The Pittsburgh Penguins will be a great position come Friday night, as they're now set to own consecutive first-round picks in the 2025 NHL draft.
The Penguins were set to pick at No. 11 this year, and now they've also secured the No. 12 pick in the draft after the New York Rangers sent them their first-round selection in order to satisfy the conditions of the J.T. Miller trade.
The Miller trade saw the Rangers re-acquire the veteran center from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and New York's 2025 first-round pick, protected inside the top 13.
The Canucks then flipped that pick to the Penguins in a trade in which Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor were dealt to Vancouver in exchange for Danton Heinen, Vincent DeSharnais, Melvin Fernstrom and that same conditional first-round pick from the Rangers.
Because the pick landed within the first 13 selections, New York had to decide whether to the send it Pittsburgh this year, or hold onto the No. 12 pick and instead complete the trade with their 2026 selection. They chose to send their 2025 first-round pick to the Penguins.
Although they're still outside of the top 10, Pittsburgh now boasts picks No. 11 and No. 12, which certainly is a favorable situation to find themselves in as they look to build for the future.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Penguins Gain Back-to-Back First-Round Picks After Rangers Complete J.T. Miller Trade.
