Tant de choses changent autour de cette franchise. Nos icônes sont au crépuscule de leur carrière, mais ont été revigorées par Dan Muse (que j’adore). Nous allons avoir de nouveaux propriétaires, mais les gens ne savent pas grand-chose à leur sujet. Et même si Kyle Dubas a débuté son mandat avec des décisions plus fragiles (contrat Jarry/accord Graves), il semble de plus en plus arranger les choses ces derniers temps. Alors, quelle est la prochaine étape pour nous ? À quoi les gens s’attendent-ils pour les cinq prochaines années avec cette équipe ?
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Br3n_99
32 Comments
There’s been a ton to like this year about how things have gone. I think the concern I have is how this team is going to acquire the elite talent you need to compete for cups. Lottery luck is going to be even harder to come by if this team manages to maintain competence (which I think is far more likely than I would have thought at the beginning of the year).
Good problem to have.
We are winning the cup this year.. f a rebuild we’ve already re-tooled gloriously
Penguins are 6 points behind the division leader with one game in hand.
Penguins are 6 points ahead of 4th place in the division with one more game played.
Lot of guys on career years. No reason to not let this continue. Reassess the rebuild during the offseason.
i think at this point not much is going to change in our current lineup as long as everyone stays healthy.
that being said, i think we’re going to see a lot of moving pieces with the baby pens in acquiring young talent that are developing well but aren’t quite ready for the nhl yet.
Kindel is the future.
The kid is 18 and already playing meaningful minutes. When he fills out his frame… he’ll be a 4 year vet at 22.
Incredible hockey IQ, two way player, learning from the best, and not even remotely cocky aka boring and Sid-like in interviews.
The rebuild starts when Crosby, Malkin, and Letang retire.
I’m not thinking about the team 5 years from now. I’m just enjoying that they’re playing legitimately good hockey for the first time in a few years. Just keep doing what they’re doing. It seems to be working.
dubas has been extremely transparent with his process. he has does a bi weekly talk with getzoff it s a great listen.
he has one statement he never defers from. it’s not win today, it’s win for 20 years. we owe it to the big 3 if push if we’re in a position but not at the cost of the rebuild. we’re going to make small incremental moves to constantly improve and push the team. but at the end of the day we’re trying to win for 20 years.
I think every move he’s made has been on track with that and more. the “rebuild” most people don’t realize has already started, in fact we’re 3 years into it. started with the guentzel trade and we’re starting to reap the seeds planted with it. I only see him continuing to do the same stuff he’s been doing
Enjoy a few more years of sid/geno/tanger then a real rebuild begins
Do not be fooled by this season’s success, because it is based upon the skill and ability of players who are definitely gone in 3 years.
So, who is this team in 3 years – it’s who we find in the next 3 years.
Sure, Brunicke on his ultimate timeline can be a PP QB top pair guy. We need at least 2 more lotto tickets just like him in the pipeline to have 1 work out. Having 2 hit is what gets you back quick.
Kindel, Horcoff, Broz, Zonnon, McGroarty – are all interesting prospects. None of them are in the rare air in which Sid & Geno reside. Now, I’m not saying you need them to win a cup, but the choice is superstars or playing a different brand of hockey than traditionally.
Chinakhov, Brazzer, Dewar, Lizzotte can all be part of that future. Hallander could potentially too, and I would not count him out.
You’ve got potential with Hayes, Howe, Fernstrom, Ilyin, Koivunen, but those are lotto tickets more than anything else.
So, what do you do this year and next – Keep amassing great talent at low cost when possible (Chinakhov), keep drafting well at the top, and strike on good young players that come available – any guy that could be the guy, and will be under 30 in 2029-2030.
There will likely still be ups and downs, and acquiring great players only to trade that great player for some other players. Try not to get to attached to names on the back the next 2 years, because they may be fleeting. Just trust in the logo on the front of the jersey.
Let’s go Pens!
Well we win the Cup this year then probably repeat next year
FUCK THE FLYERS
If we keep this up, we ride it into the playoffs. If we fall apart (can happen as we saw when Malkin was out), we sell veterans to contenders for prospects and draft picks and come back stronger next year. Win-win!
i think theyre set up really well to be pretty good thru the rest of Sid’s career, and at least be okay after he’s done. whether or not theyre *good* after he hangs it up depends on their ability to bring in the right star from the outside, and how they do it.
key word being « right ». they dont need to force a « i guess we will just take this dude from free agency cuz he’s the best available ». i’d rather they be patient for the right guy to strike on. but they do need to strike on someone who is extremely good and pretty young, over the next 3ish years. in my opinion.
you can’t make a habit of « overpaying » for guys but it’s okay to pick your spots and do that when you otherwise run the ship with ruthless efficiency as dubas has.
but honestly that is all something to worry about later. enjoying this season is the main thing on my to-do list.
I think my main concern, from a personal standpoint, is that I’m becoming attached, especially to the forwards. Chinakhov was a godsend, but the only impact was McGroarty/Koivunen getting more time in the AHL, which is a good thing anyway. But from here on out, I think any forward acquisitions (or moving kids up from the AHL) lead to the unavoidable question of « who sits? » or « who goes down? » And, honestly, I have a full-throated defense for all of them. Beginning of the season, I’d say sit Novak. Now? Over my dead body.
