It won't be long until the prospects report and we can unofficially kick off the 2025-26 season. For the Pittsburgh Penguins, this could be a long one, and maybe the longest season of the otherwise legendary Sidney Crosby era.
But you know what? That's okay, considering what might be the best generational talent heading into the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna. And for those of you living in the Steel City doubling up as Penn State fans, you're going to see a lot of McKenna, since he'll be suiting up for the Nittany Lions.
If the Penguins play poorly enough, and there's a good chance that they will, don't be surprised if they land good odds to snag the top pick. Sure, "competition" will be fierce, with the Chicago Blackhawks looking like they're in for another long season and the Buffalo Sabres once again on the decline.
Still, general manager Kyle Dubas set the stage for a top-five landing spot, something Tankathon also slated the Pens in. For some fans, this is bad news, but could you imagine Crosby playing one more season in 2026-27, before passing the torch to McKenna should the cards land right?
Pittsburgh Penguins might end up closing one door and opening another
No, the short-term results won't be pretty and there's not a single Pens fan around the globe who will like them. But how quickly could someone like McKenna turn the program around?
This isn't a situation like what you saw in Chicago, where the Blackhawks were a bare cupboard of players and prospects. The Pens have a group that can still play, but they have zero depth, meaning guys like Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson should end up elsewhere.
Sure, it'll leave the Penguins hurting, and there's no debating that. But if the pain brings in McKenna or, at the absolute least, a top-five talent? Hey, I'm not complaining, and neither will you three, four, or, at most, five years from today.
That said, even if the Pens are hard to watch from the very second the puck drops in October, just think about that "power play" they could be gearing up for. And if the season's "over" by December 1st and Dubas starts a fire sale, know that better days will come back sooner rather than later.
Expect a bounce-back closer to what we'd seen from the Montreal Canadiens who, following that surprise Cup appearance in 2021, missed the playoffs in 2022, 2023, and 2024, before rebounding. The Pens drought may last a little longer, but if someone like McKenna ends up in the lineup, expect another era of deep playoff runs.
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