To say the last three seasons for the Penguins have been disappointing would be an understatement. Ever since their 16-year playoff drought ended in the 2022-23 season, the Pens have come up short the past three season. This past season was the worst season they have had since the early 2000s, finishing seventh in the Metro and 11 points out of a Wild Card spot. This poor finish earned them the 11th overall pick in this years draft.
However, what to do with this draft pick has divided the fan base. Some want to use the pick and add a young, talented player to the pipeline. While others want to trade the pick for NHL talent and take another crack at making the playoffs. Both moves have pros and cons. However, the smarter move for the Penguins would be to keep the pick and use it to upgrade their pipeline.
Why the Penguins need to keep the 11th overall pick
The primary reason the Penguins need to retain the 11th overall pick is that the current team is not one move away from competing. They played around .500 hockey through the first three months, then completely collapsed in January and February. They also had a -45 goal differential, which was the sixth-worst in the NHL. Outside of their power-play, they ranked in the middle or towards the bottom in many statistical categories.
While the 11th overall pick is valuable, it won't net a return good enough to fix the many issues with the team. It will take many moves to be able to compete with the top teams in the East. All it will do is make the team older and prolong the inevitable rebuild, which would have taken longer had they started it this season.
One argument people will use is that if the Penguins have Sidney Crosby, they will always be good enough to compete. While Crosby is still producing at an elite level, he'll be 38 years old at the start of next season. It's fair to expect that within the next few seasons, Father Time will catch up and his production will fall off. If Crosby's production falls, it will make a bad roster even worse.
Crosby's age also opens up the question of how much time he has left in the league. With him being 38, you can expect that he has at most five more seasons in the league. The Penguins need to start seriously thinking about life after Crosby. With their prospect pool ranking in the bottom ten in the league, there is not much to be excited about the future. If this trend continues, when Crosby retires, the entire team will likely fall apart.
Picking a player with the 11th overall pick will go a long way toward correcting that problem. While they won't get the replacement for Crosby, the Penguins will get a good prospect who can be a part of the next great core. It's time to let Kyle Dubas do what he was hired to do and rebuild the team.