Malkin, Crosby, and Letang have mad clout, and they’re safe. But I’m worried about people like Acciari, and I’m also worried about top liners like Rust/Rakell. Maybe not before the end of the season, but certainly next season or so.
So how do we balance bringing in new blood and keeping around beloved members? To an extent, I know we have to be logical and buy assets low and sell them high. But I also know that connections and loyalty mean something (and I know Muse understands that, probably Dubas, too). But every time I’m like « okay, well, I trust them, » that’s quickly followed by thoughts like « but if they trade someone like Dewar, I might actually die. »
For me, this is the crux of my concern with a « rebuild. »
I’d like to see Dubas continue acquiring talent with the influx of picks we have, trade similar prospects of value for others that have blocked paths/disgruntled with their org that could contribute faster here.
This year’s success has been more to do with continued excellence from the vets than real contributions from the kids. Either from guys already here or guys brought in.
Top 6 forwards are currently Crosby, Rust, Rakell, Malkin, Novak, and Chinakhov. Average age of 32.3.
Adding Mantha, Brazeau, and Kindel moves it down to 30. That’s not really a rebuild. To rebuild that number really needs to come down. I’d argue we’re really more retooling at the moment, and doing so pretty successfully.
The problem comes with how to get premium talent without premium draft picks. Quantity has a quality all of its own of course, but we’re going to need to hit an absolute home run or two for top end talent to really build around. We don’t look positioned to end up with any no brainers anytime soon.
There won’t be a full rebuild until Crosby retires. And I’m fine with that. As long as Sid wants to keep breaking records, I’m here for it. I’ve been a Penguin fan since the 70s. I’ve seen much worse than this. But it lead to the two greatest players to play the game to become Penguins. So it was worth it, and it will be worth it again, eventually.
I dont think you so much this season either. I eouldnt trade high picks for guys. Keep acquiring talent in the draft. That must be a priority. Malkin and Letang will not be here in 3 years. Sid will be gone in 5.
Acquiring young talent in the draft. Pickpocket some players in free agency, nab dudes in the waivers, steal Disgruntled players for later picks in the draft. Keep doing that.
They’re off to a solid start, and have made major steps in places ranking prospects. But without a true ‘blue chip’ or two, I think the future may be stunted. The 2025 draft was huge, and maybe guys at that level play significantly above their scouting report. That’d help a lot.
/j we sign Jesse Puljujarvi, Nail Yakupov and Alexander Burmistrov and we win the Cup in the same year.
/uj i think that Dubas will make some trades to bring in new young guys with the Graves 27 rule™ (no guys over 27) and hopefully try to do a rebuild thats quick
I could see the Pens trading some of the futures and youth to add now if the player is signed to term and young enough (ie Robert Thomas or Jason Robertson).
Then you can always trade them if needed in 3 years to rebuild if needed then.
In the meantime you get to push once last time with Sid and Geno
Two words. Kyle Dubas
More China trades. Dubas wont trade for anyone much over 25 and wont trade top draft picks or prospects unless they are a star or up and coming. I think Pens fans will be disappointed at trade deadline and free agency. Maybe summer pf 27 that starts to change, but our prospect pool needs more. We dont want to be the Caps and how they are from previous 2 yrs to this year. I think he banking on Kindel, Horcoff, Murashov, Connor, Brunicke and who we get this year. I do believe his main goal still is the future
I’m not sure if they are rebuilding right now. They are legitimately good and might make a little run if they can keep it up.
Trade Rust and picks for Robertson, offer him an extension.
Could go for Tolvanen with picks and a youth player.
Kindel is part of the future, and I’m hoping Horcoff will be as well.
Keep paying Crosby 8.7 million until he doesn’t want to play anymore. I think Malkin should also play as long as he wants, but would probably take less money than Crosby. Both are over a point per game. And I think Malkin’s doing better because he has players to pass too.
Chinakhov seems like a steal, I hope he can stay excited here.
Sign Mcdavid when his contract expires after the 27-28 season, or trade for him that season.
There are 2 realistic extremes that I currently see from the recent success:
1 is the team gets REALLY good very quickly in the next couple of seasons. Which means the young guys have come in and learned things quickly with Sid and Malkin. Then when Sid and Malkin leave the team is kind of « OK » until younger people grow more to fill those holes.
2 is the team is kind of decent for a few years. We flirt with playoffs a bit. But when both Malkin and Sid are gone, there are unavoidable dark years. This is because not enough prospects and drafts (that we haven’t even picked yet) will be developed/ready when Sid is 41 and the tank is pretty empty.
I think it will fall closer to option 2. And I think fans should enjoy what success we have now while it lasts.
I think Dubas needs to follow the Vegas model going forward.
I think as long as we don’t rangers it, the rebuild trajectory is going close to perfect. All I’m really worried about is the inevitable reshaping of our identity when Sid retires. Can’t fill th shoes, but hopefully we have enough guys who are willing to take part of that leadership role and carry the torch. Not to put everything on Kindel but he’s the first young guy in a while who could be that person in 3-4 years
Well Crosby is going to play at a high level until he’s like 53 so I’d say the future is now.
Rebuild? All we needed to do was get rid of Sullivan & Jarry … Cup team complete!