The Penguins’ offseason has started to look less like a quick fix and more like a deliberate slide into something bigger.
That shift became even clearer once Jason Robertson signed with the Dallas Stars, shutting down any lingering fantasy that Pittsburgh might still swing for a star addition. With that door closed, the Penguins’ pool of options has narrowed fast, and general manager Kyle Dubas admitted after the first round of the NHL Draft that the club did not have a top-10 pick.
That mattered, because those picks had become the hottest trade currency in the days before the draft. Pittsburgh was stuck at No. 22 after a surprising season, and Dubas couldn’t turn that into more leverage.
Maybe that was never the point anyway. The way this offseason has unfolded suggests the Penguins were less interested in patching holes with short-term veterans and more willing to accept a step back.
The clearest sign is Andrei Kuzmenko.
Dubas moved quickly for Kuzmenko even though more productive, more complete options were still available. Patrik Laine, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Michael Bunting were on the market on July 1.
So were Viktor Arvidsson, Bobby Brink, and Jack Roslovic, all for less money. Maybe some of those players passed on Pittsburgh, but it’s hard to believe all but Bunting did.
Instead, the Penguins signed Kuzmenko after a 25-point season and even gave him a raise from his previous $4.3 million cap hit. Replacing the offense Anthony Mantha took with him when he hit free agency after a 33-goal season feels like a stretch. Kuzmenko looks more like a movable piece than a locked-in answer, especially if a younger player such as Ville Koivunen or Rutger McGroarty takes that spot.
The same theme shows up on defense.
Pittsburgh traded away Parker Wotherspoon, a top-pairing left-side defenseman, and let Ryan Shea walk in free agency. Both are in their late 20s, so this wasn’t about age forcing the issue.
Wotherspoon was dealt for 25-year-old Kaedan Korczak, a player the organization believes has more upside. The problem is that Korczak now stands in the way of Harrison Brunicke, who looks ready.
Shea’s departure is even harder to explain beyond clearing room for others.
Then there’s Evgeni Malkin, whose return was tied in part to the pull of history, fans, and teammates. But the simplest read is also the bluntest one: Malkin, who will soon turn 40, is almost certainly not going to replace the offense he gave the Penguins last season.
Among the moves that fit Dubas’s rebuild-leaning approach better, the best one might be the trade for Nick Robertson. Pittsburgh sent a 2028 fourth-round pick to Toronto and got a 24-year-old winger who has spent a few seasons on the edge of the Leafs’ plans.
Robertson scored 16 goals and finished with 32 points in 78 games last season, and he still looks like a player with more to offer. Of all the offseason additions, he is one of just two that seem more likely than not to help right away.
The other is Declan Carlile, the 26-year-old left-handed defenseman the Penguins signed after he emerged late, much like Shea.
The first trade of the offseason, though, was a little harder to sort out. Pittsburgh acquired Hendrix Lapierre from Washington for future third- and fifth-round picks, then signed him to a two-year deal worth $1.3 million per season.
Lapierre, 24, is a playmaking center who hasn’t been able to secure a steady NHL role and spent more time in the AHL than on NHL ice. He had 16 points, with 4 goals and 12 assists, in 74 NHL games last season.
With a crowded bottom six and a full top six, finding him a clear path into the lineup is not simple.
That leaves the Penguins with a roster that is difficult to grade cleanly.
If the standard is improvement, the offseason lands at a D. Pittsburgh is not better now than it was in May, and Dubas probably didn’t add many trade chips either.
Korczak, Carlile, and Robertson make sense in isolation, but the rest of the picture is murkier. Signing 34-year-old Trevor van Riemsdyk to round out the blue line only adds to the confusion, especially with Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Korczak, and Brunicke already on the right side.
If the standard is rebuilding, the grade climbs to a B.
That’s the uncomfortable truth of the whole thing. The Penguins may be headed toward that top-10 pick after all, while also giving Robertson and Carlile a chance to carve out longer-term roles. Dubas and his front office might have outmaneuvered the market again.
Or maybe this is just what a step back looks like before the next move forward.
In Other News...
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Erik Karlsson remains the more complicated piece of the puzzle for Pittsburgh, because his status is tied to both the Penguins place in the standings and the cost of any extension. He is in the final year of his contract, so the front office has to balance the possibility of keeping him against the reality that a trade could become the cleaner path if the club is not positioned to contend. [Read more 🡒]
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The Penguins are still hunting for help down the middle, and Shane Wright has emerged as a name worth watching. The 22-year-old Seattle center was taken fourth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, but his fit with the Kraken has not matched the expectations that followed him into the league, which has opened the door to a possible move.
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Josh Yohes latest look at the organization captures the bind neatly, because this is no longer just about being competitive in the present. The Penguins have enough older regulars in the mix to make the roster feel crowded, but not enough certainty around the next wave to make a clean reset feel simple. Kyle Dubas is resisting anything that looks like a full teardown, yet the pressure to make harder decisions is only growing, and the next round of roster choices could say a lot about how quickly Pittsburgh is willing to accelerate the rebuild around Crosbys final prime years. [Read more 🡒]