February 5, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeny Malkin (71) awaits the match against the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Image With star center Sidney Crosby still sidelined with an injury and forward Evgeni Malkin facing a possible suspension, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon, decided to make a big move at Friday’s trade deadline.
How big is it? Try the 6-foot-8, 252-pound size.
The Penguins acquired forward Elmer Soderblom from the Detroit Red Wings for a third-round draft pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. With two goals and one assist in 39 games, Soderblom is just an inch below Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara, the tallest player to ever play in the NHL, and would add some strength to Pittsburgh’s front line.
Crosby, who suffered a right leg injury on a hit by the Czech Republic’s Radko Gudas at the Olympics while playing for Team Canada, was skating back in non-contact drills during Friday’s optional practice but is expected to miss several more games. Pittsburgh likely will be without Malkin for some time after he received a major game penalty for cutting Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin across the chin with his stick during Thursday’s 5-1 loss to the Sabers.
Malkin, second on the team with 47 points, including 13 goals, was scheduled to have a telephone hearing with the Department of Player Safety on Friday night. He has been suspended twice during his career, most recently a four-game suspension in 2022 for cross-checking Nashville’s Mark Borowicki.
Pittsburgh is tied with the Flyers for second place but has had consecutive games dropped in regulation for the first time since Jan. 10-11.
Penguins coach Dan Muse sent the following message to his team after the loss to the Sabres. “Get angry. I don’t want to leave today saying it’s okay for anyone. I need to turn the page quickly. So go home, get some sleep, and go to the rink tomorrow.
“We have to look at ways to do better,” Muse added. “There are going to be games where things don’t go our way. I thought that was the case (Thursday) because of other factors, and we have to make sure we stay focused and maintain our level.”
The Flyers, six points behind Boston for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 21 games left, became sellers at the trade deadline. Philadelphia sent defenseman Bobby Brink, who had 13 goals and 13 assists in 55 games, to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Zircek and enforcer Nicholas Deslorious to the Carolina Hurricanes for a conditional seventh-round 2027 draft pick.
The 6-foot-4, 204-pound Jiricek, 22, was originally drafted sixth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by Columbus and has split time with the Wild and their AHL affiliate Iowa. He will report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL.
The Flyers are also looking to bounce back Saturday after losing 3-0 at home to Utah on Thursday. Philadelphia tied a season low with 16 shots on goal in the contest.
“It’s one of those games where it’s hard to tell who had a good game,” Flyers coach Rick Tosche said. “It was one of those games where we didn’t back down. It was hard to swallow. We had to regroup.”
This is the final match of the four regular season matches between the two teams. Pittsburgh has won two of the first three games, including a 6-3 win in the last meeting on Jan. 15 in Pittsburgh.
–Field level media
