Kyle Dubas Strikes Another Trade and Acquires Former First Rounder From the Nashville Predators
The Pittsburgh Penguins need to make some changes after a slow start, and now they've made a surprising trade to land a former top pick in Philip Tomasino.
With a 7-12-4 record thus far for the Pittsburgh Penguins, things aren't looking good for Kyle Dubas and this veteran core, despite their Stanley Cup expectations coming into the year, regardless of how realistic they were.
The team have already made the panic move of trading Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals, and on Monday they announced another surprising trade, this time with the Nashville Predators.
However, in this instance they are buyers, not sellers, as the team have acquired former first-round pick Philip Tomasino in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick.
The team announced the trade on social media, and given the position this team is in, it's safe to say that there was plenty of confusion about the direction this team are going in under GM Dubas.
Despite early promise, the 23-year old has failed to live up to his draft standing in Nashville, tallying just 23 goals and 71 points in the 159 games he played with the team after being drafted in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Still, he has solid size at 6-foot-0 and has proven that he can produce in the AHL with 18 points in 22 games a year ago, and given that he is a pending free agent, the Penguins may be able to get the best from him in a contract season.
Regardless, it's a very intriguing buy-low deal for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who believe that with the right spark they can get back into contention this season, and if not, it was a later round pick in 2027 that they moved, with Kyle Dubas seeing this one as a risk worth taking.
