Pens go for broke at Trade Deadline, acquire Provorov, Jenner from Blue Jackets
Move revamps defense brings heralded depth at center position behind Crosby, Malkin
PITTSBURGH, PS -- - The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired center and captain Boone Jenner and defenseman Ivan Provorov from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Going the other way is center Thomas Novak, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph and two first-round draft picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft this upcoming summer.
The Penguins were expected to be quiet on the front after already pulling off two impressive trades with the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, respectively. They acquired star winger Brock Boeser, goaltender John Gibson and center Trevor Zegras over the last few days.
The team adds captain Jenner, 31-years-old, who has scored 18 goals and 35 points through 47 games played while averaging 16:48 of time on the ice per game. He's viewed as a hard-nosed, gritty forward who goes to the uncomfortable spots on the ice and fishes out pucks to create offense. He was one of the longest-tenured players on the Blue Jackets, being drafted by the team 37th overall back in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
"We like what he brings to our squad," said general manager Kyle Dubas during his press conference after the trade deadline ended at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. "He's the ideal playoff performer, and we're excited to have him in our lineup." Jenner is a perennial 20-goal scorer, and enjoyed a career-high 30 goals back in the 2015-16 season, along with 49 points.
Provorov, a 28-year-old former first-round draft pick of the rival Philadelphia Flyers, joins the Penguins has an incredible needed left-handed shot on the back end. The Penguins' defensive depth previously tailed off after Matt Grzelcyk, with the unproven but reliable Owen Pickering being their best defenseman now that Ryan Graves is with the Anaheim Ducks.
Provorov, has three goals and 26 points through 62 games for the Blue Jackets. He has seen his role decline behind the ascension to stardom by fellow Blue Jackets defenseman Zack Werenski.
"Just someone who is super savvy in his own end and can create instant offense as well" said GM Dubas. "We wanted to improve our left side, that was something we wanted to see if we could go out and find a trade for someone of note and we're glad to have been able to pick up someone like him."
The Penguins lines going forward are expected to look something like this:
Forwards
Trevor Zegras - Sidney Crosby [C] - Brock Boeser
Rutger McGroarty - Evgeni Malkin [A] - Bryan Rust
Philip Tomasino - Boone Jenner - Rickard Rakell
Ville Koivunen - Blake Lizotte - Emil Bemstrom
Extras: Samuel Poulin, Noel Acciari
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov - Erik Karlsson
Matt Grzelcyk - Kris Letang [A]
Owen Pickering - Jack St. Ivany
Extras: Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
John Gibson
Alex Nedeljkovic
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4
7:39 - Trevor Zegras (7) Assisted by: Brock Boeser & Sidney Crosby [PP]
9:25 - Joel Eriksson Ek (15) Assisted by: Kirill Kaprizov & David Jiricek
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8:32 - Mark Stone (21) Assisted by: Ivan Barbashev
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