2024-2025 Season Random Penguins Fodder

[ahawk9]

Good point. They may go back a bit earlier if WBS continues to lose.

I'm not sure if someone said something earlier but I've been pleased that the 2 youngsters have gotten solid minutes, and have played in situations where Sully would have sat a young guy for most of his tenure. I think it has helped their confidence to know they won't be stapled to the bench after three shifts on the top lines. It's made a difference in the entire way the team has played. It makes me wonder if there was a directive from the top. "Mike, ya gotta play these guys like they're regulars. It has to be done."

[Victor]

They certainly miss both players. But it also coincides with clinching a playoff spot. Maybe they took their foot off the gas a bit. They went 1-3 after McGroarty and Koivunen got called-up. I don't think they get send down early though. There are only 6 games left.

Pittsburgh last game is on April 17th. WBS last 2 regular season games are on April 18th and 19th.

[Pens4Life]

What do you think guys, would this team be capable (decent contender) for last run for Crosby and co.?

McGroarty - Crosby - Rust
Rakell - Malkin - Koivunen
Hallander - Novak - Tomasino
Dewar - Lizotte - Acciari
X - Hayes

Lindgren - Letang
Grzelyck - Dumba
Pickering - Timmins
x - Shea, Graves

Lindgren signed as UFA, Dumba acquired in trade for EK65 with 3M retention on EK65..

Trade deadline, we go after another scoring winger IF needed..

Goalies : Jarry, Blomquist, Larsson, Murashov
Ned traded for late pick..

[KG]

What do you think guys, would this team be capable (decent contender) for last run for Crosby and co.?

McGroarty - Crosby - Rust
Rakell - Malkin - Koivunen
Hallander - Novak - Tomasino
Dewar - Lizotte - Acciari
X - Hayes

Lindgren - Letang
Grzelyck - Dumba
Pickering - Timmins
x - Shea, Graves

Lindgren signed as UFA, Dumba acquired in trade for EK65 with 3M retention on EK65..

Trade deadline, we go after another scoring winger IF needed..

Goalies : Jarry, Blomquist, Larsson, Murashov
Ned traded for late pick..

Yeah I think if McG and Koivunen are legit top 6 players next season then I think the forward lineup can easily improve quickly. I'm more concerned about the D, goaltending and the coaching system to be honest.

I expect the D to look significantly different next season. Goaltending I would expect Ned to get dealt so Bloom or Murashov have a chance to make the big club along with Jarry.

To me the biggest issue is the lack of structure we play with. And that is all coaching. Hire a fresh, young, bright new coach that can help take the team into the next generation etc.

[Victor]

What do you think guys, would this team be capable (decent contender) for last run for Crosby and co.?

McGroarty - Crosby - Rust
Rakell - Malkin - Koivunen
Hallander - Novak - Tomasino
Dewar - Lizotte - Acciari
X - Hayes

Lindgren - Letang
Grzelyck - Dumba
Pickering - Timmins
x - Shea, Graves

Lindgren signed as UFA, Dumba acquired in trade for EK65 with 3M retention on EK65..

Trade deadline, we go after another scoring winger IF needed..

Goalies : Jarry, Blomquist, Larsson, Murashov
Ned traded for late pick..

Forward group looks pretty solid. Maybe add another top 6 either via trade or UFA. I believe Dubas will be on Marner. It's a great way to improve the roster and KD loves his guys. Ehlers, Donato, Bennett, Boeser are options of players under 30. There's no need to add bottom 6 guys unless there's a subtraction.

Lindgren was often paired with Fox for NYR, so he's a reasonable choice to pair with Letang. He should not cost much. Provorov and Gavrikov are probably going to cost more. I'd prefer any of these two over Lindgren.

I'd go for a different second pairing though, assuming we can trade away Karlsson. This is actually a very key movement this summer. This team isn't going anywhere with both Letang and Karlsson. Grzelcyk should not return IMO, so I would not mind a LD in return for Karlsson or any other trade. A new second pairing that can actually play defense is the what this team needs the most.

Dumba is also expensive for what he does, he's more suited to the bottom pair now. I'd rather have Timmins and Brunicke to start the season on the right side, at least for the first 9 games. Maybe also sign a cheap bottom pairing RD as insurance if Brunicke needs seasoning in juniors.

Pickering should be in the bottom pair to take his time and Shea and Graves as #7-8D. I wonder what will happen with Kolyachonok.

