Kyle Dubas' plan for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season was simple. They would rely on the top six forwards for offense while their bottom six provide defensive stability. That plan has included signing veteran forwards such as Noel Acciari and Lars Eller and becoming the oldest team in the NHL, with an average age of 30.8 years.
Dubas met with Penguins local media on Wednesday to address the state of the team and shed some light on what he may be thinking moving forward into the deadline and potentially next season.
“One of the issues we have is we need to get younger,” Dubas said. “We have a lot of guys in their 30s signed.”
The Penguins have seemingly needed to move in this new direction for some time, but some of Dubas' moves this season show that he began enacting this plan a while ago.
The emergence and extended opportunities afforded to Valtteri Puustinen (9 points in 23 games) was the first hint of this shift towards younger players.
Since then, winger Jesse Puljujarvi (25) signed a two-year contract as he attempts to get his career back on track following offseason hip surgery, and Matthew Phillips (25) was claimed on waivers from the Washington Capitals.
The road to a more youthful team has begun, but that process may take a while to fully take shape with a limited number of top prospects at their disposal. Dubas maintained his commitment to bringing the Penguins another championship while mitigating 'pain' to get there, but the path forward now appears to run through younger legs.
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