About a week ago I posted an article projecting what the Penguins’ lineup might look like in 2028-29. It goes without saying it was loaded with kids.

There’s no doubt the Pens have amassed an impressive cache of prospects under Kyle Dubas, in a relatively short time frame to boot. To draw a comparison to an earlier batch of home-grown talent, we would appear to be stocked with plenty of Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot-types with the likes of Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes and Tanner Howe.

Just as obviously, there aren’t any generational talents a la Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Understandable, given that the Pens haven’t had a top-10 pick in the draft since Derrick Pouliot was taken eighth overall some 14 years ago.

Still, I wonder if any of our kids project to be a star? The kind of player who might center the second line or earn an all-star game invite.

For the purpose of this article, I’m excluding Egor Chinakhov, the crème of the Pens’ younger crop, based on age (he’s 25).

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If you’ve been reading PenguinPoop over the summer, you’ve no doubt picked up on the fact that I’ve had issues with much of Kyle Dubas’ recent work.

Chief among them, the way he overstocked the team up front. Indeed, no fewer than 19 forwards who played at least one NHL game last season will be attending training camp. Enough for six forward lines, with a spare skater to boot.

Perhaps our POHO/GM intended (and still intends) to trade off a forward or two. Veteran top-sixers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are most often mentioned as players Dubas might be amenable to moving, provided the return is favorable. However, nothing appears imminent at the present.

To this observer, it seems Dubas has been trying to walk a tightrope while serving two masters. Namely, keeping the team reasonably competitive (or at least creating the illusion of doing so) for the sake of Sidney Crosby and other members of the veteran core, not mention the new owners and the fan base. All the while furthering the development of the Penguins’ growing stable of prospects.

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With nothing in particular to write about, I thought I’d once again focus on the Penguins’ biggest area of turnover (and potentially, biggest bone of contention). Namely, our defense.

No fewer than five defensemen who saw action on the Pens’ blueline last season have departed. That includes two of our top performers, Parker Wotherspoon (traded) and Ryan Shea (free agent).

Imported to flesh out our new-look defense are right shots Trevor van Riemsdyk and Kaedan Korczak and portsider Declan Carlile.

Were the changes necessary?

Going strictly by the numbers, perhaps. The Pens ranked 24th out of the 32 NHL teams in most non-shootout goals allowed with 258. How much of that was directly attributable to our defense and how much could be pinned on our goaltending is a matter of conjecture. But obviously, POHO/GM Kyle Dubas and his staff felt changes needed to be made.

I’ll be the first to admit, the way they chose to go about it left me more than a bit flummoxed. Aside from Erik Karlsson, who flashed his Norris Trophy form, Shea (35 points, plus-30) and Wotherspoon (30 points, plus-17) were arguably our best and most productive defensemen.

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Anyone who’s been reading PenguinPoop over the summer knows that Kyle Dubas’ recent moves have left me flummoxed, to put it mildly. However, it does occur to me that our POHO/GM must be working to some sort of long-range plan. A plan that most likely involves a heaping helping of our current prospects.

With that in mind, I’ve attempted to pull together some sort of depth chart, say circa 2028-29. In order to do that, I’ve made some assumptions. First, our core three of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin will have retired, which may or may not be the case for our captain. Second, Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust will have departed either by trade or free agency, along with Justin Brazeau, Connor Dewar, Sam Girard, Blake Lizotte, Tommy Novak and Elmer Söderblom and most of our present defense. Goalie Arturs Šilovs as well. Which seems to handshake with Dubas’ current MO (Ville Koivunen the exception) of eschewing long-term contracts.

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Unless a club happens to be in the throes of a tear-it-down-to-the-floorboards rebuild, as a general rule it’s the goal of any NHL team to make the playoffs and perhaps even vie for the Stanley Cup. Under the stewardship of POHO/GM Kyle Dubas, our Penguins have been more or less pursuing that aim as well, albeit with a strong focus on stockpiling picks and prospects for the future.

In effect, serving two masters.

Now that the roster appears to be pretty much set, it begs the question: Will we make the playoffs?

I’ve compiled a list of factors, both for and against.

REASONS WE WILL

Offense. Barring a trade or a significant and unforeseen drop-off from the likes of mainstays Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, scoring goals shouldn’t be an issue. Nor is there any reason to think Egor Chinakhov, he of the wicked shot and lightning release, won’t continue to emerge as a lethal goal scorer. Depending on his role, Nicholas Robertson could be poised for a Chinny-esque breakout.

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Inspired by an article on Pensburgh by Jim Rixner titled, “Mario Lemieux killing penalties,” I decided to break off from my recent heavier-handed writing and repost an article about No. 66 I’d originally published on PP back on August 31, 2023.

If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to read it (Jim’s excellent article, too). I would also encourage you to watch the videos, especially the highlight video.

It just serves to reinforce what an otherworldly player Mario truly was…and how we’re never likely to see another like him.

As aside, former Pens coach and 14-time Stanley Cup winner Scotty Bowman, who knows a thing or two about hockey, named Lemieux as one of his five greatest players, along with Jean Beliveau, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr, citing both Mario’s extraordinary talent and laser determination.

Without further preamble, here’s the repost. Enjoy!

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Hey all. After the fact, I inserted a link to this highlight video of Mario Lemieux into my previous article.

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