The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly view just two of their players as unavailable to other clubs in potential deals.
Only Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are considered "untouchable" when it comes to a potential Penguins trade, a team source told The Athletic's Rob Rossi.
However, the source said Pittsburgh is very unlikely to part with forward Jake Guentzel and goaltender Matt Murray, too, and that signing the netminder to a contract extension is "the No. 1 thing to get done" in the offseason.
Following a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders that swept the Penguins out of the playoffs Tuesday night, Phil Kessel was asked if he expects to be dealt.
"That's a tough question to start, but I don't know at this point," the forward said, according to Rossi. "We'll see how it goes this summer. I've never worried about it. Obviously, two years in a row it didn't go the way we wanted it to. We'll see."
The Penguins explored trading Kessel last summer, and he was agreeable to playing for the Arizona Coyotes, multiple sources told Rossi.
Crosby and Malkin both have full no-trade clauses and are signed through 2024-25 and 2021-22, respectively. Guentzel inked a five-year, $30-million extension with the club in December and Murray is under contract through 2019-20.
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