Report: Penguins pushing hard for two high priced players

According to a report from Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recently engaged in trade talks with the Vancouver Canucks concerning Coraoplis, PA native JT Miller and with the Arizona Coyotes concerning defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

From Vensel concerning Miller:

Pulling off a trade for Miller may prove too difficult, but the interest is there. Miller, 29, is a versatile forward who possesses skill, scoring touch and snarl, plus a fiery personality that could breathe more life into a Penguins team that has gone 10-12-4 since Christmas and is currently clinging to a playoff spot.

Sources said trade talks between the teams have cooled off. It is not known what general manager Ron Hextall and the Penguins discussed sending to the Canucks in exchange for Miller, who just signed an extension last offseason.

Hextall said Friday that the Penguins would only give up premium future assets in a deal if it was for an impact player who was signed beyond this season.

Miller certainly fits the bill. His contract extension, which kicks in next season, is for seven years with an annual average value of $8 million. If slotted into the Penguins’ salary structure, Miller would trail only Sidney Crosby in terms of AAV.

He has a less prohibitive $5,250,000 cap hit this season. But the Penguins would still need to shed salary in order to fit him under the cap at the deadline.

Miller certainly fits what the Penguins are looking for, the problem is that he's signed to a big money deal for the next 8 seasons. But with GM Ron Hextall having his back up against the wall, does he really care about Miller's term? He's probably most concerned with simply getting into the playoffs and saving his job at this point.

As for Chychrun, what can we say about him that hasn't already been said?

He's getting traded that much is a certainty, but we just don't know where to just yet. The Penguins have long been linked to him, but so too have the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers most prominently. Frankly, I don't see the Penguins mustering up the required assets to acquire either player, but desperate times call for desperate measures...