Penguins Must Expedite Youth Movement Sooner Rather Than Later
p/c: Justin Berl
For the first time in 10 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a new voice behind the bench in Dan Muse, who president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas, hired based on his strong, developmental background.
Dubas has made an effort to replenish the system, especially through the draft. The 2025 draft is already looking promising, with the likes of 11th overall pick Ben Kindel, who has quickly made an impact with the Penguins, and 24th overall pick Will Horcoff; arguably the best college forward this season, as he leads the nation with 19 goals for the University of Michigan.
Pittsburgh got off to a pleasantly surprising start in October; going 8-4 with two of the four losses coming in the shootout.
Since then however, it’s been a struggle for the Pens. The month of December in particular has lefty plenty to be desired. During their last home stand, the Penguins lost five games, including a loss to the Anaheim Ducks, in which they allowed a game-tying goal with 0.1 seconds, as well as a pair of third period collapses to the San Jose Sharks and Utah Mammoth. On Thursday night, Pittsburgh was shutout 4-0 by the Ottawa Senators; extending their losing streak to seven.
The Penguins are now at a point where they need to find solutions. So how do they go about it?
While the team is still in the mix in a very wide open Eastern Conference, the roster is currently stagnant. Veteran forwards like Kevin Hayes and Danton Heinen have been liabilities more than assets. It would be preferable to place both on waivers, and call up Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes.
Harrison Brunicke was with the big club, before being loaned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins should recall Brunicke, and give him an extensive look on the blue line.
Rookie goalie Sergei Murashov got his feet wet some with Pittsburgh. After playing well in net through the first month and half of the season, Arturs Silovs has dealt with major regression. Given that Murashov is considered the Penguins’ goaltender of the future, he should rejoin the team and be paired alongside the recently acquired Stuart Skinner.
I imagine at some point down the line that Kyle Dubas would receive competitive trade offers for Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson - perhaps as early as the March 6th deadline.
But as for right now, shaking up the roster with more younger and higher upside talent is the way the Penguins should go. Even if the team continues to scuffle, it’s more preferable to see rookies go through growing pains than it would be to keep inserting declining veterans.