Noah Pedrazzoli looks at an interesting summer for the Pittsburgh Penguins as we inch closer to the NHL season
The Pittsburgh Penguins used to be the cream of the crop of the NHL. The beauty of this league, though, is that all empires fall. The Steel City has seen a plethora of success thanks to having one of the greatest duos in hockey in Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin. But now it’s time to look towards the future, forget dwelling on the past, and use the crystal ball.
Upgrades
The new management of Kyle Dubas has gotten a ton of criticism in his first year as general manager. While his predecessor, Ron Hextall was criticized for trying to squeeze as much as he could out of future hall-of-famer Sidney Crosby, Dubas has basically done the same thing by trading for Erik Karlsson in the summer of 2023.
Looking at the trade, it was a rousing success on paper. Dubas clearly got rid of some excess contracts in Jeff Petry and Michael Granlund, but also had to give up a relatively reliable backup goaltender in Casey DeSmith and a first-round pick. Nevertheless, he received the Norris-winning defensemen who, alongside Kris Letang, was projected to make their power play unstoppable.
The response to losing DeSmith was the signing of Alex Nedelkjovic in 2023, who was re-signed this offseason after posting a 2.97 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. While he is a solid backup, the starting role still resides with Tristan Jarry, who just finished the first year of his new contract.
Erik Karlsson will be an integral part of the Penguins season
The Penguins, for the first time in a decade, declared themselves sellers at this past year’s deadline through a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes that saw their star winger, Jake Guentzel, depart for a return of Michael Bunting, a few prospects, and a second-round pick. While the question remains if Michael Bunting has the best job security in this league because of his familiarity with Kyle Dubas, Dubas gained a reliable winger and power-forward in Bunting. He also gained some prospects in Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, and the signing rights to Cruz Lucius that have allowed Pittsburgh to replenish their depleted prospect pool.
Speaking of young players, the Penguins acquired some new faces in Cody Glass and Rutger McGroarty. Glass could be seen as a young depth piece to the bottom six as he was traded alongside a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick for prospect Jordan Frasca. Glass should provide Pittsburgh with an infusion of youth in the bottom six as well as some much needed speed.
Rutger McGroarty was a sought after restricted free agent who was acquired in a one-for-one trade with the Winnipeg Jets for Brayden Yager. It might be a bit of a head-scratcher as Yager is not only younger than McGroarty, but has also put up more points in his pre-NHL career. But Dubas believes McGroarty is more NHL-ready by injecting him into the middle-six of the lineup.
The Penguins made plenty of depth signings that New York Islanders fans should already be acquainted with. Starting off, Anthony Beauviller was signed to a one-year “prove it deal” in which he will be charged with bringing his youthful speed and puck-handling skills that made him a fan favorite in New York, into an even older Penguins team. In addition, another former Islander in Sebastian Aho will be joining the Penguins blue line alongside former Boston Bruin Matt Grzelcyk.
The last depth signing was Blake Lizotte, who was already looking for a fresh start from the Los Angeles Kings. And veteran presence has been added in the form of Kevin Hayes who was cap-dumped by the St Louis Blues alongside a 2025 second-round pick.
Hayes and Lizotte are bottom-six forwards who illustrate Dubas’ vision to balance out the aging core by injecting youth into the lineup alongside a veteran who can aid in their development.
“The Penguins will always be in the conversation as long as they have No. 87.”
Needs and Losses
Kyle Dubas was seen as a rising star in the National Hockey League. A young GM with a brilliant mind who got the Toronto Maple Leafs their first playoff-round win in almost twenty years. Many Penguins fans were excited to hear, after he was fired by Brendan Shannahan in Toronto, that he decided to take his talents to the Steel City. But now, fans might be left to worry if the Penguins are doomed to find another messiah after Sidney Crosby inevitably hangs up the skates.
Dubas did his best to replace some excess contracts with some more efficient ones. And while 56 points from a defenseman is nothing to sneeze at, it is a far cry from the 101 he put up in San Jose the year prior. More was also expected out of Karlsson on the power play, but at one point in the season, the unit failed to put up a single goal for almost a month. And the defensive structure suffered as well.
So now the Penguins find themselves with an aging star with an inflated contract that ends when he is 37. And they have still failed to answer for the lack of a defensive skeleton that Pittsburgh desperately needs in order to counter the younger and faster stars of the NHL.
The loss of Jake Guentzel is a travesty to say the least. The winger is still relatively young and wants to win another cup. But the Penguins were criticized for letting him go to the Canes without gaining a first-round pick, and Crosby will miss playing with the reliable sniper.
Penguins Division Outlook: 5th-7th Place
There are a good deal of questions that must be answered if the once-mighty Pittsburgh Penguins are to make one more run at the Stanley Cup. Can Tristan Jarry prove that he’s a franchise goalie? Can Karlsson add more offense? Can Marcus Petersson and Sebastian Aho provide structured defense? And will Crosby continue to be Crosby?
The Penguins will always be in the conversation as long as they have No. 87, but it is up to bench boss Mike Sullivan to impose his cup-winning mentality and experience upon his strange, yet familiar new team. They will need a variety of factors to go right, and plenty to go wrong for their competitors in the Metropolitan Division to make their way back into the playoffs.
Catch the latest episode of HNiNY as the boys spoke to former Islanders general manager Neil Smith
Hockey Night in New York will be back to cover the New York Islanders all season long with hosts Sean Cuthbert and Stefen Rosner live from Floored Media in Rockville Centre Sundays at 8PM ET! Training camp coverage incoming Sunday 9/15!