2024-2025 Season Random Penguins Fodder

[100565]

X-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Tomasino
McGroarty-Broz-Koivunen
Ponomarev-Lizotte-Glass
x-Poulin, Puustinen

Pickering-Letang
POJ-Nemec
X-Brunicke

Blomqvist
Ned

I like it. However, even with Hayes as extra forward and Graves as 3LD, I don’t think it is close the cap floor, which will be around $70mil next year. This is just glancing at their cap hits - I didn’t do the actual calculations so maybe I am wrong.

[Pens4Life]

We should be trading Ned as well.. Larsson and Blomquist can handle NHL for a year before Murashov comes up as well.

[Puck-Lurker]

We should be trading Ned as well.. Larsson and Blomquist can handle NHL for a year before Murashov comes up as well.

If there's a deal.. trade right now

[Wyopen]

Pettersson should be traded ASAP. He’s not playing well and I’m concerned his value will drop.

[largegarlic]

X-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Tomasino
McGroarty-Broz-Koivunen
Ponomarev-Lizotte-Glass
x-Poulin, Puustinen

Pickering-Letang
POJ-Nemec
X-Brunicke

Blomqvist
Ned

I like it. However, even with Hayes as extra forward and Graves as 3LD, I don’t think it is close the cap floor, which will be around $70mil next year. This is just glancing at their cap hits - I didn’t do the actual calculations so maybe I am wrong.

Yeah, I had that thought too. Last week, I did a rough calculation of what their cap situation would be if they re-signed all their RFAs on relatively cheap deals, let their UFAs walk, and replaced them with guys averaging $1.5 million in salary (i.e., either cheap incoming UFAs or guys on entry level deals). Their total salary would be ~$80 million in that situation. If you trade Rakell and Karlsson, even retaining 50% on Karlsson, now you're flirting with the cap floor. If they do trade some of those non-core vets with term on their contract, they still should if they get a good offer, but the floor is something to think about now. I guess they could always pull more Hayes/Glass moves to get paid for taking bad contracts.

[KG]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/605885 ... ings-2025/

Scott Wheeler ranks the Pens now 20th in the league in prospects. Vast improvement than when KD came in. For those that can't get access, here is his top 10:

1.McGroarty
2.Brunicke
3.Koivunen
4. Pickering
5. Cruz Lucius (surprised he has him this high)
6. Howe
7. Blomqvist
8. Murashov
9. Pieniniemi
10. Ponomarev

Says while the system lacks a true stud, there is some good talent in there that should be helping the big clubs shortly.

[FLPensFan]

Per Scott Wheeler of the Athletics, Penguins have moved up to 20th in the annual prospect pool rankings HERE

A run through the list with quick main comment for those who can't access:

1 - McGroarty - Starting to make adjustment to pro game. Pace is the biggest question. If he can improve his first few steps, he's a legit top 9 forward who can play up and down the lineup.

2 - Brunicke - Wheeler said he looked like a 1st round pick before he got injured. Expects him to be a solid #3-5 d-man in the NHL.

3 - Koivunen - Needs to do a little more work to become defensively reliable, but solid top 9 who Wheeler thinks should get a callup this year.

4 - Pickering - Wheeler not overly high on him; has his ceiling as bottom pair, floor as 7/8 guy. His skating and first pass are what work well for him now.

5 - Lucius - Good playmaker who thinks the game well. Will be defined if he can continue to do that as he progresses into AHL and NHL. Some think he may top out as AHL playmaker.

6 - Howe - Average size and good but not great skating. Questions on whether he has enough skill and offense to make it in the NHL.

7 - Blomqvist - Reminds a bit of Dostal in Anaheim. May be more of a #2 goalie than a 1B. Technically sound goalie

8 - Murashov - Playing well above the level of competition in the ECHL. Likes his movement, tracking, and anticipation. Says with patience, Penguins may really have something here. Also says he considered ranking Blomqvist/Murashov 4-5 instead of 7-8.

