Next trade has been established in Pittsburgh!

On Tuesday evening, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals in return for a third-round pick in 2025 and a fifth-round pick in 2027. The move is likely to be one of several for Pittsburgh and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes he knows who is leaving next.

In his latest 32 Thoughts column, the insider speaks openly about the Penguins’ struggles and pending trades, especially after general manager Kyle Dubas informed teans he wants to make some player-in, player-out moves to fix the roster in the near future and that everyone is available except captain Sidney Crosby.

Friedman therefore believes that defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor are among those to follow.

“Pettersson deservedly gets a lot of attention, but O’Connor’s low number ($925,000) and flexibility makes him attractive, too. Last summer, Pittsburgh added. Months later, trading Jake Guentzel was the wakeup call, the sign Dubas felt it was time to follow a new path. What did Bill Parcells always say: “You are what your record says you are.”

On Wednesday, the Penguins attempted to get back on track only to fall 3-2 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. Tonight, they face the Blue Jackets in Columbus with the hopes of getting a win to quiet down the ongoing trade chatter that is only getting louder.

With Friedman identifying who is on their way out, this could come as extra motivation for the Penguins as many players spoke earlier this week about the heartbreak of losing Eller to a division rival.

Trade talks will only heat up, especially if the Penguins cannot get it together, and we could see a trade for Pettersson or O’Connor sooner than later.