The Pittsburgh Penguins were destroyed on Monday night by the Dallas Stars. Pittsburgh has had some horrible performances early in the 2024-25 campaign. But Monday night's loss, compounded with the Penguins' growing frustration with Erik Karlsson, was the final straw. The Penguins traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh received two draft picks in return for the veteran center. Both teams confirmed that they got a 2027 third-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. Eller returns to the Capitals where he is something of a cult hero. Eller scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for Washington when they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018.
It's an intriguing trade, especially this early in the season. This is almost certainly the beginning of a larger fire sale for the Penguins. And the Capitals get an early start at bolstering their roster for a playoff run. For now, though, let's take a deeper look at this trade and hand grades to both teams.
Penguins trade Lars Eller
Lars Eller was always a trade candidate for the Penguins given his contract situation. The 35-year-old is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He is certainly in the twilight of his career. However, the veteran pivot is still a valuable player on the ice. Obviously, the Capitals agreed.
Eller brings a ton of value in the faceoff circle. To this point, he has a faceoff-winning percentage of 56%, according to ESPN. Only Sidney Crosby and Kevin Hayes have a higher success rate from the dot. It is worth noting, though, that Hayes has been deployed mostly as a winger this season.
Furthermore, Eller has shown he can still provide secondary offense. He has four goals and seven points through the Penguins' first 17 games of the season. This is good for a 20-goal, 33-point pace over 82 games, which is in line with his recent offensive production.
There is certainly value in having a player like Eller if you are contending. However, the Penguins are not contending, and are unlikely to contend. Trading Eller, in this scenario, makes a ton of sense. And they do well here to get two mid-round picks for a player they would have lost for free in the summer.
The Penguins are staring down the barrel of a rebuild. The Lars Eller trade is the first domino to fall in this process. If this is any indication, Pittsburgh could have a brighter future sooner rather than later.
Capitals trade for Lars Eller
The Capitals have struggled on the power play early in the 2024-25 campaign. Despite their soaring offense, Washington has not clicked when up a man this year. To this end, adding a forward certainly makes sense. Adding Lars Eller specifically bring some initial shock for the Capitals.
Eller is not here to fix the power play, and that's obvious. What Eller can do, however, is potentially benefit the team's third line. Mike Sgarbossa and Hendrix Lapierre have filled in as the third-line anchors this year. But the line has yet to truly come together as the team hoped.
Eller is a fantastic fit for this issue. He can certainly hold his own in that sort of role. He has an understanding of what the organization expects out of its players. And he knows what it's like to win with this organization. It's easy to see why Washington wanted to bring Eller back into the fold.
In saying this, a third-round pick is certainly a steep cost for the Capitals to pay. Eller walks free at the end of the season. In fact, there's a non-zero chance he hangs up his skates after 2024-25. His underlying numbers aren't exactly promising, either. He has an Expected Goals For Percentage of 43.93%, according to Evolving Hockey.
At the end of the day, the Capitals are in win-now mode. They want to take advantage of their roaring start and push for a Stanley Cup. Sometimes, that involves making trades that don't look so well on paper. The third-round pick won't reach the NHL until the late 2020s at the earliest. It's a price Washington can pay without losing any sleep at night.
Grades and final thoughts
The Penguins receive high marks for the Lars Eller trade. Pittsburgh signaled the beginning of a much-needed rebuild. And they received a pretty good collection of draft picks for someone who would have walked in the summer. The Capitals, meanwhile, receive a fine grade. This is a bit of a steep price for the team to pay. Especially for a pending free agent in the twilight of his career. But it shouldn't sink them in the long run by any means.
Pittsburgh Penguins grade: A-
Washington Capitals grade: B-
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