The Pittsburgh Penguins’ latest preseason twist has been less about who forced his way onto the roster and more about who got hurt badly enough to leave openings behind.
Ben Kindel is dealing with a lower-body injury. Bryan Rust has an upper-body injury that wasn’t noticed until he left the final preseason game Saturday.
Ryan Graves is on injured reserve with issues in both knees. That wave of absences has kept players around who looked headed for waivers or a return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and it has created a short window for a different group to show what they can do.
What happens next may say more about general manager Kyle Dubas than the players themselves. The Penguins are still living in that strange in-between place Erik Karlsson labeled “weird” on the first day of camp, and the label still fits.
This is a team that talked about a youth movement, then got older. Veteran players on the wrong side of 30 were brought in to replace younger players who were supposed to be ready. Before the injury pileup, the only prospect set to be in the lineup was goalie Sergei Murashov.
The group closest to the NHL included Nick Robertson, who wanted a change-of-scenery trade from Toronto, along with 26-year-old Filip Hallander and 24-year-old Hendrix Lapierre. Both Hallander and Lapierre were in undefined roles throughout camp, fighting simply to stay on the roster.
The Wilkes-Barre side of the equation was even less secure from the start: Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke all looked on the outside looking in. The injuries have changed that picture some, keeping McGroarty and Tristan Broz with the club, though Broz is now listed as injured too. Koivunen also got pushed into the lineup on the third line.
Still, the broader read is hard to miss. Until proven otherwise, Dubas and the staff do not seem especially sold on the prospects near the NHL edge. A team truly committed to turning the page would not have brought in so many middling veterans, and it would have done more to force those young players into the picture.
That makes this stretch important for another reason: it could turn some of these bodies into trade pieces. If Dubas isn’t high enough on a maturing player like McGroarty, or if one of the current depth options performs well, the Penguins could gain leverage either by moving a prospect or by flipping one of the veterans they added.
Assistant GM Jason Spezza’s words still apply here: the Penguins “have to” get the younger players in the lineup at some point. This may be the first real opening, even if it arrived by accident.
The question now is whether Dubas follows through if those players actually seize it.
There are a few other threads worth watching inside the room. One veteran made his feelings clear early in camp about the idea of forcing prospects into NHL roles: “The NHL is not a developmental league. When you get here, you’re supposed to know your (crap), but in the last eight years, it seems like that’s not been the case.”
There was also a telling scene at the UPMC Lemieux Complex, where Karlsson was seen in sweats and sandals walking and talking with coach Dan Muse. Karlsson clearly likes Muse, and the relationship appears to be a strong one. If the Penguins can sell a brighter future, Muse could be one of the best reasons for Karlsson to stay.
On the blue line, Declan Carlile has done exactly what the Penguins wanted after signing him quickly on July 1. Kaedan Korczak has been fine.
Brunicke, though, is the one with obvious NHL ability right now and the kind of upside that should make him undeniable soon. The bigger question may be how Dubas sorts through all the right-handed defensemen.
Kris Letang also remains a player with something to prove. Last season drifted toward disaster more than once, and he has not shown the usual burst in camp. Right now, his place among the top three righties looks more like an assumption than something backed up by what’s been seen on the ice.
Hallander, meanwhile, has come out of camp with a strong impression. He told PHN he needs to get that “evil eye” more often this season, meaning he wants to play with more edge.
It was a language-barrier moment, and he laughed it off, but the larger point held: he attacked camp aggressively and looked determined to show he belongs. He may have a higher ceiling than people realize.
Graves is a different story. The knee issues are worth watching, because he clearly was not enjoying camp and struggled badly in preseason games.
If there is a physical reason behind the decline, it could help explain what has happened over the past couple of years. The mental side is obvious too: his NHL future is slipping away.
He looks like a buyout candidate next June. The cost would be about a $1 million savings from his $4.5 million cap hit for each of two years ($1.208 million, then $958,333), with a $541,667 penalty for two more years. A trade would also be possible, though it likely would take only a second- or third-round pick as a salary-dump return, based on the market and what the Penguins received to take on Kevin Hayes.
Koivunen’s situation brings its own layer. Fans were not wrong to notice that McGroarty outplayed him in camp and preseason, but rebuilding politics and money clearly mattered when Koivunen got the third-line chance late in camp and in the fourth preseason game.
The organization does see middle-six scoring potential there, and there has been no chatter in the room about his contract. But players are human, and if he doesn’t produce, the way he is viewed by teammates in Wilkes-Barre and by the NHL group in Pittsburgh could change fast.
If he does produce, Dubas will have every reason to walk a little taller.
Then there is the goaltending wrinkle. Dubas promised an open competition for the backup job, but Joel Blomqvist played only one half of one game.
The organization clearly had a decision in mind already, and it may have been the right one. Still, it was another example of a chance that wasn’t really a chance at all.
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Penguins Prospects Made An Early Statement Against Hershey
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Just as encouraging for the Penguins was the way they controlled the other end of the ice, limiting Hershey to 14 shots and getting 11 saves from Taylor Gauthier. Preseason results never tell the whole story, but for a prospect group looking to make an impression, this was the sort of complete effort that gets attention in the building. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Preseason Win Came With A New Concern For Pittsburgh
Bryan Rusts preseason exit added another layer of worry for a Penguins club already navigating a crowded injury report up front. Pittsburgh is trying to sort through absences involving Blake Lizotte, Ben Kindel and Justin Brazeau, and Rusts status now hangs over the start of the season as the team waits for more clarity on how serious the issue might be.
For a roster that has already had to juggle forward availability, the timing is hardly ideal. The broader preseason also brought its share of injury notes around the league, with Ottawas Jake Sanderson leaving a game only for coach Travis Green to call it precautionary, while Buffalo lost Jack Rathbone to a week-to-week lower-body injury, but Pittsburghs focus remains on Rust and whether hell be ready when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]