Penguins Officially Acquired Rangers’ First Round pick (Number 12 overall) in the 2025 Draft

The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to finalize the Marcus Pettersson/Drew O’Connor trade with the Vancouver Canucks by officially acquiring the New York Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick (12th pick overall) in this Friday’s NHL entry draft, opting to keep their unprotected 2026 first round selection.

This is a significant win for the Penguins and General Manager Kyle Dubas, especially as the team navigates a delicate transition period between contending and rebuilding. While the Penguins were a perennial playoff team for nearly two decades, their aging core and thinning prospect pool have raised questions about long-term competitiveness. A first-round pick from a rival like the Rangers provides both strategic leverage and long-term potential. 

First-round picks are premium assets in today’s NHL. They offer a path to restocking the farm system with high-end talent or can be packaged in future trades to acquire impactful NHL-ready players. The Penguins have been without many early-round selections in recent years due to win-now moves, so this pick helps rebalance the franchise’s draft capital.

What makes this deal even more intriguing is the uncertainty surrounding the Rangers’ 2024-25 season. While New York was strong in 2023-24, last season was a down year, and the Rangers’ 2026 first-round pick was not protected, so it made the most sense to give up this year’s pick instead of risking next year’s.

This was always going to be a win/win scenario for the Penguins. 

Additionally, having another first-rounder gives Dubas even more flexibility. Over the next three seasons, Dubas has 30 draft picks in his arsenal, 18 coming in the first three rounds. He could, and likely will, use one of his first-round picks in a package deal to move up in the draft, target a specific player, or facilitate a trade with NHL-ready talent that would accelerate the Penguins’ rebuild.

No question, this move injects much-needed future value into the organization. Still, it gives Dubas a key bargaining chip to make the Penguins competitive, even as they prepare for life after the big three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.

Per PuckPedia, here is the breakdown of the Penguins’ draft picks over the next three seasons:

Draft Nation’s not so bold prediction is that Dubas trades the 12th pick in 2025, and one of his three 2nd round picks in 2026, to either Utah (4th overall) or Nashville (5th overall), and selects Porter Martone, a winger that Dubas seemingly is love with, and still has their 11th pick to choose, perhaps defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson.

The Pens seem to have a high level of interest in Martone and Aitcheson but keep an eye on center Anton Frondell and rising defenseman Radim Mrtka. Both have been climbing the boards on mock drafts and in NHL war rooms.