Penguins’ Offseason Trades Named Best ‘Under-The-Radar’ Moves

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a massive offseason.

General manager Kyle Dubas and company made multiple trades and on Monday, Harman Dayal of The Athletic included three of them on his list of the “top under-the-radar moves of the 2025 offseason.”

Dayal first praised Pittsburgh’s June trade of 26-year-old defenseman Conor Timmins and prospect Isaac Belliveau to the Buffalo Sabres for veteran defenseman Connor Clifton and the 39th overall pick during the 2025 NHL Draft. The staff writer also highlighted the team’s mid-July trade of defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok to the Dallas Stars in exchange for veteran defenseman Matthew Dumba and a 2028 second-round draft pick.

“The Penguins were the only team in the league that extracted significant value in a cap-dump deal this summer. And they impressively managed to do it twice,” Dayal wrote. “The Penguins are now armed with a whopping 14 picks in the second and third rounds of the next three draft classes. That draft capital can be leveraged to bolster the prospect pipeline and/or trade for young players.”

He also approved of Pittsburgh’s July acquisition of goalie Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks for 22-year-old right-wing Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round pick.

“Silovs is a talented, but streaky, goaltender with fascinating upside. The 24-year-old Latvian first flashed exciting potential during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he was thrust into action in the middle of Round 1 because of injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith. Silovs outduelled Juuse Saros with a .938 save percentage, winning two of three starts, including a magnificent 28-save shutout in a tight 1-0, series-clinching Game 6 victory,” Dayal wrote. “Silovs is a smart gamble for the Penguins at a low cost. He needs to improve his ability to handle screens and traffic at the NHL level (that’s where teams exposed him last season), but his tantalizing athleticism and clutch track record in high-pressure situations are qualities worth betting on.”

The Penguins have their first preseason game on Sept. 22 against the Montreal Canadiens. They open their regular season on Oct. 7 against Mike Sullivan’s New York Rangers.

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