With a little more than a month left before training camp, the Penguins’ roster still raises more questions than answers.
There are too many forwards, especially in the bottom six. There isn’t much room for the younger players.
The left side of the defense looks shaky. And the lineup still feels short on physicality at a time when Eastern Conference rivals like the Capitals and Panthers have loaded up on muscle.
That’s why the current construction of the team is so hard to read. There is still time for a trade or two, and today is the third anniversary of the Erik Karlsson mega-deal, but at the moment it doesn’t look like any moves are coming.
Not for ‘Canes portside defenseman Alex Nikishin. Not for Kraken center Shane Wright, especially after the Tommy Novak extension.
Not for anybody.
That uncertainty stands out because last summer’s moves worked almost perfectly. To the enormous credit of the Penguins’ president of hockey operations and general manager, nearly everything landed.
Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau came in as twin towers and delivered 50 goals combined. Parker Wotherspoon, a journeyman defender, also stepped into a bigger role and made it work.
The result was a stunning season and a second-place finish.
This summer feels different.
Some of the additions make sense, including forward Nicolas Robertson and defenseman Declan Carlile on the cheap. But plenty of the rest leaves me cold, and a few moves I flat-out hate. It looks as if Dubas had no backup plan once his pursuit of Jason Robertson fell through, as if landing the Stars star was supposed to solve everything in one swing.
Or maybe there’s something else going on.
Beyond the talk of improving the roster “brick-by-brick” and staying competitive, does Dubas have a secret agenda? Is there a plan only he and his staff know about?
Looking at the roster, it’s hard not to wonder whether the team has been built - or maybe unbuilt - in a way that almost invites failure. If that’s the case, the prize could be a top-10 draft pick, something the Penguins haven’t had since Ray Shero took Derrick Pouliot eighth overall in 2012.
And if the season goes off the rails, that could open the door to a deadline selloff involving Erik Karlsson and/or the “R’n’R boys,” Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust.
From where I sit, Dubas seems to have his eyes on what comes next. It almost feels like he’s treating this season as a throw-away.
Did he intentionally and quietly set the Penguins up to fail?
Time will tell.
In Other News...
Penguins Double Down On A Farm System Plan Fans Should Notice
The Penguins have quietly kept the development pipeline moving, announcing the coaching staffs for both Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the Florida Everblades for the 2026-27 season. Kirk MacDonald will return behind the bench for the AHL club, while Brad Ralph stays in place as head coach and general manager in Florida, giving Pittsburgh a clearer picture of who will be steering prospects at the next two rungs of the system. Several assistant coaches and support staff were also confirmed or moved up, a sign the organization is leaning into continuity where it matters most.
For a team trying to stay disciplined about long-term roster building, these are the kind of decisions that can matter more than they first appear. A stable farm setup does not guarantee anything at the NHL level, but it does give young players a more consistent path and keeps the messaging between affiliates aligned. Pittsburgh has made it clear it wants its development structure to do real work, and these staffing choices suggest the Penguins are doubling down on that plan rather than treating the minor leagues as an afterthought. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Fans Are Split On How Far This Rebuild Should Go
The Penguins rebuild conversation has turned into a familiar summer exercise: a long list of hypothetical trades, roster tweaks, and big-picture choices about how aggressive the team should be. The discussion runs through familiar names such as Harrison Brunicke, Shane Wright, Jason Robertson, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, and Sidney Crosby, which tells you how wide the range has become. With the free-agent and trade markets offering limited help and the current roster still carrying plenty of established talent, every potential move seems to come with a counterargument.
For fans, that is where the split starts to show. Some see a path that requires a deeper reset, while others are less willing to imagine the Penguins moving too far from the core that has defined the franchise for so long. The articles hypothetical format underscores how uncertain the next phase is, because the questions around who stays, who goes, and how far the team should push the rebuild remain open. Even without any actual transactions, the exercise captures the tension of a team trying to decide whether it is retooling on the fly or preparing for something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Face A Brutal Early Test Before The Season Settles Down
The early part of the Penguins 2023-24 season is going to ask plenty of them before the calendar even turns comfortable. Training camp arrives around Sept. 14, then a shortened four-game preseason from Sept. 21-26 quickly gives way to the real thing, with the opener coming Sept. 30 in Philadelphia. It will be the franchises first game in September, and it sets up a start that feels more like a sprint than a warmup.
October is where the schedule really starts to lean on Pittsburgh, with a heavy run of games against Western Conference opponents and division rivals, plus a significant road trip and a string of back-to-backs. The pattern does not let up immediately after that, either, as November brings more travel mixed with home dates, leaving the Penguins to manage early fatigue while still trying to establish a rhythm. [Read more 🡒]