9 - Pieniniemi - Probably tops out as a good 3rd pairing, 5v5 option. Not sure if he has the talent to be an offensive threat that he is currently showing against his peers.

10 - Ponomarev - Not sure if he'll be a full time NHLer or a tweener, but PK ability and ability to apply pressure are a plus.

11 - Ilyin - Average size and skating but thinks the game really well. Thought he was a long shot a year or so ago but now showing short to medium odds of becoming a good complimentary winger.

12 - Swanson - Another guy who may be a tweener. Expects big numbers at North Dakota, but says it will take the right coach and development plan to get his game to translate to NHL.

13 - Pietila - Plays and defends hard. Has a lot of pro qualities to his game for a depth defender at NHL. Thought about ranking him a bit higher.

14 - Broz - Concern is with his pace and his skating. He's getting away from the perimeter a little more, which is good, but at his best he's got a good one-timer on the PP, and he's not going to get those same opportunities at the pro level.

15 - Vaisanen - Defends well and breaks up plays. On-ice smarts drive his play. Has chance to become organizational depth defenseman.

==========================================================================

I think out of these rankings, Broz being as low as he is, Koivunen being as high as he is, and the overall evaluation of Pickering were the most surprising to me. Wheeler isn't the be all end all evaluators, and I wonder how much he really sees of players AFTER the draft and in the systems.

[largegarlic]

Per Scott Wheeler of the Athletics, Penguins have moved up to 20th in the annual prospect pool rankings HERE

A run through the list with quick main comment for those who can't access:

1 - McGroarty - Starting to make adjustment to pro game. Pace is the biggest question. If he can improve his first few steps, he's a legit top 9 forward who can play up and down the lineup.

2 - Brunicke - Wheeler said he looked like a 1st round pick before he got injured. Expects him to be a solid #3-5 d-man in the NHL.

3 - Koivunen - Needs to do a little more work to become defensively reliable, but solid top 9 who Wheeler thinks should get a callup this year.

4 - Pickering - Wheeler not overly high on him; has his ceiling as bottom pair, floor as 7/8 guy. His skating and first pass are what work well for him now.

5 - Lucius - Good playmaker who thinks the game well. Will be defined if he can continue to do that as he progresses into AHL and NHL. Some think he may top out as AHL playmaker.

6 - Howe - Average size and good but not great skating. Questions on whether he has enough skill and offense to make it in the NHL.

7 - Blomqvist - Reminds a bit of Dostal in Anaheim. May be more of a #2 goalie than a 1B. Technically sound goalie

8 - Murashov - Playing well above the level of competition in the ECHL. Likes his movement, tracking, and anticipation. Says with patience, Penguins may really have something here. Also says he considered ranking Blomqvist/Murashov 4-5 instead of 7-8.

9 - Pieniniemi - Probably tops out as a good 3rd pairing, 5v5 option. Not sure if he has the talent to be an offensive threat that he is currently showing against his peers.

10 - Ponomarev - Not sure if he'll be a full time NHLer or a tweener, but PK ability and ability to apply pressure are a plus.

11 - Ilyin - Average size and skating but thinks the game really well. Thought he was a long shot a year or so ago but now showing short to medium odds of becoming a good complimentary winger.

12 - Swanson - Another guy who may be a tweener. Expects big numbers at North Dakota, but says it will take the right coach and development plan to get his game to translate to NHL.

13 - Pietila - Plays and defends hard. Has a lot of pro qualities to his game for a depth defender at NHL. Thought about ranking him a bit higher.

14 - Broz - Concern is with his pace and his skating. He's getting away from the perimeter a little more, which is good, but at his best he's got a good one-timer on the PP, and he's not going to get those same opportunities at the pro level.

15 - Vaisanen - Defends well and breaks up plays. On-ice smarts drive his play. Has chance to become organizational depth defenseman.

==========================================================================

I think out of these rankings, Broz being as low as he is, Koivunen being as high as he is, and the overall evaluation of Pickering were the most surprising to me. Wheeler isn't the be all end all evaluators, and I wonder how much he really sees of players AFTER the draft and in the systems.

