Penguins Have The Prospects to Rush The Rebuild: Should They?

Then there’s Arturs Silovs, who isn’t a prospect per se at 24 years old. However, he has yet to make his mark in the NHL as a young and developing goaltender. He was acquired because the Vancouver Canucks were going to lose him on waivers, so they traded him to a team that sees him as a backup at worst. That’s what Silovs, who led the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup title, will be for the Penguins: a backup with elite starter upside.

Along with the top prospects is a crop of second-tier skaters. Avery Hayes, Tristan Broz, Owen Pickering, and Harrison Brunicke are some of the many prospects who can be reliable contributors on the NHL team by adding depth to it.

This isn’t the best farm system in the league. However, it’s a good one, and it gives Dubas options.

Penguins Can Bridge The Gap

It’s no secret that the core is on the way out for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are in their final seasons with the team. They will either play out their contracts and retire or wrap up their careers elsewhere. The trio has been the core for years, and the Penguins don’t have a new one on the way.

It’s where the youth movement comes in. The prospects can learn from the veterans this season and have the invaluable experience of playing alongside Crosby to learn the game from him. By the time the core is gone, the young skaters will be ready to turn the team around.

The question is how good this prospect pool will make the Penguins. Koivunen, for example, can become a top-line forward, and so can McGroarty. However, it’s doubtful they are the game changers needed to turn the Penguins into a contender. It’s why Dubas is better off taking an alternate route to avoid the murky middle, which ironically, was where this team was when the GM change was made in the 2023 offseason.

Ultimately, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the Best Spot For Now

The Penguins saw the plus side to developing their prospects in the AHL last season. The players were put in situations to succeed and played on a winning team in the process. The same will happen if the Penguins allow their prospects to develop in the AHL for another season. Better yet, it will give them more ice time, which they need at this age.

Take Brunicke and Pickering, for example. The two defensemen would play second or third pair roles on the NHL team, especially with Erik Karlsson still playing a significant role on the blue line. In the AHL, the two can anchor the unit and play all situations.

In the big picture, this allows the Penguins to build a Cup contender. The prospect pool needs a star to build around. The best way to get one is at the top of the 2026 draft. The Penguins won’t actively tank, but they can be in a good position to land a generational talent when the season ends, and the prospects adding a few wins won’t help their cause. A bonus to a rough season is that they can add more prospects to the system with a few trades, whether it’s moving Crosby or Karlsson, two veterans who can be on the move.

The Penguins have the prospects to be a competitive team. It’s intriguing for Dubas to rebuild the team by rushing things. The problem is in the big picture; this group won’t be in the Cup conversations. It’s why they must look ahead to next season, after they move on from the current core, as the big one for the youth movement.