Long term could be looking good if Pittsburgh plays the cards right
The Penguins are pretty much a blank slate right now. They have some veterans on big contracts but also a boat load of cap space. Aside from the pesky detail of having all-time greats in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin playing out their latter years on a team going no where, the good news for Pittsburgh is that no one really wants to be bad next year. So says Pierre LeBrun.
Pierre LeBrun: The Penguins are the only true seller right now, most teams at the bottom of the standings are looking to add, get better – TSN 1050
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 12, 2025
Anaheim has had a top-10 pick for seven years in a row and are looking to be better. Buffalo can’t stand to continue their 14-year playoff drought, even though they can’t seem to pull out of it. Even lesser lights like Chicago and San Jose are hoping young players start turning them from nothings into somethings. As LeBrun expanded:
“Almost everyone is looking to add or get better, pretty much,” one NHL general manager said Wednesday. “There’s almost no one purely selling.”
Or as another NHL GM put it: What team is entering a new rebuild right now?
Instead, it seems teams that need to get younger are looking at the fantastic re-tool the Washington Capitals pulled off over the past few years and deciding that’s the model they want to follow.
In a more traditional offseason, several teams would be entering a rebuilding phase, saying, “Take our veteran players off our roster” for future assets. But there really isn’t a single franchise ready to implode its roster.
The Pittsburgh Penguins could be considered that team, in some ways. They are listening on pretty much everyone other than their legacy guys. Bryan Rust is the guy most teams are calling on. Rickard Rakell is also a name to monitor.
It could put the Penguins in a unique position with the lack of sellers to cash in on that leverage.
But overall, it’s really interesting how many teams, regardless of their place in the standings, are looking to add to some degree. It’s a one-sided market, at least at the onset of this offseason.
It all leads to the question of the summer for the Pens: suitors are very interested in Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Erik Karlsson is going to be in the mix too. So what can the Pens do, and will they opt to do it?
The answer to that, whatever it might be, sets Pittsburgh up for 2025-26 and possibly beyond.
Gavin McKenna has already been dubbed the next-next-next one and could be a transformational player. No team will have a 25% chance of earning McKenna (though maybe if you cross your fingers for the Rangers collapsing and kicking their first round pick to next year, Pittsburgh could have a better chance).
It makes for an interesting proposition. The funny thing about rebuilders is that no one wants to risk getting stuck in the hole too long. Buffalo knows it all too well. Detroit (nine seasons), Anaheim (seven), San Jose (six) are in the same boat. Chicago, Columbus and Philadelphia have all missed for five years — with the caveat of the expanded playoff for the COVID bubble year being the reason the first two teams streaks aren’t longer.
Pittsburgh has a big opportunity with $24 million in cap space and no immediate desire to turn around instantly. They could take a Nic Hague and/or William Karlsson from Vegas if the Golden Knights need to clear the decks to make a run at Mitch Marner. The Pens could offer help — at a price of course — to bring on Matt Dumba or Mason Marchment from Dallas to get the Stars out of a jam. Such assets can also be flipped on the back-end at next year’s deadline for even more assets. The examples go on and on. Toronto might need to dump David Kampf or Calle Jarnkork. Colorado could benefit from making the contracts of Charlie Coyle or Ross Colton disappear.
The only limitation at this point is the imagination and patience of Kyle Dubas, and he should have plenty of time for all considerations. Moving his players of interest to contenders (like Rust, Rakell and Karlsson) is one piece of the puzzle. Using his cap space to take on superfluous pieces from other teams is another.
You never know what could happen in an NHL offseason but the good news for the Penguins is that they are well-positioned right now as one of the few teams in no hurry or excessive pressure for the short-term. Many other non-playoff teams can’t say the same. Play the cards right and it could lead to acquiring and assembling future pieces to be good again one day.