Jarry isn't getting traded, unfortunately. Ned needs to get moved to make room for Blomqvist/Larsson as both are already under contract for next season. Murashov should be the starter in the AHL next season.

[FLPensFan]

You're new all time goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin. Man, I didn't think that shot was going to go from that distance but he ripped the heck out of it.

[DelPen]

You're new all time goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin. Man, I didn't think that shot was going to go from that distance but he ripped the heck out of it.

Kind of weird that they stopped the game for this ceremony. There’s a ton of time left still even in the 2nd period.

[ahawk9]

I'm starting to think that the Pens could actually be a playoff team next year with the right offseason. I'm now wondering if it might be better for them to trade the two No. 1s to move up in this year's draft. I would also love to see them somehow unload Letang. I have been critical of him pretty much his whole career. He was great in the 2016 Cup run, and I doubt they win it without him but the did do just that in 2017. That was a time to maybe look at moving him for something substantial. That time has obviously passed but I'd rather they retained on him for 3 seasons for maybe a 2nd than retaining on Karlsson to ditch him (unless a 1st comes back).

Novak is a mystery right now, and with his injury this season, next season will be almost like they just signed him. KD has a busy offseason ahead but at least there are some options. I doubt he'll be able to unload Graves without a HUGE sweetener. Jarry maybe. Offer sheets? Marner? At least it should be quite an interesting summer.

[FLPensFan]

I'm starting to think that the Pens could actually be a playoff team next year with the right offseason. I'm now wondering if it might be better for them to trade the two No. 1s to move up in this year's draft. I would also love to see them somehow unload Letang. I have been critical of him pretty much his whole career. He was great in the 2016 Cup run, and I doubt they win it without him but the did do just that in 2017. That was a time to maybe look at moving him for something substantial. That time has obviously passed but I'd rather they retained on him for 3 seasons for maybe a 2nd than retaining on Karlsson to ditch him (unless a 1st comes back).

Novak is a mystery right now, and with his injury this season, next season will be almost like they just signed him. KD has a busy offseason ahead but at least there are some options. I doubt he'll be able to unload Graves without a HUGE sweetener. Jarry maybe. Offer sheets? Marner? At least it should be quite an interesting summer.

I agree that, if they can fix the defense (not bring back Grz, move one of Letang or Karlsson), get better goaltending effort, and continued growth/improvement from RMG and Koivunen...yeah, I think this team could compete next year.

On defense, Sullivan needs to pull his head out of his ass on Kolyachonok. It's still a limited look, but his shot possession and scoring chance numbers only started tanking when paired with Letang. Even so, Kolyachonok and Timmins have the two lowest GA/60 on the current defense.

There's some growing sentiment that Karlsson could be retained and Letang could be moved. Send Letang to Montreal and bring back Matheson on LD.

X-Karlsson
Matheson-Timmins
Pickering-Brunicke
x-Shea, Kolyachonok

[thehockeyguru]

How many assistant coaches and defenseman have we been through that all sucked?
At what point do you look at the coach / system?

[FLPensFan]

So Josh Yohe had an article in the Athletic yesterday HERE with 4 different rosters, aggressively rebuilt, and what the roster would look like for the 26-27 season. He didn't get into how some players disappeared (like Jarry and Graves in some instances) or how players were acquired (what was given up via trade). Being 26-27 and not next season, Hayes, Acciari, Heinen, and Malkin would be off the roster with expired contracts. Then there are several RFAs that may or may not be re-signed.

I want to take a look and see which of these might work (technically work), as I don't think some of them would be realistic to obtain all the players, or that all the players would be ready for NHL duty. He also didn't define extras, just starting 12D, 6F, 2G. Also worth noting, the cap is expected to be $104M for the 25-27 season.

Roster #1

Rakell-Crosby-Marner
Peterka-O'Brien-Koivunen
McGroarty-Zegras-Rust
Howe-Martin-Ponomarev

Pieniniemi-Karlsson
Matheson-Brunicke
Pickering-Harding

Murashov
Blomqvist

So some assumptions here right off the bat:
--Yohe assumes Penguins get Rangers 2025 pick, and take C Jake O'Brien and C Brady Martin with their two picks.
--Yohe assumes that Marner is signed, Peterka's rights acquired, Zegras rights acquired, and Matheson acquired via trade or signed as a UFA.

