Look, I know that no one actually wants to read an article like this and that nobody wants to believe what I’m about to write. But right now, it’s painful to be a Penguins fan. And if it isn’t, buckle up, because the worst is yet to come. And, honestly, that’s okay.
Where we sit right now is with a team that has widely been regarded as the only true “seller” this off season. We’ve been subjected to trade rumors and various different names listed as trade candidates since the trade deadline in March it seems. We’ve been told by most, if not all, of the prominent hockey media personalities about the huge Clearance Sale/Auction that’s supposed to be occurring in Pittsburgh for the next 12 months. Roster mainstays such as Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson, Tristan Jarry, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rickell, and many more have been brought up time and time again all summer long. Sidney Crosby’s name has had smoke surrounding it since late January – and where there’s smoke there’s fire? – and I’ve personally questioned Kris Letang’s future as well.
With that said, the Penguins have an experienced and proven team that has largely been a few wins shy of the playoffs the past few years. An established core is in place with all the motivation in the world to take one more flyer on a deep playoff run with nothing to lose – like Michael Jordan’s last dance season in Chicago before they had to retool the Bulls roster and coaching staff.
This off season, the Penguins have acquired a solid, rotational goaltender in Arturs Silovs who might be able to take the last step towards becoming a true number one goaltender. Silovs played a crucial role in helping the Abbotsford Canucks win the Calder Cup as the best team in the AHL and Pittsburgh recently drafted three first round picks to add to a growing prospect base that GM Kyle Dubas has slowly been building since it bottomed out not too long ago. What we’re beginning to witness is the reality of Dubas amassing a trove of interesting prospects since he taking over a couple of years ago. Guys like Joel Blomqvist, Harrison Brunicke, Will Horcoff, Benjamin Kindel, Sergei Murashov, Owen Pickering, and Bill Zonnon.
While our prospect pool has been filling up recently, those players aren’t ready to make a full time transition to the NHL and aren’t ready to be actual contributors yet. We’re entering into an obvious season of change for the organization that will come with some tough cuts. Again, Malkin is playing in his last season here, Karlsson and Rust are continuously mentioned in trade rumors. The Sidney Crosby chatter persists to varying degrees, and I can see Letang retiring as a Penguin within the next year or two. They’re all in the twilight of their career and the Penguins haven’t made the playoffs since 2022. It’s reasonable to expect that this team will see a decline in play this year, causing the inevitability of the youth movement to grow.
But the flip side to everything I’ve just written is that it will allow this Penguins franchise to have hope again one day. The Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, and San Jose Sharks are great comparables for where this team is heading. All three teams have been near the bottom of the league standings for a handful of years, but have been able to absolutely hoard young talent that started to make some noise last season. The Sharks are lead by Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini and have a bevy of young guys looking to stay in the NHL this year. Chicago essentially iced a roster of kids who were barely able to legally drink the last week or two of the season and are lead by guys like Connor Bedard, Lucas Richel, and many more. Montreal has the reigning rookie of the year in Lane Hutson and a true favorite for the Calder again this year in Ivan Demidov in addition to young leaders in Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. They are all figuring out who will be the backbone of their respective rosters for years to come and are seeing who will fill out key middle of the roster and depth roles, and who is expendable and can be traded for guys who will have a better fit for their teams.
That’s where the Penguins are heading. While it has been tough for Habs, Hawks, and Sharks fans the past few years, they are the teams (aside from the Florida Panthers chasing a three-peat) with the most hope in the league. One day we’ll get there and it will be our turn to cheer on our young up-and-comers. But for now, the best we can do is sit back and enjoy the final hoorah of the Pittsburgh Penguins team as we’ve known them over the past 10-15 years. Maybe they can be in the hunt for a playoff spot again. Maybe, just maybe, they could win a round or two. Or, if worse comes to worse and the team struggles on the ice, we can truly and fully commit to the “Store Closing” sale in effort to overflow our farm teams with young talent and try to accelerate a rebuild to the point where we, the Penguins, are able to be that young team on the rise with hopes of creating the next Penguins dynasty. Change is the only constant in life, and I’m cautiously optimistic about what’s to come over the course of the next few years.