With 15 games left in the Penguins season, they currently sit with a 26-31-10 record. That puts them near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and they sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.
The organization and fans find themselves in a difficult position that they haven’t seen since the pre-Crosby era, which is a rebuild. Kyle Dubas has never used the word rebuild, but it’s fairly obvious that Dubas’ plan reflects that.
We are almost one week removed from the trade deadline, and the Pittsburgh Penguins made a slew of trades that started with Vincent Desharnias to the San Jose Sharks for a 5th round pick. Other trades that took place include trading Cody Glass to the New Jersey Devils for a 3rd round pick and two prospects. Most notably a Former first round pick in Chase Stillman. Stillman, the 29th pick of the 2021 draft, was drafted as a winger and was buried in the AHL after struggling with the New Jersey Devils at the pro level. Stillman, only 21 years old, could very easily be a diamond in the rough for the Penguins. Forward Max Graham was also acquired in the deal, he is a little more flexible at the forward position, playing both center and wing. A fifth round pick in the 2024 draft, Graham is 20 years old and will start at Wilkes-Barre. The Penguins also managed to acquire a third round pick from the Devils in the Glass deal. The general consensus is that New Jersey slightly overpaid for Glass, giving up two prospects and a mid round pick for an NHL caliber player, who, for the most part, has struggled at the pro level and has not done much to jump out on the ice for most of his career. Glass is still young, however, and he could very well find his stride in New Jersey.
Dubas has been a man on a mission ever since being hired by Pittsburgh. The much-maligned general manager was far from done, however, when Kyle Dubas sent newly acquired defenseman Luke Schenn to the Winnipeg Jets for 2026 second round pick and a 2027 fourth round pick. Rumor has it that Schenn had said that he wanted to play for a playoff contender, and the Pittsburgh Penguins granted his wish. Can’t wait to see his “Welcome Back to Pittsburgh” video next year whenever the Jets come to town. It was almost as if he was never here at all.. wait, he wasn’t, was he? The Penguins had also acquired center Tommy Novak from Nashville when they had originally acquired Schenn in the deal originally for Michael Bunting. The Penguins view Novak as a third line center who is younger than Michael Bunting and is more versatile as a forward who can switch from wing to center. Novak is also younger and cheaper.
The the most notable trade of the deadline, in my opinion, was sending Anthony Beauvillier to the rival Washington Capitals for a second round pick in 2025. No disrespect to a player like Beauvillier, but I was genuinely surprised that the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to acquire a second round pick for a player who most of the season played on the bottom six. Beauvillier does not appear to be a top-6 forward at this point in his career.
The Pittsburgh Penguins now have 30 draft picks in the next three seasons. That includes three first round selections and 18 draft picks in the first three rounds.
The truth of the situation is very simple: Dubas has never used the word “rebuild” but that’s exactly where we are right now. The Pittsburgh Penguins have won 3 cups with one of the greatest cores in the history of the league. As the likes of Crosby, Malkin and Letang play their final years together, Dubas looks to build for the future. The Penguins already have a decent amount of prospects in the system. Players like defenseman Owen Pickering, forwards Sam Poulin, Vasily Ponomarev and Rutger McGroarty and two very good goalie prospects in Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov, the Penguins are climbing the NHL prospect rankings.
There will be painful moments of this rebuild, but if the penguins stay on the track that they are on now, I truly believe they could find their way back to not just relevance, but to the playoffs
I know yinzers and patience don’t mix well, but father time comes for all of us. That is not to say that good times are not ahead. As Robert Plant famously said over 40 years ago: “Good Times, Bad Times, you know I’ve had my share!”