Marner, I'm signing for 7 years, 14M AAV
Koivunen re-signs for 2 years, 2M AAV
Ponomarev re-signed for 2 years, 800K
O'Brien and Martin signed to ELC, 3 years, 800K
Letang traded to Montreal for Matheson (before he became a UFA), 2026 2nd, 2027 3rd
Matheson signed 4 years, 6M AAV
Zegras rights obtained for MTL 2026 2nd, MTL 2027 3rd and Tommy Novak
Zegras signed to 2 year, 5M AAV deal
Peterka acquired for 2026 1st (lottery protected), 2027 3rd, and prospect Melvin Fernstrom
Peterka signed to an 7 year, 8M AAV contract

This roster, with Graves as a healthy scratch and Jarry buried in the minors, still has 21.9M in cap space remaining.
Now, realistically, I think Peterka would cost more to acquire, and Anaheim would want more for Zegras (but he's not currently worth it)

But this roster is very doable. Will O'Brien and Martin, plus Harding all be ready for 26-27 season? That seems like a stretch. I think Pieniniemi and Brunicke adds are very doable by then.

I'll go through rosters #2-4 later tonight, to see how they fit, and what we could potentially give up in trade to make these Yohe rosters potential reality.

Here's the Puckpedia roster link: https://puckgm.puckpedia.com/rosters/455094

[Skatingpen]

This team is directionless, bare, soft, and talentless. Yet I still love them. But man, they screwed this up big time.

[FLPensFan]

Puljujarvi recalled for Florida (along with Kierstad and Asphlund). Puljujarvi is playing in NHL tonight vs Detroit. Florida has several injuries, and, now that they have clinched a playoff spot, they are starting to rest some players that are banged up.

[thehockeyguru]

This team is directionless, bare, soft, and talentless. Yet I still love them. But man, they screwed this up big time.

The hardest thing to gauge as a fan is how the league values guys like Hayes, Heinen, Accari, Graves, Karlsson and Ned.

[Skatingpen]

Am I the only one who thinks Crosby’s accomplishment should have gotten the same attention as the goal chase? Am I way off base??

[Daniel]

Am I the only one who thinks Crosby’s accomplishment should have gotten the same attention as the goal chase? Am I way off base??

Goals are more exciting than a PPG streak.

[Victor]

But this roster is very doable. Will O'Brien and Martin, plus Harding all be ready for 26-27 season? That seems like a stretch. I think Pieniniemi and Brunicke adds are very doable by then.

A guy like McGroarty was drafted in '22 and he'll be ready for a NHL season in 25'. It took him 3 years. Koivunen was drafted in '21, so he needed 4 years. Expecting guys to be ready in 1 year is a stretch indeed.

Pieniniemi was drafted in '23, a year after Pickering, and will probably make the transition to pros next season, starting in the AHL. It's hard to put him as a sure thing for the NHL roster in just one season. Same thing applies for Harding, as he and Pieniniemi are 20, even though Harding was drafted a year later.

It's nice to have a lot of D prospects for a change. Last guys drafted by the Penguins that actually played games here were Pouliot and Määttä. Addison also played NHL games somewhere else, but was traded as a prospect. He's probably a career AHLer at this point.

[Cow_Master66]

I'm starting to think that the Pens could actually be a playoff team next year with the right offseason. I'm now wondering if it might be better for them to trade the two No. 1s to move up in this year's draft. I would also love to see them somehow unload Letang. I have been critical of him pretty much his whole career. He was great in the 2016 Cup run, and I doubt they win it without him but the did do just that in 2017. That was a time to maybe look at moving him for something substantial. That time has obviously passed but I'd rather they retained on him for 3 seasons for maybe a 2nd than retaining on Karlsson to ditch him (unless a 1st comes back).

Novak is a mystery right now, and with his injury this season, next season will be almost like they just signed him. KD has a busy offseason ahead but at least there are some options. I doubt he'll be able to unload Graves without a HUGE sweetener. Jarry maybe. Offer sheets? Marner? At least it should be quite an interesting summer.

They are likely to be worse next year than this year. I get the excitement of seeing some young have some success, but it’s nothing but short term success at this point. There are 1000s of examples of rookies coming up and playing like this, then in year 2 they hit a wall because of a multitude of factors. This roster is below average to begin with, but also paper thin to say the absolute least.

I am a fan and hope they shock and find lightning in a bottle next year, but I am realistic and hope they continue to build for the 2028 season. Keep acquiring picks and take as many swings as possible. There’s no quick fix since they refuse to trade any of the core 3, so we have to just wallow in it as fans for a bit….

[Victor]

Montreal won and is now 6 points ahead of NYR. NYR has a game in hand, but is looking like Montreal will be WC2 in the East.

