The Colorado Avalanche shook the hockey world on Friday when they dealt pending unrestricted free agent superstar Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in one of the biggest blockbuster trades of the cap era. With the trade floodgates being opened, it might be the time to start keeping an eye on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The untouchables remain the same and would not be placed on the block by the Penguins to get a deal going with the Sabres. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino and promising defenseman Owen Pickering are not for sale and the Pens have other trade chips to offer to Buffalo in order to land younger players:

With the Pittsburgh Penguins finding themselves near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas has to decide who to keep and let go.