Patience Has Become A Virtue In The NHL
Nearly every NHL fan who has endured years of playoff heartbreak reaches a point where they call for their favorite team to blow up the core and go into a rebuild. It’s happened everywhere, including in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2015, when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and company could barely get out of the first round. The same thing happened in Tampa Bay in 2019, when they were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. But, in Tampa Bay, there were calls for patience after the embarrassing defeat, perhaps learning a lesson from the Penguins, whose patience with their core paid off. Both of those teams eventually captured back-to-back titles and were rewarded for sticking with their core group of players. The same can be said for the 2026 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes, who have endured years of playoff disappointments, rode it out with their core, and were rewarded with hockey’s ultimate prize. So, which leads to more success? A full teardown and rebuild, or riding things out with a core that can’t get wins when the games matter the most?
The list of teams that faced playoff disappointments is much longer than just Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. The Washington Capitals had their own set of playoff disappointments during the Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson era, but they kept that core together for more than a decade before it ultimately paid off with a Stanley Cup in 2018. There were many calls for Washington to move someone from that group, but those calls were ignored, and Washington continued to build around the group and improve it year after year.
In Tampa Bay, the Lightning endured a Stanley Cup Finals loss in 2015 and Eastern Conference Finals losses in 2016 and 2018 before finally breaking through. Calls in Tampa Bay were constant for the team to do something, anything, to shake up a core that some felt was stale. But two Stanley Cups and three finals trips later, it’s clear that Tampa Bay made the right call to ride things out with their group.
On the other hand, the teardown is always viewed through rose-coloured glasses because folks remember the Penguins during the Sidney Crosby era, when they drafted Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury. They may also think back to the Chicago Blackhawks, who used the draft lottery to pick Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
The problem with viewing a full teardown with such optimism is that for every successful rebuild, there are teams that struggle for a decade or more. The Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres have both spent more than a decade rebuilding and have nothing to show for it at this point, though the Oilers came close to a title twice. The Sabres went 15 years without a playoff appearance, which should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who believes that a full-scale roster teardown guarantees a window of contention. In fact, it doesn’t end with Buffalo and Edmonton, as the Philadelphia Flyers rebuilt and tore down more than once during the 2010s after multiple failed launches.
Much of the evidence points to teams that keep the core together being more successful, yet fans and media love to call for the general manager of their favorite team to rebuild when things get tough. A lot of that is an emotional reaction after a loss, which is understandable given that emotions run high come playoff time, and sometimes fans and media say things purely in the heat of the moment. But even though it might come off as rash, it’s not always wrong to want to tear down a core.
The best time, and perhaps the only time, to tear down a core is when it has become too old and too expensive to continue pressing with it. The Pittsburgh Penguins are a good example of this. They kept the core together during the 2010-2015 failures, but should have likely broken the core up around 2021-22 after five consecutive playoff series losses. They didn’t do so, and general manager Ron Hextall added to the core in the summer of 2022 in an effort to extend the Penguins’ playoff appearance streak, but they unfortunately hit a wall in 2023, and Hextall was fired.
The argument to keep the Penguins together during the 2018-22 run made sense, given that teams aren’t successful immediately after blowing up their roster, and the Penguins still had Crosby and Malkin playing at a high level. Had the Penguins torn it down, it likely wouldn’t have been five years before their draft capital reached the NHL. By then, Crosby and Malkin would’ve been 40, and the team likely didn’t have the patience to wait that long, nor would Crosby and Malkin.
The choice to keep the core together or blow it all up and start over is a case-by-case decision. The idea of always tearing down a core after a few playoff failures is wrong, and keeping an old, expensive core together forever is a bad idea, too. The best measuring stick for something like this might be long-term success and whether a team has consistently been a top 5-7 NHL team and won some playoff series.
Carolina struggled in the Conference Finals for years, but they showed management they could consistently win two rounds in the playoffs. This created an internal belief among management, and the Hurricanes were patient for years despite ugly third-round losses several times. But the Canes knew they had elite talent, a deep roster, and prospects coming up the pipeline. And finally, this year, their patience was rewarded.
This is what makes a case like the Toronto Maple Leafs so compelling. They’ve been good for a long time and have been a contender on paper at times. They have elite-level talent on their roster, but they can’t get past the second round, and most times, they can’t even get out of the first round. There is an argument that patience could pay off in Toronto, and it’s possible that argument could be right. The history of the NHL is littered with teams that lost many times before eventually breaking through and winning a Stanley Cup, and it’s not to say Toronto should plan a Stanley Cup parade, but it is to say they should give their core a few more chances to win before tearing it all down.
The Modern Stanley Cup Formula: Depth Over Cap Hits
When the Carolina Hurricanes raised the Stanley Cup last week, they continued a trend as old as the NHL salary cap: no NHL team in the salary cap era has won the Stanley Cup and had a player carry a cap hit over $10MM. This stat is surprising given how many high-end players now carry AAVs well over $10MM, but it also shows that the teams that have won in this era have done so with balance and depth rather than relying on stars to carry them to victory and creating a top-heavy salary cap structure. Now, $10MM might seem like an arbitrary number to use for this piece, but the fact of the matter is that no team has been able to get over the hump with a player on their roster making north of that dollar figure.
Now, this is not to say that highly paid superstars haven’t won the cup. Of course, they have. But generally, those who have done so have signed below-market contracts to keep the team competitive. A good example is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won three Stanley Cups with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby earning big money, yet neither player has ever had a cap hit above $9.5MM. Even back in 2009 when Sidney Crosby’s $8.7MM cap hit took up a bigger portion of the Penguins payroll (15.3% of the $56.7MM salary cap limit) Pittsburgh was still able to field a competitive roster despite allocating a big percentage to Crosby as they benefitted from a third line of Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke making less than $4MM combined which goes to show that often the depth of a team is the thing that will give them an edge. It is interesting to note that Pittsburgh was able to weather that contract and win the Stanley Cup despite it taking up a bigger percentage of the salary cap than $10MM+ would today. Which makes the $10MM+ even more arbitrary, but interesting.
Looking at the last few years, many elite-player contracts have settled in the $11MM-$13MM range, which is probably below market value for some. Despite earning less than they could conceivably get, those players have not been able to carry their teams to victory while earning over $10MM. There have been teams with players making exactly $10MM (for example, the Florida Panthers last season, with Sergei Bobrovsky and Aleksander Barkov), but in general, winning teams have consistently avoided the ultra-expensive contracts that weigh down their roster depth.
What Carolina showed this year, and what the Florida Panthers did in previous seasons when they won the cup, is that teams that can spread their payroll across different tiers are much more successful than those handing out hockey’s version of a supermax deal. That salary-cap efficiency allows for depth throughout the roster, which ultimately gives a team the ability to lay the groundwork for playoff success.
It should also be noted that the Florida Panthers won the 2025 Stanley Cup with two players carrying a cap hit of exactly $10MM, which is interesting given the depth of that roster. Despite carrying those two eight-figure cap hits, Florida was able to fill out their roster with solid depth players and roll all four lines throughout the playoffs. They also benefitted from some absolute bargain contracts, including those of Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues, Niko Mikkola and youngster Mackie Samoskevich. In the case of the Panthers, they were an organization that had all the pieces fit at the right time during a two-year window, similar to what happened with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
What those three teams had in common was that they structured their salary cap to fill out their rosters, plan for injuries in the playoffs, adjust to matchup changes if necessary, and give themselves depth should some of their players become fatigued later in the postseason. The Penguins were a good example of this in 2017, when they used their salary cap flexibility to cover Kris Letang’s playoff absence by acquiring multiple veteran defensemen at the NHL Trade Deadline, including Ron Hainsey, who effectively replaced Letang on the top pairing. The Penguins had roughly 10 NHL defensemen on their roster come playoff time and ended up using eight of them on their way to the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins, like the other recent cup winners, had elite players, but a common trait among these teams is that their franchise stars carry discounted cap hits for various reasons. It could be by choice, as is the case with the Penguins, or it could be an advantageous tax situation, as it was in Florida and Tampa Bay, or it could be smart timing by the team to lock in players long term prior to a breakout. Whatever it is, they all avoided breaking the bank for their stars, which isn’t true for all teams and their franchise stars, just ask the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As was demonstrated with the Panthers, big cap hits do exist on championship teams, and it appears that a player will soon make over $10MM and become a champion, especially with the salary cap climbing. Barring unforeseen circumstances, $10MM should be a lot more common in a couple of years, and much less of a roster constraint. But that’s always been one of the main purposes of a salary cap world: spread-the-wealth around the league. Eventually, bigger cap hits will begin to win Stanley Cups, and $10MM will become a regular cap hit for a second-line winger or a second-pairing defenseman. Until then, it will be fascinating to watch how many more seasons the trend can continue.
Penguins Need To Upgrade The Left Side Of Their Defense
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ defense was hardly anything to write home about this year, but it was good enough to help them reach the playoffs. It became clear in the postseason that upgrades were needed. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported this week that pending UFA defenseman Ryan Shea is expected to test the market, which likely means the already thin left side will lose a key contributor this summer. The Penguins still have Parker Wotherspoon and Samuel Girard as options, and they appear to like Ilya Solovyov as well, but that simply isn’t a good enough left side if the Penguins hope to compete for a playoff spot. Upgrades are in order, and Pittsburgh does have some options.
It should be noted that Shea can play both sides and did so for the Penguins this past year. However, with Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang likely in the top four on the right side and rookie Harrison Brunicke most likely ready for NHL duty, Shea would presumably have landed on the left side.
One other note before getting into the Penguins’ options is that they have another left-shot defenseman on the roster, veteran Ryan Graves, whose play has fallen off a cliff since signing a six-year deal when free agency opened in 2023. Graves has three years left on his deal at $4.5MM per season, but he is unlikely to be an option next season given how far his play has fallen. It’s fair to say that Graves has been a bust in Pittsburgh, and his contract is buyout-proof and likely trade-proof as well. However, it’s possible he could be traded for another player on an inflated contract who has underperformed.
Reports have linked Edmonton Oilers veteran Darnell Nurse to the Penguins, but it’s hard to understand why Pittsburgh would show interest in a 31-year-old who is grossly overpaid at $9.25MM per season, especially when the general manager has expressed a desire to get younger this summer. That said, Dubas has had success trading with Edmonton, and if he could grab additional assets or unload a bad contract, he would likely welcome the opportunity to pick up a discounted Nurse and perhaps more assets.
At this point, trading for undesirable contracts has become an art form for Dubas as he retools Pittsburgh. He has been down this road before, acquiring the likes of Kevin Hayes, Matt Dumba, Cody Glass, and Connor Clifton in exchange for a slew of second-round draft picks, as well as a third- and fifth-round pick. Those contracts are now all off the Penguins’ books, and they still have many of the picks in their catalogue, which they could use to acquire roster players. Given all of that, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Dubas go back to the well again for Nurse and perhaps try to find value in the trade by taking on his bloated cap hit. Nurse is still an NHL defenseman and would likely be a top-four defender for the Penguins, which really shows how weak their defense core is.
That leads us into some of the other options available on the trade market for left-handed defensemen. Bowen Byram of the Sabres is an option given the Sabres’ cap constraints. Byram is blessed with excellent skating. He’s a very good puck carrier and can create opportunities for his teammates. He had his best year last season in terms of overall play, yet his underlying numbers still aren’t great. That said, his skating and creativity would mesh well with the skilled Penguins, and Dubas is always on the lookout for speed, which Byram has in his toolbelt. The cost to acquire Byram would be quite high, and he is just a year away from being a UFA, but if the Penguins could orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal, they might be willing to push in for him, even though there are warts to his game.