Also Florida lost 3 straight and Ottawa won 3 straight. Ottawa is now WC1 but only 2 points behind Florida for 3rd in the division.

[KG]

Pens have a -57 goal differential. God awful. That puts them 4th to last behind San Jose, Chicago and Nashville. Buffalo is tied with us in points and they are only a -15 in goal differential.

Dubas really needs to work on the defense and coaching staff who can teach and implement team defense this off season.

[Puck-Lurker]

The Penguins, offensively, are a playoffs team.

Crosby, Malkin, Rakell, Rust, Tomasino, Novak, Lizotte.. that's enough of a foundation to build on. Some young guys that can apply for a job like McGroarty and Koivunen and your pluggers and grinders (read: forum whipping boys) and you're set. Not saying that's a world beating team up front, but it's enough for an entry as a middling playoff team.


And anything outside the offense, is a problem.

Our Goaltending is disjointed.
- Jarry is Jekyll and Hyde, one night he's playing great, the next atrocious. Or he goes on a long, long series of games where he's just absolute hot garbage, continuing to be total and utter crap in the AHL. He's had a bunch of good games returning from the minors, and a few bad ones. You can easily spot when he's going to have a bad game, too. He'll stay deep in his crease, overextend on pushing from end to end and reactions to low shots only seem to rebound towards the circles. Ideally you try to move him, but no one will touch him with a 10 foot garbage pole. Might be worth just biting the bullet and keeping him, see what mileage you can get from him. NHL: .887 save%, 3.26 GAA. AHL: .908 save%, 2.67 GAA
- Ned is Ned and has crumbled a bunch of times during the season. A serviceable backup goaltender, not much else to say. It'd be fair and necessary to tear into Ned more, if he's seen as a starting goaltender -- I don't think he is, he's a backup guy and if this season has proved anything, it's that. NHL: .894 save%, 3.16 GAA.
- Blomqvist came up, got some experience, looked good for a stretch, then kinda fell back down. I'm fine with that, he's young and he got bombarded behind a sore excuse for a defense. Not going to be your #1 next year on his trajectory. Could feasibly backup behind a #1 (or a #1 placeholder called Jarry) and maybe grow from there. Good part of that, is that he can be sent down and swapped out for a different young goaltender. NHL: .885 save%, 3.81 GAA. AHL: .910 save%, 2.93 GAA
- Murashov is all the rage, but get this guy a full season of AHL duty. Consistency is the name of the game, but he got off to a hot start. Has .914 save%, 2.66 GAA in the AHL.
- Larsson is down in WBS and would merit a look. Due to circumstances, has the most games played of WBS goalies and has done a competent job of it. Has .910 save % and a 2.84 GAA.

Hard to say what our future might be for goalies. Blomqvist may very well not be any better than Jarry, statistically they're similar enough. Though a stat sheet can't show when a goalie is throwing the game by consistently being crap at the precise wrong moment. Pretty much only have goals to show for all statistics anyway.

Our Defense is beyond awful.

- Karlsson.
- Letang. You can have one of these two on the team. Also you need to seriously reeducate their thinking about the game. Play more responsibly. If Evgeni Malkin can be a responsible forward, surely one of these numpties can?
- Graves. Should ideally become hyperallergic to wearing skates. Seen enough, massive whiff on the contract, he sucks and needs to stop playing unless we want to tank.
- Grzelcyk. Totally miscast as a top four defenseman. Just not very good at the defensive part of his job. His outlets are kinda hit and miss for me. He does contribute on the powerplay and isn't completely unplayable. Would be okay on a 3rd pair, but we need a top four role out of him, he can't. Needs to either drop down the lineup or not be signed.
- POJ. Took a flier on picking up a guy from waivers, essentially. Knew the 'system', knew people and staff, cost nothing. A nice try, but he doesn't add anything the Penguins need except a dude wearing a jersey on the ice.
- Kolyachonok. Big dude and I kinda like him, but he's also not the brighest bulb around defensively. Would like him a lot better if he moved around with more brain, but serviceable on a 3rd pair. I doubt anyone expects more of him.
- Timmins. Nice pick up and probably someone who mature into a regular top four, or bottoms out in the bottom pairing. As a righty, he won't play ahead of Letang or Karlsson (if they both remain) and Brunicke's also a righty. Hope he gets a short term prove it deal.
- Shea. Chad Ruhwedel Memorial Roster Spot.
- Pickering. Probably the best defensive defenceman under contract. Started off well during his NHL stint, faded a bit as young players tend to. He'll be back and has a future as a top 4 guy I think.
- St Ivany. He still exists, according to rumour. Unlike Aho, who doesn't exist.
- Brunicke is close. But he either needs to play in the NHL or in the WHL. Don't expect him to make the team for more than 9 games. RHD in a crowded right hand side.
- Hollowell, Král, Clurman I have zero expectations of.
- Laatsch, Harding, Pieniniemi won't be ready for an eternity yet.

