Penguins Finally Address Age Problem

PITTSBURGH – For the second consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the oldest team in the NHL While that doesn’t automatically make them a bad or unsuccessful team, it is an issue that Kyle Dubas said he plans on addressing.

While speaking with the media ahead of the trade deadline, Dubas made it clear on multiple occasions that the Penguins need to find some youth.

“One of the issues we have is we need to get younger,” Dubas said. “We have a lot of guys in their 30s signed.”

Among those names over the age of 30 are key members of the core. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are all well beyond 30 but aren’t being identified as the issue.

“Some of them are the best players in the history of the franchise,” Dubas said. “We have to find a way to continue to have those solid veteran guys, but also continue to get younger.”

Outside of the core, the Penguins have one of the oldest players in the NHL, Jeff Carter, who is 39 but in the final year of his contract and possibly career. Lars Eller isn’t far behind the core at 34 years of age.

That initial quote from Dubas came from a question regarding Jake Guentzel, who is still in his 20s, but not for long. Guentzel will be 30 when the puck drops on the 2024-25 season, and while he’s still a top player, things aren’t certain he’s sticking around.

Dubas continued to mention that a focus of his will be to decrease the average age of the team in the near future.

“I can’t see us moving future draft capital at this point to bolster the team,” Dubas said. “At the same time, are there moves that will allow us to add good younger players to the organization?”

It’s safe to say that while the Penguins will have a new focus on getting younger, the elder statesmen will stick around and act not only as top talents but also as mentors for a youth movement.

“I think Sid, Geno, Kris Letang, Erik [Karlsson] can provide massive value to new young guys coming into the league,” Dubas said. “There weren’t those opportunities available to us last offseason, but we have to hunt them and search them out now.”

As long as the core sticks together, the Penguins are likely going to remain an older team on paper, but adding young faces around them can help the team feel younger than in previous years. Dubas will have his work cut out for him since it was hit decision to acquire guys like Eller, Noel Acciari (32), and Reilly Smith (32).