Kyle Dubas may have spent much of the summer building the Penguins’ forward group with a very specific plan in mind, and that plan appears to have centered on Jason Robertson.
That’s the read from PenguinPoop colleague Caleb DiNatale, whose thinking sparked the line of reasoning here: Dubas was reportedly all-in on trying to land the Stars winger, much the same way he pushed to get Erik Karlsson in the summer of 2023. If that was the target, then the rest of the roster moves start to make a lot more sense.
The Penguins looked crowded up front for a reason. Dubas seemed to stockpile bodies in a way that left little obvious room for younger players such as Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes and Ville Koivunen, who remains unsigned.
On the surface, that setup was hard to square. But if the idea was to flip veterans for Robertson, the picture changes fast.
The initial framework, as reported, included Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust in the package, along with a pair of first-round picks. That would have opened up a spot in the lineup and given Pittsburgh a cleaner path to making the deal work.
But DiNatale believes Dallas general manager Jim Nill may have pushed the talks in a different direction. Instead of settling for Rakell and Rust, the Stars may have asked for one or more of the Penguins’ top prospects, including forwards/2025 first-rounders William Horcoff, Ben Kindel and Bill Zonnon, plus defenseman Harrison Brunicke.
If that’s what happened, it’s easy to see why Dubas would have balked. He’s been clear about not wanting to move the kids, and that stance may have been enough to shut the whole thing down. The result, at least for now, is a Penguins roster that still looks overloaded in front.
None of that can be confirmed. It’s speculation, and plenty of it. But the logic hangs together.
Horcoff, in particular, seems to be a player Dubas values highly. The 6-foot-5 power forward has the kind of size, edge and scoring touch that doesn’t come around often in Pittsburgh. He’s also the sort of player the Penguins have rarely had in the system.
Dubas made that clear in a recent interview with Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.
“Will showed he can do the most important thing, which is that he can score,” Dubas confided with Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo during a recent interview. “He can score at a very high level.”
Horcoff backed that up at the University of Michigan, where he scored 25 goals in 40 games as a sophomore while playing through a banged-up shoulder. He also kept his edge intact, finishing with 64 PIM.
“He’s a player that puts everything into hockey,” Dubas continued. “He doesn’t need many looks to score… We know he’s going to put the work in. Especially as the pace and the engine continues to grow and expand, we feel that he’s obviously going to be a major impact player.”
That’s the kind of praise that tells you exactly where a front office stands.
So if the Robertson chase really did lead Dubas to consider moving veterans and then stop short when the ask turned to premium prospects, the Penguins may have avoided a painful decision. Horcoff and the rest of the kids are still in the fold, and that matters.
In Other News...
Penguins May Have Quietly Saved A Goalie Prospect Fans Forgot About
The Penguins switch from the Wheeling Nailers to the Florida Everblades was always going to have ripple effects beyond the ECHL standings, and one of the quieter ones came in goal. Pittsburgh has spent the summer reshaping its minor-league setup, and in the process it made sure a young netminder with some long-term intrigue did not get lost in the shuffle.
Gabriel D'Aigle had been with Wheeling, but the affiliate change gave the Penguins a chance to pull him back into their own system and keep him in the pipeline. For a team that already has goaltending depth to work with, it is the kind of low-profile move that can matter later, especially with D'Aigle still viewed as a developing prospect rather than someone close to NHL duty. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospect Caught In Another Strange Affiliate Ripple Effect
The Penguins ECHL shuffle has already produced one of those odd little roster ripples that follows an affiliation change. After Pittsburgh ended its long partnership with Wheeling and lined up Florida as its new ECHL home, the Nailers had to sort through a rights situation involving goalie prospect Gabriel DAigle, whose status had been preserved when Wheeling extended him a qualifying offer before the switch.
Wheeling has now moved on from that wrinkle, sending DAigle to clear the path created by the new affiliate setup and bringing back defenseman Hunter Sansbury in the deal. For Pittsburgh, it is another reminder that a change at the lower levels can reach well beyond the crease, especially when a young prospects rights are caught between old arrangements and a new organizational map. [Read more 🡒]
This Is Exactly The Defenseman Ducks Fans Have Been Waiting For
A recent podcast report has stirred the kind of early trade chatter that tends to follow a defenseman with a strong reputation and a little uncertainty around his current situation. Vladislav Gavrikov is still with the Rangers, but the discussion around him has centered on whether his fit in New York could become a bigger question if the teams direction slips, especially with the protection of a no-movement clause shaping any future move.
For the Penguins, the name is at least worth filing away. Pittsburgh was mentioned among the clubs that could make sense if Gavrikov ever became available, alongside Boston and Seattle, but nothing is close to happening right now. The bigger issue is whether the Rangers can quiet the noise before it turns into something more serious, because once a player with that kind of leverage starts weighing his options, the list of possible landing spots can tighten quickly. [Read more 🡒]