I think you move out one of Letang or Karlsson, if possible. Don't resign Grzelcyk, suffer through Graves contract. Pick up some LHD in a trade and hope it goes any better than we've seen so far.

[TexasPenguins]

I'm starting to think that the Pens could actually be a playoff team next year with the right offseason. I'm now wondering if it might be better for them to trade the two No. 1s to move up in this year's draft. I would also love to see them somehow unload Letang. I have been critical of him pretty much his whole career. He was great in the 2016 Cup run, and I doubt they win it without him but the did do just that in 2017. That was a time to maybe look at moving him for something substantial. That time has obviously passed but I'd rather they retained on him for 3 seasons for maybe a 2nd than retaining on Karlsson to ditch him (unless a 1st comes back).

Novak is a mystery right now, and with his injury this season, next season will be almost like they just signed him. KD has a busy offseason ahead but at least there are some options. I doubt he'll be able to unload Graves without a HUGE sweetener. Jarry maybe. Offer sheets? Marner? At least it should be quite an interesting summer.

NO! NO! NO!

I'm sure we could trade some draft picks and young players and sign some high priced FA's and maybe make the playoffs and then lose in the 1st round 4 games to 1. But this team is SO FAR from being a cup contender.
We need to have a top 3 pick and multiple other high picks for several years in a row.

[100565]

Not many UFAs this year to fix the defense. Nothing really stands out regarding a doable trade to fix the defense.

Some potential with goalies but still a lot of questions.

As such, the smart move is to make 25-26 another rebuild year. It would be wise to use some assets to gain a couple players to start rebuilding while avoiding signing long term UFAs. Mitch Marner ain't gonna solve defense and goaltending.

Let Pickering play in NHL. Let Brunicke make the jump to pro in AHL. Try to add young, higher end D via trade.

Be patient for another year.

[FLPensFan]

Not many UFAs this year to fix the defense. Nothing really stands out regarding a doable trade to fix the defense.

Some potential with goalies but still a lot of questions.

As such, the smart move is to make 25-26 another rebuild year. It would be wise to use some assets to gain a couple players to start rebuilding while avoiding signing long term UFAs. Mitch Marner ain't gonna solve defense and goaltending.

Let Pickering play in NHL. Let Brunicke make the jump to pro in AHL. Try to add young, higher end D via trade.

Be patient for another year.

Brunicke is still too young to play in the AHL. He only turns 19 in early May. So for Brunicke, it's 9 game tryout, back to Juniors, or full bore NHL next season.

We don't want to rush anyone, but, if Brunicke plays in prospect tournament, dev camp, and regular training camp and looks like he did last year or better, he should at least be given 9 games.

I was going to say a big issue may need to be packing on some weight, as CapWages has him listed as 6'3", 184lbs....but, I checked Kamloops site, and they have him listed as 202, and WBS has him listed as 203. So, it appears that between the draft and now, he's put on almost 20lbs.

If there is a deficiency in his game that Dubas and co feel really need fixed, then send him back to juniors. But if it is a minor issue, let him play through it and grow. Letang went back to Juniors for 1 year as a 3rd round pick, got a 7 game tryout the next season, then played full time the following season. Maatta was drafted 22nd overall, went back to Juniors for one season, then played full time NHL after that.

I think Brunicke has the ability to follow that Maatta track, but I want to see how he does in the AHL playoffs and over the summer.

[largegarlic]

I feel like I'm more optimistic about the possibility of a quick turnaround than average, but I think the chance is more for the 26-27 season than next year. As others have said, I just don't see how the whole defense and goaltending situation can plausibly get fixed this summer. It's theoretically possible to do it, but it seems like it would require too many things to break just right for the Pens. Maybe if they could trade for a legit, younger top-pairing LD, have Brunicke come in immediately as a solid top-4 option, and have Blomqvist/Larsson/Murashov emerge as a top-15 starter in the league, that could work. But that's a whole lot to hope for in summer 25. I think it's more likely to get some of those pieces in place in the 25-26 season and then the rest in summer 26.