Kyle Dubas may not have said it out loud, but the Penguins’ rough opening to the season is pushing them toward a place they’ve been trying to avoid for a while: the rebuild.
Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes are already drifting out of reach in November, and the way this roster has looked only sharpens the pressure on the front office. The offseason construction is now under the microscope, because the team’s early collapse has made it harder to see a quick fix. If there was a long game here, the Penguins are now living inside it.
What comes next looks increasingly obvious. The Penguins may have little choice but to start moving veteran pieces and accept that the path forward runs through prospects and draft capital.
That would mean pain now, but it would also give the organization something it badly needs: a future. Selling veterans could stock the system and create room for younger players to get NHL ice time this season.
The roster itself has been a problem from the jump. The bottom six has been crowded and messy, with too many forwards fighting for too few spots.
The blue line has been even shakier, and the result has been a nightly pattern of goaltenders being left exposed. Whether that was the plan or not, the current setup has not worked.
That’s why names like Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson are already in the rumor mill. Pittsburgh could move all three before the March 1 deadline, and it would not be a surprise if things start happening sooner. Dealing from the top six should bring back solid value, while also clearing the runway for a different kind of evaluation.
And that evaluation matters. The Penguins need to find out what they have in younger players from the AHL, including Rutger McGroarty and Avery Hayes. This is the season to get real answers on whether they can handle the NHL stage.
No team sets out to tank, and Pittsburgh shouldn’t frame it that way. But if a turnaround this season is unlikely, there’s no reason to keep leaning on the same aging core just to chase a slim chance. Getting younger now, even if it costs them in the standings, could be the smarter move in the long run.
There’s still a version of this where the kids inject some life into the lineup down the stretch. That would be the best-case outcome: younger players stepping in, veterans helping guide them, and the Penguins heading into the offseason with more prospects and more draft picks than they have now.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Linked To A Major Trade Target They May Not Control
The Penguins blue line has become part of a larger trade conversation as teams around the league look for help, and Erik Karlsson keeps surfacing as one of the more intriguing names. Toronto would like to add a defenseman but is boxed in by the salary cap, which makes any move complicated unless it can clear money first. For Pittsburgh, that keeps Karlsson in the middle of a market that is still trying to sort out who can actually afford to do business.
Among the clubs kicking tires, Carolina has been tied most closely to Karlsson, which is enough to keep the rumor mill humming in Pittsburgh. But any path forward is not as simple as a team deciding it wants him and calling it a day, because the veteran defenseman still has say in where he goes. Until that part of the equation is settled, the interest around him remains just that - interest. [Read more 🡒]
WBS Penguins Let Rivalry Milestone Slip Away In Brutal Collapse
The 300th regular-season meeting between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hershey had all the markings of another hard-nosed chapter in a long rivalry, and for most of the night the Penguins looked ready to make it their own. They carried a 3-1 lead into the third period and had the game in hand before the Bears started clawing back, turning what should have been a landmark win into a tense finish.
Hershey finished the rally in overtime to steal a 4-3 victory, leaving the Penguins to sort through a collapse that will sting for a while. Taylor Gauthier was busy throughout the night, and Cal Petersen held up his end for the Bears as they found a way to turn a milestone game into a memorable comeback, one Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would have liked to close out much differently. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Practice Sent A Clear Message About A Roster Shakeup
Dan Muse used practice to reshuffle the Penguins lines, and the message from the morning skate was hard to miss. Rookie Sergei Murashov was being singled out as having secured a roster spot, giving the club a little clarity at a time when the lineup has been in flux and every adjustment feels like it carries a little extra weight.
Elsewhere on the ice, Bryan Rust and Elmer Soderblom were both on injured ice before practice, with Rust skating but not at full intensity. The broader picture around the Penguins is still changing too, with trade chatter continuing to swirl around Erik Karlsson and other names around the league, leaving the roster conversation very much alive even as one young player appears to have carved out his place. [Read more 🡒]