I would rate Blomqvist higher just because he's actually played a few NHL games at this point and has looked competent. I think I agree that good #2 as opposed to legit starter seems about right as a projection for Blomqvist, but it already seems like he'll have an NHL career of some sort.

Edit: Now that I think about it more, the Pickering evaluation seems weird to me too. He's 20 and already playing as a 3rd pairing guy (and sometimes higher in the lineup). Maybe that's all he ever is, but it seems plausible that he'll keep improving from here as he gets more used to the speed of play and learns to use his size more.

[FLPensFan]

Murashov promoted to WBS.

[EndO FanEra]

Heard a rumor that NJ is interested in Rakell. NJ doesn't have much cap space. I don't think Rakell is the type of player we should be retaining on. If NJ were pushing for a trade

Rakell for Tomas Tatar (cap dump to help make salaries work, UFA at season's end), Simon Nemec, and a 2026 1st round pick. (1st rounder may be a stretch with an A-level prospect coming back. I'd still be happy if it was Nemec and a 2025 2nd rounder).

That would give the Penguins Brunicke and Nemec as young RD defenders to build around, with Pickering on the left side.

If he can't beat out Kovacevic, likely because of defensive deficiencies, do you think Sulivan would play him on the 3rd pairing? Great trade idea, though think 2026 1st is more than they'll give, maybe a 3rd, but have concerns about Nemec.

It seems NJ may have concerns about defense. Apparently GM Tom Fitzgerald made a comment like offense isn't all we care about, otherwise you'd be a forward. Scouting reports all say he's at least average defending. Biggest complaint I've seen is he appears to be good defending on the rush, but gets a big out of position maybe during longer defensive zone assignments.

Scouting reports all rave about his offense, but he's never put up big numbers. NHL Network was talking about it, and brought up that there's just no space right now...Hamilton on first pairing, just brought in Pesce who is playing well, and Kovecevic is playing WAAAAY better than anyone expected. NHL panel even mentioned they may need to move Seamus Casey or one of they're young Russian defenders (think it was Silayev) because of the depth. They'll need someone when injuries happen, but, seems like this is similar to the goaltending backlog the Penguins have.

I would agree Nemec would be a great building block, but the Penguins already have Letang and Karlsson and Nemec would end up being the next Ty Smith if Sullivan has his way (which he always does). If Nemec would be patient and round out his game in the AHL, I'd be interested, but if his complaining about a demotion is a huge red flag.

It's a blessing and a curse...I think 75% of the drafted d-men these days are known for their offense, and it's the pro level defensive positioning that takes time for them to learn. There aren't a ton of guys that are lottery draft picks that are stud defensive defensemen. As the game has evolved, coaches preach mobility and puck movement from the back end above all else. It's kind of like in the NFL...if I am good enough to be a start QB, WR, or RB at the pro level, and I'm looking for $$$ and stability....why would I ever choose to be a RB? The league has evolved that they are dime a dozen, underpaid resources. If in the NHL, teams are really looking for the puck moving, offense, mobility....why spend a lot of my development time on defense if that lessens my chances of getting drafted.

In regards to Letang and Karlsson, I think if we got Nemec, a 3rd pairing would be perfectly fine for him to get some sheltered minutes and improve his defensive positioning. I also think Dubas should try at all costs to move Karlsson at the deadline (slim to none chance) or over the summer. One of the way to combat Sullivan and his lineup choices, is to not give him many lineup choices. You want him to stop playing Acciari and Nieto and Hayes over Puljujarvi, Ponomarev, McGroarty and Broz....then get rid of Acciari, Nieto, and Hayes.

I would be ecstatic if this team could do the following before free agency starts:
1. Finish in line for a top 5 draft pick.
2. Trade Pettersson for futures (1st/2nd and good young player or good prospect)
3. Trade Rakell for Nemec, a 2nd, and a cap dump.
4. Trade Karlsson with 50% retained for some future draft capital.

