Anthony DiFilippo: save the team

Listen, it’s hard to ignore that the Pittsburgh Penguins are underperforming this season. Like, wildly underperforming. At the time of writing, they’re not exactly in a strong playoff position, and recent injuries to Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and others are concerning. With the recent Tristan Jarry situation, things look bad, but a full-on fire sale might be a bad idea. 

While I agree that the Penguins have clear weaknesses, it’s important to remember where this team came from and where this team is going. Yes, they’re struggling, but a fire sale at this point might actually set them back further than staying the course with some smart moves.

Sidney Crosby is still playing at a level that could make him a key contributor to a playoff push despite the team’s struggles. No, that doesn’t mean trade him to the [Colorado] Avalanche. Even though Malkin is injured and wasn’t playing at a prime level, he can still be a game-changer when in the lineup. You also have Erik Karlsson, who is putting up points and has vastly improved his defensive game this season. Those three players are still at the core of this team and can carry it if the right pieces fall into place, as evidenced in March and April last season. 

Rather than completely dismantling the roster, the Penguins should focus on finding short-term improvements. The team needs to add depth to its second and third lines, especially at wing, to provide Crosby, Malkin and the rest of the team with more support. Yes, that may be the same story as the last five years, but the pickups of Michael Bunting and Philip Tomasino were a great start. The Penguins’ issues are more defensive than offensive, but top-six forwards could definitely use some help to take the pressure off their stars. A smart acquisition or two could give Pittsburgh a push, not only now, but in the future.

And that’s where I think Tyler Aaron’s argument for selling might miss the mark. While it’s tempting to try and capitalize on potential returns for players like Rust, a full rebuild could result in a much longer stretch of mediocrity than what the team is currently dealing with. Crosby and Malkin are nearing the end of their careers, and letting them sit through a rebuild would do a disservice to the franchise, the fanbase and the players themselves. Their careers deserve one last shot at the Cup, and Pittsburgh doesn’t need to blow things up to make that happen.

The Penguins also have the kind of flexibility where they don’t have to make sweeping changes to stay competitive. There are young players like Blomqvist and some of the depth forwards who could be part of a transition, but that doesn’t mean you trade away the core players who have brought success. It’s about finding the right pieces, whether that’s an experienced winger to solidify the second line or another defensive asset to help with the penalty kill.

Of course, there’s the bigger question of goaltending. With Blomqvist being called up, it’s possible that the Penguins could look at making more changes at the position. If Blomqvist performs well, they could feel comfortable moving forward with him as part of the tandem, which would allow them to trade away Alex Nedeljkovic (locked in through next season) and give Filip Larsson an opportunity in the NHL.

Ultimately, the Penguins need to be careful here. A fire sale would risk damaging the franchise in the long run. Who knows when the next Crosby and Malkin could come along? It could be years before the Penguins make the playoffs again. This is still a team with plenty of potential, and they don’t need to trade away every asset they have in order to make a run. A more balanced approach, like acquiring a key piece here and there could be just what they need to get back on track. Let’s not forget, Pittsburgh isn’t out of it yet. The East is very weak this year, and there are seven points separating nine teams right now. 

In the end, this isn’t about rebuilding. It’s about tweaking, adjusting and retooling. If the Penguins make the right moves, they can still make this season count and also set them up for the next era. Let’s not throw in the towel yet. 

Tyler Aaron: sell the team

I am not going to lie here; the Pittsburgh Penguins have been struggling a lot over the past few seasons. After what seemed to be an unstoppable force the Penguins once had in the “Crosby Era” by making the playoffs in 16 consecutive  seasons and winning three Stanley Cups under the main core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. 

With the main core of the Penguins in the final years of their careers, I think it is time for the Penguins to hit the reset button completely and begin the rebuilding process. 

Every sports franchise goes through a rebuilding stage to become a championship contender each year and possibly even a dynasty. It has been proven in the past that buying in free agency in the NHL isn’t going to win any team a Stanley Cup. Look at the Nashville Predators this past summer, signing top free agents Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei and Johnathan Marchessault. Currently, the Nashville Predators sit at the bottom of the NHL standings. 

The bottom line is to win a championship in today’s NHL is through the draft. The Penguins drafted Marc-Andre Fleury, Malkin, Crosby, Letang and Jordan Staal en route to their Stanley Cup runs in 2009, 2016, and 2017. 

Since the Penguins’ last Stanley Cup championship in 2017, the team began to struggle with the departures of key players including their franchise goaltender in Fleury, who was taken in the Expansion Draft. 

Since Fleury’s departure, the Penguins have had little to no success in the playoffs, only winning one playoff series in 2018 against the Philadelphia Flyers, but have failed to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. 

When new General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas was hired in the summer of 2023, it was clear that his mission was to turn this team into a Stanley Cup contender again before the Penguins core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang retire. Dubas quickly went to work and acquired superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks, who was coming fresh off a 100-point season and a Norris Trophy win. 

Unfortunately for the Penguins, this did not go as planned, as they failed to make the playoffs for the second straight season after finishing the 2023-24 season with a 38-32-12 record and moving elite forward Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline. 

It was clear this past offseason that it was going to be different with the Penguins’ biggest offseason signing being a one-year deal for defenseman Matt Grzelyck. 

Aside from that move, the Penguins were staying the same heading into this season, and it is safe to say this season has been a disaster. As of this current moment in the NHL season, the Penguins sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, and in the bottom 10 in the NHL. 

With players like Crosby, Malkin, and Letang getting slower every game and not playing as well as they used to, the defense consistently making mistakes and the goaltending being some of the worst in the NHL, it makes perfect sense to start the rebuild now. 

The Penguins have already started to accumulate draft picks over the offseason and have already traded veteran forward Lars Eller earlier this season. With where the Penguins are in the standings, I think it is time to start a fire sale as we approach the trade deadline to get as many prospects and picks as we can. 

I think everyone is going to be for sale at the deadline with the only untouchables on the roster being Crosby, Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino and Owen Pickering. 

The last time the Penguins decided to rebuild was in the early 2000s, and even then, superstar Mario Lemieux was on the team. With the Penguins rebuilding like that with a noted superstar on the roster, it allowed the Penguins to draft Fleury, Malkin, Crosby and Letang. When they were all drafted, it gave veteran players like Lemieux and Mark Recchi opportunities to become mentors for said younger players. 

This is a weird time for the Penguins because they are stuck in that middle ground of being nowhere near a playoff contender, but at the same time are nowhere close to a rebuild. 

I think that Anthony DiFilippo’s argument about not selling is wrong here. The NHL is a fast game, and to get fast you need to get younger. The Penguins have a lot of young and exciting players down in Wilkes-Barre, including Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, Vasily Ponomarev, Joel Blomqvist and many other prospects in the system. 

If you trade some of these players now like Michael Bunting, Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson, we can call up some of these younger players and have our core mentor these young players. 

The Penguins have a combined 27 draft picks between now and the 2027 draft, and this new developing young cast of characters in the Penguins system allows the Penguins to get some good prospects in the draft and have a chance to draft forward Gavin McKenna, who is projected to be the next superstar when I predict he will be drafted in 2026. 

At the end of the day, under the Penguins’ current situation, it is time to do exactly what the Penguins did 25years ago and hit the rebuild button and mentor these young players into a new generation of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey.