Can the Penguins rebuild quickly this summer?

The Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs for a third straight season, and now questions surround the club as to what their future holds and if they’re going to invest in a full-throttle rebuild. This summer, will they try to move off of future Hall of Fame players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson? Is goaltender Tristan Jarry’s time in Pittsburgh done?

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk are joined by The Athletic reporter Rob Rossi to discuss the Penguins’ offseason and what could be on the horizon for a Pittsburgh franchise that’s looking to rebuild.

Tyler Yaremchuk: What do you make of the Penguins’ coaching search?

Rob Rossi: I do think there’s a chance he goes off the board in terms of a candidate that is in the Mike Sullivan elk. I don’t think this will be a coach with a lot of NHL experience, or a ton of successful NHL experience. From what I’ve been told, he’s looking for guys who are in the mold of a teacher, someone who can work with the younger prospects.

I wouldn’t rule out that he picks someone from Europe, or someone who is coaching a European team. I think Kyle had an idea of what he wanted, in terms of the type. I think the coaching candidates he had in mind, coming into this job, aren’t the same candidates he’s looking at now.

It’s very clear they’re in a rebuild. You can’t look at the moves they’ve made since trading Jake Guentzel, including the parting of ways with Mike Sullivan, and not say this is a franchise that’s in a rebuild. It just happens to be a rebuild with a lot of older guys that have won a Stanley Cup.

They haven’t made the playoffs in three years, they were further from the playoffs this year than the previous two. This is not a situation where it’s a quick fix. I don’t see the Penguins contending for a Stanley Cup, which is what Kyle Dubas says is the goal.

Frank Seravalli: What percentage chance would you have on that changing on a dime? The reason I ask is because of all the places we’re trying to cook up where Mitch Marner lands next, he’s got a relationship with Pittsburgh’s general manager, and we can put you on Sidney Crosby’s wing, which is a fairly attractive position, and a pile of money.

What are the odds they make this coaching hire, then in short order, the expectation is this team can grab a playoff spot.

Rob Rossi: I haven’t heard that the relationship with Dubas and Marner is as cozy as it once was. I don’t get the sense that with where the revenue is with Pittsburgh, they wouldn’t want to do a big contract like they would with Marner. Certainly Crosby would want that, as he wants to know why this team can’t do what the Capitals are doing, which is rebuilding around Alex Ovechkin. The problem is the Capitals had a stroke of luck with legacy guys like Nicklas Backstroke going on Long-Term Injured Reserve.

Their defense and goaltending will be so bad next year, I don’t see them being a seventh or eighth seed.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…