As written about last week, the best use of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first round pick in 2019 (21st overall) is probably trading it for an immediate NHL asset who can bolster the club’s chances in 2019-20. We’re deep enough into the franchise’s life-cycle that the here and now is much more important than a few years down the road that it will take for a later first round pick to develop.
However, the one thing known about general manager Jim Rutherford is that for better or worse he typically says what he means and means what he says.