Getting younger is something the Pittsburgh Penguins have been trying to accomplish since Kyle Dubas took over as the general manager. The issue is that his plan has not gone smoothly, and now the club sits in a state of limbo.
They aren't committed to bringing in their young pieces into the lineup, as the projected roster going into training camp appears to be another veteran group.
In a new article by The Athletic, each team produced one burning question facing the respective club with training camp about to heat up. Josh Yohe is one of the most talented reporters who covers the Penguins and he highlighted the obvious in this case. Yohe believes their burning question is if there is room for the young guys. Right now, there doesn't seem to be any jobs for them to win at camp.
"Ville Koivunen just got paid. Rutger McGroarty is a significant prospect. Avery Hayes looked like he belonged last season. But the Penguins are staggeringly deep at forward," Yohe wrote.
Perhaps the best thing this team could've done this offseason was leave significant voids on their roster to force their young pieces who are ready for NHL action to play on the biggest stage of their sport. The Penguins did the opposite and are counting on their ability to lean on a veteran lineup to reach the playoffs. That logic is extremely risky and could stunt their young players growth.
Pittsburgh Penguins roster doesn't seem to have any roster room for the young guys
Yohe brings up a good point, even if it might be the obvious one facing the franchise. Pittsburgh has been harping on getting younger, and it could be a situation where they won't because they have too many players paid handsomely in front of them. In reality, going with a massive youth movement to start a season would be bold, but it could've had a positive effect on the players leading this team.
"Is there any room for these three forwards [Koivunen, McGroarty, and Hayes] when the season begins?" Yohe went onto ask, "And if there’s not, what does that say about a youth movement that should be underway?"
After signing Ville Koivunen to his new massive eight-year contract only for him to have little shot at making the roster out of training camp is bold. Dubas had a questionable offseason, and many should wonder about his motives.
His routine word on getting younger and ushering young stars onto the team when Crosby, Malkin, and Letang are set to leave appears to be logic that has been thrown out the window.
Yohe's burning question for this team is 100% correct as Pittsburgh enters training camp. In reality they have too many forwards, and their projected defensive pairings seem off. Unless Dubas is trying to get this team to miss the playoffs and stick in the mediocre middle of the standings, then he failed at his job this offseason. This roster is full of much more questions than answers going into the year.
We will see how things develop at training camp, but the Penguins only have maybe one or two forward vacancies up for grabs, and that is being generous.
That means Koivunen, McGroarty, Hayes and others have little chance of making this team. When you factor in the mess on the blue line and it just makes more of a poor case towards Dubas' efforts. Things are looking messy for Pittsburgh as training camp approaches.
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