Penguins in hot pursuit of pending free agent Chris Tanev

According to a joint report by Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe of The Athletic, the Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to make a big push for Vancouver Canucks defenseman and pending free agent Chris Tanev. In their latest column for The Ahletic, Rossi and Yohe break down the latest rumours from the Penguins' front office and take a real deep look at the moves that GM Jim Rutherford is making behind the scenes. Tanev is reportedly a big target for Rutherford and it may come at the expense of forward Bryan Rust.

Check out some of these quotes from Rossi and Yohe courtesy of The Athletic:

Adding a right-handed shot defenseman is a priority for the Penguins, and Rutherford is expected to try clearing enough cap space to pursue Christopher Tanev on the open market, multiple team and league sources said.

Tanev is the elder brother of forward Brandon Tanev, the Penguins’ big free-agent signing last offseason. Christopher Tanev is set to turn 31 in December, but his age is not a concern for the team. And Rutherford is not averse to extending Tanev an offer that would run concurrent with the final five years of Brandon Tanev’s contract, the team source said.

Christopher Tanev is seeking a raise on the $4.45 million he counted against the cap on his last contract, league sources said. The Penguins plan to play up uniting with family and Pittsburgh’s lower cost of living to entice Tanev, but their preference is to keep his cap hit from exceeding $5 million, a team and league source said. Tanev isn’t a gifted offensive player but would give them a very steady albeit expensive option to play on the right side behind Kris Letang and Marino. This could give them insurance on the right side of their blue line if Letang doesn’t receive a new deal or if he is traded before his contract expires after the 2021-22 season. 

It'll be interesting to see if the lure of playing with his brother Brandon Tanev, will be enough for Tanev to jump ship. Truthfully though, he may not have much of a choice in the matter if the Canucks can't get their cap issues under control. The team is woefully close to the cap already and have pending free agents like Tanev, Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Virtanen and Troy Stecher to re-sign. Someone is going to get pushed out of the picture in Vancouver and it may be Tanev.

For the full article, including some interesting insights on Rust, click below: