The Penguins’ Great Catch-22 in Moving Forward

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The Penguins’ Great Catch-22 in Moving Forward

The Penguins' Great Catch-22 in Moving Forward — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dan Kingerski

Fri, Sep 25, 2026 ·

5 min read

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Time has elapsed, and the results are conclusive. Three years ago, the San Jose Sharks traded Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson because they were on the precipice of a rebuild, and Karlsson wanted a Stanley Cup. The Pittsburgh Penguins were on the precipice of the great decline, with older players and fading memories of Stanley Cup glory, but new general manager Kyle Dubas wanted an immediate revival.

Two teams not entirely dissimilar, but headed in entirely different directions. The Penguins eventually won the bidding war, outlasting the Carolina Hurricanes to acquire Karlsson, and the sky was the limit. San Jose traded Karlsson, and hitting rock bottom hurt.

Yet three years later, the Penguins have just one surprising playoff performance to their credit, while San Jose boasts one of the two best young lineups in the game and Stanley Cup contention is soon at hand. Losing produced Macklin Celebrini , Will Smith , Michael Misa , and Ivar Stenberg. Trading away young, talented William Eklund last June also netted them the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft, where they selected potentially elite defenseman Keaton Verhoeff.

The Penguins still have Karlsson, but are swallowing as many questions as San Jose has young stars.

Make no mistake, Dubas has begun adding potentially impactful young players. The leader is Ben Kindel , who cracked the NHL code at 18 years old and played 77 games last season. Perhaps it's no coincidence that the team selected him 11th overall, the organization's highest pick since 2012, a 13-year span.

Unquestionably, Dubas and vice president of player personnel Wes Clark potentially stacked some young talent throughout the 2024 and 2025 drafts with players such as Harrison Brunicke , Tanner Howe, Bill Zonnon, Will Horcoff, and a troop of players deeper in the 2025 draft who have real NHL potential.

But none are franchise cornerstones today, and maybe one or two will become indispensable, but they will not reach that level for a few years, if ever. In the meantime, Dubas is using some of them as bait to land his next franchise leader via trade.

That's the comparison to the path not taken.

The organization's current path features decisions to sign veteran players, such as Trevor van Riemsdyk , and collides with the possibility of inserting prospects into the lineup. The two sides of the debate were never more focused than with the game and its lessons Thursday in Columbus. The Penguins' prospect-heavy lineup lost to the NHL-regular Columbus lineup 4-0, but the Penguins crew was entirely competitive throughout.

Unquestionably, the Penguins' younger players were the underpinning of a stout effort and continued to improve throughout the game. Connor Dewar centered a line with Elmer Soderblom and Filip Hallander , which was solid. Prospect Tristan Broz centered a line of fellow prospects, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen , that had the better of possession throughout the game, and finished with a flourish of scoring chances.

In fact, it was the mistakes by veteran defensemen that put a few goals in the Penguins' net, not whoopies by would-be rookies.

"It was a great opportunity for a lot of guys, in terms of coming in here and playing against a pretty veteran group here for Columbus (which had) a lot of guys that have been in the league for a long time and done some great things in the league," coach Dan Muse said Thursday night. "You know some guys that don't have that type of experience on our end, (got) an opportunity to come in here and show what they can do against them. I thought the guys worked."

In the Penguins' defense, the young players, such as Broz and Koivunen, were not as good as the NHL fourth-liners, Soderblom and Hallander. There was a notable difference in the results and in the quality of scoring chances. In an effort to be competitive this season, the organization has chosen players who are immediately better.

However, in the postgame conversation that PHN had with Broz, who generally takes losses as hard as any player since Lars Eller , the other side became quite clear. In fairness, Broz was heartened by the line's growth through the game, including his own. He quite obviously finished the game a better player than he started it.

"We killed plays (defensively), got out of our zone … I feel like they didn't have much, and once we got a chance to break it out, we did," said Broz. "So yeah, I feel like the more I can play with and against NHL players, the more I'll get control with those reads."

The crop of Penguins prospects closest to the NHL lineup probably aren't high-end impact players, but they could become solid middle six players. Or, they could wash out. It's hard to know because the flip side of Broz's optimism about getting more comfortable is the ice-cold reality that until he gets better against NHL players, he won't get the chance to get better against NHL players.

Make sense?

McGroarty, Koivunen, Avery Hayes , Owen Pickering , and even Brunicke are in the same predicament.

AGM Jason Spezza admitted the Penguins "have to" get the young players into the lineup, but also set the price of admission at taking one of the veterans' spots. That's the Penguins' current philosophy, but it doesn't solve the dilemma and could cost them a valuable player or two.

So, the clock is ticking on both Dubas and the current group of prospects who have aged in but have not been included. The Penguins' choice has been made. Injuries may open up some temporary spots, but as the team did last March, when veteran players return, the young players are the odd-men out.

Desperate for their chance, and so close, yet so far. The ultimate Penguins catch-22.

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