The Pittsburgh Penguins are digging themselves into a deeper hole game after game. Even with franchise pieces Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin playing out of their minds, the team can’t find a way out of the league’s basement.

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas denied speculation about a fire sale, but how many of their top players could be traded?

With the looming break, we might see something of a “soft” trade deadline before the NHL shuts down on Feb. 8. The Penguins have only eight games before Feb. 9 and 15 games until the March 7 actual deadline.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have refuted reports of a fire sale in recent weeks. After trading Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals earlier in the season, it appeared as if the team would start tearing things down.

Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins are still on the fringes of playoff contention it still seems to be a foregone conclusion on what they are going to do in advance of the March 7 NHL trade deadline.