Penguins’ 5 Remaining Offseason Questions

The Penguins’ Koivunen development plan still needs clarity. He has skill, and his American Hockey League (AHL) production has kept him relevant, but the NHL roster does not currently offer many obvious openings. Signing him is the easy part. Finding the right opportunity may be harder.

If Koivunen returns to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh has to make sure he is getting meaningful minutes and not simply waiting for injuries. If he pushes in camp, the Penguins need to be honest about whether they have room for him.

2. Does Cruz Lucius Leave the Organization?

Cruz Lucius is a different kind of offseason question because it may already be close to an ending.

Lucius remains on Pittsburgh’s reserve list for now, but he can become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15. PensBurgh’s checklist described him as likely to sign elsewhere once that date arrives, which makes this feel less like a negotiation and more like a pending departure.

The Penguins acquired Lucius as part of the Jake Guentzel trade return, so losing him for nothing would not be ideal. It also would not be shocking. Prospect rights situations can get complicated when a player does not see a clear future with the organization, and Pittsburgh’s system has changed since that trade.

The important part is context. Lucius leaving would sting more if the prospect pool still looked thin. It does not look nearly as thin as it did a few years ago. Dubas has added Ben Kindel, McGroarty, Koivunen, Sergei Murashov, Owen Pickering, Bill Zonnon, Liam Ruck, Markus Ruck, Tomas Galvas, and several other young players who now shape the system.

Pittsburgh’s prospect reset under Dubas has created more layers, which makes a potential Lucius exit easier to absorb. That does not make it meaningless. Teams should want to retain as many useful young assets as possible.

Still, if Lucius no longer sees a path in Pittsburgh, the organization may have to accept the loss and move forward. The bigger lesson is that acquired prospects only matter if they eventually fit into the development structure.

3. Is Dubas Done Adding?

The Penguins may be mostly finished, but Dubas should still leave himself room for one more move if the right one appears.

Pittsburgh has already added several players. The offseason brought in Kuzmenko, Robertson, Lapierre, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Kaedan Korczak, Declan Carlile, David Gustafsson, and Oliver Okuliar, among others. The front office has not been inactive. It has also avoided massive long-term commitments, which keeps future flexibility alive.

The question is whether this group is actually balanced.

The current Penguins roster depth chart shows a forward group with more bodies than clean roles. PensBurgh noted that it is possible to build a realistic top 12 without Lapierre or Justin Brazeau in the lineup, and that several young options may be blocked unless injuries or trades open space.

That is not a small issue. Depth is useful only when it fits. If Pittsburgh has too many similar forwards and not enough defensive balance, Dubas may still need to shift the roster rather than simply add to it.

A trade could make sense if it clears a forward spot and helps the left side of the defense. PensBurgh’s checklist pointed out that moving a forward for a defenseman would help balance the roster. That does not need to happen immediately, but the issue should not be ignored.

The Penguins do not need another move just for activity. They may still need one for structure.

4. Which 2027 Free Agents Become Trade-Watch Names?

Some of Pittsburgh’s biggest remaining questions may not be about this offseason at all. They may be about the next one.

The Penguins have several players entering important contract years. PensBurgh mentioned Brazeau and Tommy Novak as players entering the final season of their deals, while Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell remain under contract through 2028 and continue to appear in trade speculation. The bigger names are even more complicated.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson all have contract situations that could shape the franchise’s next stage. Crosby’s case is unique because of what he means to the organization. Malkin is entering the season at 40 years old, and Karlsson carries trade complexity because of his age, contract, and control.

That makes Pittsburgh’s season direction important. If the Penguins outperform expectations, Dubas may be more patient with pending decisions. If they slide, the trade-watch list grows quickly.

Novak and Brazeau are worth monitoring because they are not franchise icons, and their next contracts may not fit Pittsburgh’s long-term plan. If one becomes a useful trade chip, the Penguins may have to decide whether keeping him helps the present more than moving him helps the future.

The same broader logic applies to veterans. Pittsburgh’s trade-candidate conversation is not going away. Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson all carry different levels of value and complication. The Penguins do not need to move any of them now, but the season could force harder choices.

That is why the quiet part of the offseason still matters. Decisions made now can affect trade leverage later.

5. Is the Current Depth Chart Enough?

The final question is the simplest and the hardest: is this roster good enough?

The Penguins have more options. They have more young players. They have more competition. They also have unresolved issues at center, left defense, and in goal.

Pittsburgh’s forward group could be deeper, but it also looks crowded. The center picture behind Crosby still needs definition. The young goalie room has upside, but Artūrs Šilovs, Murashov, and Joel Blomqvist do not give the Penguins the same proven full-season certainty a veteran starter would. On defense, the right side has Karlsson, Kris Letang, Korczak, and van Riemsdyk, while the left side leans heavily on Samuel Girard and a collection of less settled options.

That imbalance is one of the most important roster questions left. PensBurgh’s depth-chart breakdown described the left side as weak and pointed out that Pittsburgh now has a surplus of right-shot defensemen. That setup could work if the Penguins are comfortable playing someone on his off side, but it is not a conventional construction.

The Penguins’ training camp roster battles should answer part of this. If Koivunen, McGroarty, Pickering, or another young player forces the issue, Pittsburgh could look deeper than it does on paper. If the battles stay messy, Dubas may have to revisit the market.

The current depth chart is interesting. It is not fully convincing yet.

Penguins Still Have Work to Monitor

The Penguins are not sitting on a long offseason to-do list anymore. Most of the major business has been handled. That is a good thing.

The remaining questions still matter.

Koivunen needs a contract and a path. Lucius’ rights situation is nearly at its deadline. Dubas has to decide whether the roster needs one more structural move. Several players could become trade-watch names as their contract years unfold. The depth chart still needs to prove it can hold up once training camp begins.

This is the quiet part of the NHL calendar, but Pittsburgh is not finished evaluating itself. The Penguins have created options. Now they need those options to become answers.