Addressing Penguins’ biggest positional needs: Third-line center

Related: Penguins Should Take a Chance on Free Agent Swedish Defenseman

Related: Opinion: Yes, Dubas should keep his draft picks – but not all of them