If all 4 of those things fell into place, especially with picking up Nemec and getting a top 5 draft asset, I'd love to spend next season positioning themselves for another top 10 pick. Go with mainly young guys.

X-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Tomasino
McGroarty-Broz-Koivunen
Ponomarev-Lizotte-Glass
x-Poulin, Puustinen

Pickering-Letang
POJ-Nemec
X-Brunicke

Blomqvist
Ned

Let ALL of those young guys get a year under their belt, to see where their game is, instead of bringing in a bunch of old vets that aren't going to vault us into the playoffs, and just serve to block the young players. Maybe a lot of these guys over achieve, and they're in the playoff hunt towards the deadline. Maybe the majority of them play well but not enough to get out of a top 10 pick position....which isn't a bad thing for this team.

Love it! I see you managed to get rid of Graves, Acciari, and Hayes as well as Karlsson ("pretty lofty goal Herb...", ). Not sure if Jarry is still in WBS or he's gone in that scenario, but hopefully he's gone as well.

Okay, I'm going to give it a shot from current roster to starting roster next season, building off of your template FLPF. Here we go:

Saturday's Starting Lineup:
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Bunting-Malkin-Beauvillier
O-Conner-Hayes-Tomasino
Lizotte-Glass-Acciari

Pettersson-Letang
Grzelyck-Karlsson
Graves-Pickering

Blomqvist
Ned

Roughly $8M in sunk cost w/ Jarry, JJ, Petry, Smith
Roughly $5M in cap space

Moves (I'm stealing your top 4, since you nailed it):
1. Finish in line for a top 5 draft pick
2. Trade Pettersson for futures (1st/2nd and good young player or good prospect)
3. Trade Rakell for Nemec, a 2nd, and a cap dump.
4. Trade Karlsson with 50% retained for some future draft capital.

5. Trade Beauvillier/Nieto/Grzelyck for the best pick/prospect we can get. If we can't trade them let them walk in UFA.
6. Trade O'Conner if we can get a decent return. Otherwise, sign for cheap bottom 6 depth.
7. Trade Acciari for whatever you can get. If there are no takers, we may have to keep him as a 13th forward.
8. Long shot, but try to get lucky or go big game hunting and try to bring in a guy like Marner or Rantanen. Maybe E. Pettersson or Miller. Maybe some lesser tier of UFA like Boeser/Ehlers. Some fresh blood with top 6 talent to support Sid/Geno
9. Jarry in WBS. Try to trade however you can, but if we're eating $5M on the Karlsson trade, we may have to wait and continue to try to find a taker. If we can't find a taker, let him sit in WBS and try again in the 26-27 offseason. Either Jarry or Karlsson is going to hurt with some dead cap for a few years. I'm using it on Karlsson in this case and pretending we're stuck w/ Jarry for the time being.

2025-2026 Starting Lineup:
(~$5M) LW-Crosby-Marner/Rantanen/X (~$11M)
Bunting-Malkin-Rust
McGroarty-Lizotte-Tomasino
Ponomarev-Glass-Koivunen
Broz-Hayes

Pickering-Letang
POJ-Nemec
Graves-Brunicke
St. Ivany/Shea

Blomqvist
Ned

Roughly $10M in sunk cost w/ Jarry, JJ, Karlsson
Roughly $9M in cap space

- If we can't land a big fish for the top 6, I suppose you just bump Rust/Tomasino/Koivunen up a spot and slide Hayes in at 4C and Glass to 4RW (I'd like Hayes gone as well, but I have a feeling we're either stuck w/ him or Acciari, so I'm pretending it's Hayes).
- Leaving the 1LW open. Maybe that's Hoglander from the Pettersson trade, maybe Bunting & the left side moves up a slot, maybe UFA ,or a cap-dump/bad contract that still has top-6 talent, or O'Conner comes back as a stop-gap. Maybe the big fish is a LW and Rust/Tomasino round out the right side.
- That lineup still needs work, especially on D. But, slide in a legit 2nd paring dman, somehow manage to get rid of Graves, and bump POJ to the 3rd pairing, and that's not so bad.

