The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their winning ways against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, and with Evgeni Malkin back in the lineup, the sky is the limit. The team is sitting pretty in a playoff spot, and both general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke recently mentioned that the team is pushing for the Stanley Cup this season. While Penguins fans shouldn’t expect a boatload of assets to be moved at the trade deadline for rental players, management will still be actively looking for creative ways to upgrade the roster, not only for the short term but the long term, if possible.

I recently wrote about who the Penguins should target on the Seattle Kraken. Today, I’ll turn to Buffalo and dive into three Sabres the Penguins should be calling about.

Mark Jankowski

The Penguins know the 6-foot-4 Jankowski pretty well as he played 45 games in Pittsburgh last season, tallying 11 points. This season hasn’t gone as planned for the 27-year-old, who has played most of 2021-22 in the American Hockey League, where he’s posted 12 points in 13 games. In six games with the Sabres this season, the Calgary Flames’ first-round pick in 2012 received just over 13 minutes of ice time and was used mostly on the penalty kill.

Considering the reinstated taxi squad, the COVID absences, and the Penguins’ injury troubles, adding a player they are already familiar with as a depth option is a great idea and worth considering. Jankowski would cost almost nothing to acquire and has the versatility to play either down the middle or on the wing. While he’s nothing to write home about, he’s also an under-the-radar type of addition who could have a bigger impact than we think.

Robert Hagg

The Penguins would love to add some toughness to their defense in time for the postseason and that’s what Hagg offers.