Burke: Penguins looking to add ahead of trade deadline

Brian Burke is approaching his first trade deadline as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins' front office, and he's ready to make some moves.

"We have an agreement with ownership," Burke told The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "And part of that agreement is to see how much we can help this group win right now."

Burke was hired as Pittsburgh's president of hockey operations in February. He was brought in with general manager Ron Hextall - who was appointed in the aftermath of Jim Rutherford's surprise resignation - and many wondered what approach the duo would take for an aging Penguins core struggling to string together wins in 2021.

"We are looking to do something, very much. Hexy is working the phones hard right now," Burke said.

He continued, "We like our group. We'd like to make it better. Here's the thing: We don't have any picks left. We aren't putting our top kids in play. So, we don't necessarily have certain things to offer that other teams do. The things we can offer are a little different than other teams, maybe. But if we can add, we're going to add."

Pittsburgh has one of the league's emptiest prospect pipelines and only owns one pick in the first four rounds of the 2021 draft. The club is also right against the $81.5-million salary cap, making a move of significance before the April 12 deadline difficult.

The Penguins boast the league's third-best record since their front-office shakeup at 15-6-1. They currently sit third in the East Division with 42 points but have played five more games than the fourth-place Bruins.