There's a lot of moving parts in there, but that's not a 1/2 bad lineup to start the season IMO. Add in the top 5 2025 picks and any prospects picked up, and we'll have some options to cycle in & out of the lineup.

Of course, it's all for not if there is one specific person standing behind the Pens bench next season.

[KG]

I would fall off my chair if we were able to get a prospect like Nemec for Rakell. I just don't see it.

MP I could see MP + Acciari or Nieto for Hoglander, Pettersson (D man) and a 2nd round pick type of deal.

Hopefully KD is aggressive and makes some hockey trades not just sending out mid UFA veterans for mid picks.

[DelPen]

Rakell has a family issue tonight per Yohe, nothing else on what that means. Murashov also called up to WBS which tells me he's getting games and Jarry is there to be a backup.

[Tico Rick]

Murashov also called up to WBS which tells me he's getting games and Jarry is there to be a backup.

[stonewizard51]

Murashov promoted to WBS.

I like that a lot. I got to see him play the last time WBS was in Hershey. He was solid in net that night.

[DelPen]

Murashov promoted to WBS.

I like that a lot. I got to see him play the last time WBS was in Hershey. He was solid in net that night.

I'm going to the WBS game next Saturday in Charlotte and I'm sure I'll get to see Jarry give up 6 in the first period.

[FLPensFan]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

[KG]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

Would be all over that. Karlsson back to Ottawa makes a lot of sense. I’m sure they are looking to make a splash to get back into the playoffs.

Dallas I could see with interest too.

[Puck-Lurker]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

Would be all over that. Karlsson back to Ottawa makes a lot of sense. I’m sure they are looking to make a splash to get back into the playoffs.

Dallas I could see with interest too.

Yes please!

No way in hell though

[Pens4Life]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

Yes please,but no chance of happening

[Pens4Life]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/605885 ... ings-2025/

Scott Wheeler ranks the Pens now 20th in the league in prospects. Vast improvement than when KD came in. For those that can't get access, here is his top 10:

1.McGroarty
2.Brunicke
3.Koivunen
4. Pickering
5. Cruz Lucius (surprised he has him this high)
6. Howe
7. Blomqvist
8. Murashov
9. Pieniniemi
10. Ponomarev

Says while the system lacks a true stud, there is some good talent in there that should be helping the big clubs shortly.

Broz that low is surprise.. also I think Pietila could be solid 3rd pair shutdown D.. Koivunen with Sullivan here, I dont think he has a chance to make, will be similar story to Puustinen.

Murashov, Brunicke, Howe - my favourite players on the list

[EndO FanEra]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

WOW is right! Take the picks out, and I would still do that deal.

I mean, the last thing we need is another goalie, but that can be dealt with afterward.

Hopefully there's a sliver of truth to the rumor though, and something around Karlsson to Ottawa is being discussed.

[Pitts]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

Would be all over that. Karlsson back to Ottawa makes a lot of sense. I’m sure they are looking to make a splash to get back into the playoffs.

Dallas I could see with interest too.

Karlsson will not go to Ottawa. Why? He will only want a contender. Oh,and the Pens do not need Forsberg unless they plan on turning him right around in another move.

[Pitts]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/605885 ... ings-2025/

Scott Wheeler ranks the Pens now 20th in the league in prospects. Vast improvement than when KD came in. For those that can't get access, here is his top 10:

1.McGroarty
2.Brunicke
3.Koivunen
4. Pickering
5. Cruz Lucius (surprised he has him this high)
6. Howe
7. Blomqvist
8. Murashov
9. Pieniniemi
10. Ponomarev

Says while the system lacks a true stud, there is some good talent in there that should be helping the big clubs shortly.

Broz that low is surprise.. also I think Pietila could be solid 3rd pair shutdown D.. Koivunen with Sullivan here, I dont think he has a chance to make, will be similar story to Puustinen.

