Top-10 draft slots are just not traded in the NHL, at least not very often. No picks in the top 10 have been traded since 2022, and only four have changed hands in the last 10 years. But there could be a sizable opportunity in 2026 for the Pittsburgh Penguins to trade up.

The previously heralded 2026 NHL Draft class is suddenly up for grabs, as no less than a handful of teams have signaled a willingness to part with their selection in exchange for immediate help. The list of picks even includes the top two picks in the draft, held by the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks, respectively.

The surprising glut of potential swaps is in part due to the shocking flip in the standings in which unexpected party guests such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers commanded playoff positions, while presumed Stanley Cup contenders such as Florida and Winnipeg figuratively faceplanted in the ice.

While the Penguins probably do not have the necessary resources to trade for a top overall pick, if general manager Kyle Dubas is so inclined, he could find a willing partner somewhere in the top 10, to move up–way up–from the 22nd overall selection in this year’s draft.

Draft Trade History

In addition to their first-round pick, the Penguins also have the 39th and 54th overall picks (and picks in rounds three and six). For reference, after selecting Ben Kindel with the 11th pick in the 2025 draft, Dubas swapped the 12th overall pick to Philadelphia for the 22nd and 32nd overall selections (and then used a second-round pick to jump up from No. 32 to 24 to select Will Horcoff).

In total, a handful of the top-10 picks could be available. While history tells us that trades are unlikely, they can happen.

In 2021, the Vancouver Canucks engaged in a deep trade, sending the ninth overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes (Utah Mammoth) for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Connor Garland. Vancouver also sent a second-rounder and the undesirable contracts of Jay Beagle and Louis Ericksson to Arizona. For context, both Beagle and Ericksson each played one season in Arizona before retiring.

So, the core deal was the No. 9 for Ekman-Larsson and Garland.

In 2022, the Chicago Blackhawks paid a steep price for the seventh overall pick. They sent young, expensive and thus polarizing winger Alex DeBrincat (who scored 41 goals with 78 points in 2021-22), a second and a third-round pick to Ottawa for the seventh overall selection, and promptly selected Kevin Korchinski.

Yes, it was an absolutely brutal trade. Perhaps nothing can be learned from it other than when a team will overpay, just shut up and accept it.

Penguins Draft Trade Scenarios

Dubas’s history as a GM includes numerous times in which he traded down, instead of up, including the 12th pick last season. However, instead of trading down this year, the opportunity in 2026 to trade up is knocking, especially if the Penguins GM will part with a veteran player. After all, the Penguins have top-line scoring wingers in their mid-30s, and this is supposed to be a rebuild.

By that math, it would seem that Dubas has the assets to jump into the middle of the first round by merely flipping picks, but if the Penguins will part with a top line player, they absolutely have a chance to scoot into the heralded top-10.

That upward opportunity lies in the fact that teams with the seventh through the 13th picks, from Seattle, Winnipeg, Florida, Nashville, St. Louis, New Jersey, and the New York Islanders, have a need and, more importantly, a want for veteran players and scoring.

One wonders if Rickard Rakell and No. 39 or a prospect would entice Seattle, Winnipeg, or Florida, at Nos. 7-9?

One might also wonder if Dubas has that kind of pain tolerance to dish another veteran. Despite the rebuilding motif, the Penguins haven’t lost or traded a significant veteran player since the 2024 NHL trade deadline when Dubas sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes for an early second-round pick, Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, and Cruz Lucius.

Obviously, that trade has not yet borne fruit for the Penguins. Lucius refused to sign with the organization following the end of his college career in April, and will become an unrestricted free agent. Ponomarev wanted a guaranteed NHL spot, which the Penguins would not promise, so he went home to the KHL last summer. And Koivunen remains trapped in the middle between too good for the AHL and not ready for the NHL.

Draft Math

So, what if Dubas doesn’t want to part with a veteran, or those teams aren’t as keen on the Penguins’ offerings?

Using our affiliated site PuckPedia’s draft pick calculator to determine the value of picks, the Penguins’ 22nd overall pick is valued at 16.86 points. The 29th overall pick is worth 7.64 points.

For comparison, the PP calculator showed Dubas sold a smidge low on the 12th overall pick because the 12th pick is worth almost 30 points, and the 22nd and 32nd picks were worth a combined 27 points. In fairness, no other teams had the Flyers’ draft capital and could have offered the two first-rounders that allowed Dubas and Clark to work their shell game to get the 22nd and 24th picks.

This year, the Penguins’ 22nd and 39th picks are worth a combined 24.45 points, which equals the values of picks in the 14 to 16 range (Columbus, St. Louis, Washington, respectively). But if you’re curious, their third-rounder is worth another 1.7 points, which probably doesn’t get them close enough to No. 13 owned by the Islanders.

A draft day trade is a little different than trading veterans for prospects since Dubas gets to pick his apples off the tree, and would do so with the help of vice president of player personnel Wes Clark, who is also on a heater. Over the last few years, Clark led the Toronto Maple Leafs’ draft room to select Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten with second-round picks, and Easton Cowan with a late first-round selection before helping the Penguins snag Kindel, Bill Zonnon, and Horcoff in the 2025 draft.

Remember when the 2026 Draft was supposed to be a deep, franchise changing entry draft? Now, there is even real debate if Gavin McKenna is the best prospect and Keaton Verhoeff has fallen down on draft boards, perhaps out of the top five.

Ahem. This could be a wild draft with high value prospects available in the middle or around the No. 10 pick.

The view from here is that this is Dubas’s best chance to speed up the rebuild. There is no plausible move or offseason strategy that could launch the Penguins into Stanley Cup contention within the next two years. The core is too old and the prospect class is getting deeper but lacks top of the lineup players.

By the numbers, this draft will give Dubas a chance to strike.

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