Welcome Matt: Will Canucks and Penguins connect on a trade deadline deal?

The more you read out of Pittsburgh, the more you wonder if the Canucks and Penguins can do business before next Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

The Athletic’s Rob Rossi today reporting that head coach Mike Sullivan (a former Canucks assistant) wants Arizona defenceman Jacob Chychrun but that GM Ron Hextall is hesitant to trade future first-round picks.

What’s more, the Penguins are so cap-strapped that defenceman Jan Rutta can’t get in the lineup because they don’t have the cap space to take him off LTIR.

Then there’s Kasperi Kapanen, who was available for trade according to a memo Hextall sent other GMs, reminding them of the winger’s availability.

With no takers,  Kapanen will be placed on waivers, presumably to activate Rutta and set up other deadline moves.

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Kapanen, 26, was drafted by this Canucks management team when they were in Pittsburgh, then traded to Toronto as a prospect before being subsequently reacquired from the Leafs.

Speaking of ex-Leafs, our friend Rick Dhaliwal has reported that the Penguins are interested in Canucks blueliner Luke Schenn, who is affordable salary-cap wise.

There’s an old adage in hockey that you better know the player you’re sending out because it’s highly likely you know less about the player you’re acquiring.

That might not actually apply when it comes to Jim Rutherford, Patrik Allvin, and assistant GM Derek Clancey, who also worked in Pittsburgh, and Penguins players.

When you couple those facts with Frank Seravalli’s report that the Canucks are now willing to serve as trade brokers for cap-tight teams, then you have the conditions that are ripe for a deal.

We’ll see what the next week brings.