Murashov, Brunicke, Howe - my favourite players on the list

The fact that Pickering is at #4 while he's been in the NHL for months (and most likely never going back to the A) is a joke.

[FLPensFan]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

WOW is right! Take the picks out, and I would still do that deal.

I mean, the last thing we need is another goalie, but that can be dealt with afterward.

Hopefully there's a sliver of truth to the rumor though, and something around Karlsson to Ottawa is being discussed.

I don't think it is a rumor per se, rather, what this account thinks would be a fair deal. This is a popular account, but they seem to be an OTT fan maybe a bit too "fanboi" on wanting Karlsson to return to OTT. I think they overvalue what OTT would have to pay to retain 2 more years on Karlsson.

I looked into this a bit more, if OTT were actually interested. OTT is at the cap, so I think that's why Forsberg is included (he's UFA at end of season). I don't see a need to include Stephen Halliday in the deal. He's a 4th round prospect, seems like a throwaway, and OTT isn't at the contract limit.

To OTT: Karlsson (35% retained, 3.5M retained next 2 years), Drew O'Connor, Sam Poulin
To PIT: Shane Pinto, Anton Forsberg, Travis Hamonic, 2025 2nd round pick, 2026 3rd round pick

Pinto and the 2nd & 3rd round picks are the meat of the return for Pittsburgh. Forsberg (UFA) and Hamonic (UFA) are thrown in for cap purposes for OTT.

For OTT, Ridly Greig slides into the 3C spot, replacing Pinto. DOC adds some young depth. I threw in Poulin just to keep contracts under 50 for Pittsburgh, and Poulin doesn't seem to have much of a future here.

I'd be perfectly happy if the Penguins could get Pinto and 2 picks as a return for Karlsson (with 3.5M retained).

[EndO FanEra]

This Big Head Hockey account isn't a rumor account, has over 30K in Twitter followers, but....WOW!!! If I'm Ottawa, not sure I would even do Pinto for Karlsson straight up.

WOW is right! Take the picks out, and I would still do that deal.

I mean, the last thing we need is another goalie, but that can be dealt with afterward.

Hopefully there's a sliver of truth to the rumor though, and something around Karlsson to Ottawa is being discussed.

I don't think it is a rumor per se, rather, what this account thinks would be a fair deal. This is a popular account, but they seem to be an OTT fan maybe a bit too "fanboi" on wanting Karlsson to return to OTT. I think they overvalue what OTT would have to pay to retain 2 more years on Karlsson.

I looked into this a bit more, if OTT were actually interested. OTT is at the cap, so I think that's why Forsberg is included (he's UFA at end of season). I don't see a need to include Stephen Halliday in the deal. He's a 4th round prospect, seems like a throwaway, and OTT isn't at the contract limit.

To OTT: Karlsson (35% retained, 3.5M retained next 2 years), Drew O'Connor, Sam Poulin
To PIT: Shane Pinto, Anton Forsberg, Travis Hamonic, 2025 2nd round pick, 2026 3rd round pick

Pinto and the 2nd & 3rd round picks are the meat of the return for Pittsburgh. Forsberg (UFA) and Hamonic (UFA) are thrown in for cap purposes for OTT.

For OTT, Ridly Greig slides into the 3C spot, replacing Pinto. DOC adds some young depth. I threw in Poulin just to keep contracts under 50 for Pittsburgh, and Poulin doesn't seem to have much of a future here.

I'd be perfectly happy if the Penguins could get Pinto and 2 picks as a return for Karlsson (with 3.5M retained).

Gotcha! That seems a lot more reasonable of a deal, and one that I would definitely pull the trigger on.

If there is a deal like that out there to be had for Karlsson, Dubas should be all over it.

To get out of that contract and pick up a few usable assets in the process, it's worth eating 3.5M and a DOC/Poulin (that don't likely have a future with the Pens at this point). Heck, even if Poulin was swapped out for Ponomarev or one of the picks went away, I'd still make the move.