League Chatter Mounting: Hagelin on the bubble to stay in Pittsburgh beyond this season

Carl Hagelin’s status for the start of the playoffs is in doubt due to a broken [hide] foot. Hagelin is expected to have another exam early next week that will tell the story whether he has a shot to play in the first round at some point, team sources say.

Hagelin a key cog for the Penguins Stanley Cup run last spring, continues to be at the forefront of rumors around the league that the Penguins are likely to try to move him this summer in attempt to free up money elsewhere, though, the pushback from those close to the situation is ‘let’s see how things play out in the post-season first’.

The speedy winger being vulnerable to a trade or being exposed in the expansion draft is something I’ve mentioned a couple times recently based on discussions other clubs have had with the Penguins around the deadline.

The talk has pretty much been out there since about late January surrounding Hagelin.

Hagelin’s one of a few players on the Penguins roster where how they perform in the post-season is going to have a lot of weight on whether they’re moved or not this off-season. Barring he’s healthy, If Hagelin has the type of impact he had last spring and the Penguins make a very deep run, then the Hagelin chatter will die down some.

But, any scenario where the Penguins go out early with or without Hagelin in the lineup due to injury, or if his play in the post-season is around the inconsistent level it’s been this season, then all bets are off.


VEGAS BOUND?

ESPN ran a projected expansion draft with writers Scott Burnside, Craig Custance, Pierre LeBrun and Joey McDonald participating.

Hagelin was selected on two of the four expansion draft projections, from LeBrun and McDonald.

Here is Pierre LeBrun’s Team:

Forwards
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
Tyler Ennis, Buffalo Sabres
Micheal Ferland, Calgary Flames
Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes
Sven Andrighetto, Colorado Avalanche
Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers
Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks
Luke Glendening, Detroit Red Wings
Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Eric Fehr, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jonathan Marchessault, Florida Panthers
Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets
Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Defensemen
David Schlemko, San Jose Sharks
Stephen Johns, Dallas Stars
Josh Manson, Anaheim Ducks
Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils
Matt Irwin, Nashville Predators

Goalies
Antti Raanta, New York Rangers
Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals
Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets


— Scott Burnside of ESPN had Brian Dumoulin being exposed and selected him in his projection. That one was a bit surprising as  Dumoulin being exposed is extremely unlikely. [/hide]