Another option for the Penguins is Mason Lohrei of the Boston Bruins. At 25, he would fit well with what Pittsburgh is trying to do in its retool. However, like Byram, there are issues with his game. Lohrei is often guilty of missing assignments in the defensive zone and stickhandling himself into trouble, which leads to many turnovers. Like many defensemen currently on the Penguins, Lohrei’s game is high risk and high reward. If the Penguins were to acquire Lohrei, he wouldn’t be a great fit alongside Kris Letang, as the veteran Letang is often guilty of similar gaffes and doesn’t have the physical tools to make up for those costly mistakes anymore. A combo of Lohrei and Letang would be fun, but they would likely leave Penguins fans in a constant state of panic, similar to the Girard/Letang experience from this past season. Despite all of that, Lohrei has great size at 6’5” and is a fantastic skater who handles the puck well and has good vision. All traits that the Penguins love.
Finally, among the trade boards, the name that stands out with a deep connection to Dubas is Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rielly has fallen on hard times in Toronto as his offense has dried up and his mistakes have been magnified, and he no longer outpaces his problems. Rielly would be a pickup that makes little sense for the Penguins unless they are grabbing additional assets in a trade along the lines of a potential Nurse deal. Rielly is old, isn’t a good defender, and would effectively add to the Penguins’ woes in their own end. He would put up points in Pittsburgh, but the cost to their defensive game would be so great that it wouldn’t be worth having him in the lineup. Rielly can still play at an NHL level, but he needs to be sheltered with offensive-zone starts, and Pittsburgh already has enough of those problems in its defensive core.
There is potential for Pittsburgh to acquire one of the names from the trade boards to address their defensive issues, but the likeliest outcome is that Dubas goes off the board and tries to acquire a younger defenseman who has fallen out of favor with his current organization, similar to what he did with Egor Chinakhov and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubas’ trading methodology over the past 24 months has been to find value in places others don’t look, and that’s how he’s been able to take one of the worst prospect systems in the league and build it into an above-average one. It’s also how he took an old roster that couldn’t make the playoffs and turned it into an old roster that could make the playoffs, with a few promising young players sprinkled in. Dubas will be active this summer, and the Penguins will surely be one of the most interesting teams to watch as they try to build on last season’s success while continuing to get younger.
The Penguins Face A Challenging Summer With Kris Letang
The Penguins had a feel-good year, even if it ended in playoff disappointment against Philadelphia. Many of their young players took big steps in their development, and the team defied expectations and age to reach the postseason. But it wasn’t all roses and rainbows, as one of the Penguins’ older stars continued to see his play decline.
Kris Letang has been a member of the Big Three in Pittsburgh since breaking into the NHL in 2006-07 and is likely a future Hall of Famer. However, the 39-year-old isn’t the player he once was, and the Penguins need to have a serious conversation with him this summer to establish a role for next year that allows him to maximize his current abilities.
Pittsburgh deployed Letang as a top-four defenseman this year, playing him nearly 22 minutes a night in heavy minutes, including time on the penalty kill and the second-unit power play. The competitor in Letang no doubt loved that, but the results were inconsistent at best and downright dreadful at times.
This isn’t a new development either, as Letang has seen his play decline in consecutive seasons, posting the worst numbers in takeaways and turnovers of his career. Offensively, his numbers have also slipped: he posted just three goals and 27 assists in 74 games last year, for 34 points.
Analytically, Letang’s numbers have also declined, with his Corsi and Fenwick shares both falling below 50% in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. In fact, his decline has become so glaring that Penguins head coach Dan Muse has sheltered Letang in a way he hasn’t before.
But as poor as Letang’s season was, he is still clearly an NHL defenseman and has the skill set to age gracefully well into his 40s as an NHL regular. In the last few games of the playoffs, Letang was phenomenal. However, in the first three games of the playoffs, he was a trainwreck. Therein lies the challenge Pittsburgh has with Letang.
The Penguins need to have a very hard conversation with Letang about several issues, mainly his style of play and his role in the hierarchy. Letang still plays the game as though he’s a 28-year-old in the prime of his career, forcing offense when it’s not there, pinching at inopportune times, and making high-risk plays.
28-year-old Letang had the skating, strength and speed to recover from his mistakes a decade ago, but that is no longer the case, and there has been no adjustment from Letang.
The Penguins have had three aging veterans to contend with in Letang, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby. While Crosby has defied the aging curve, Letang and the Penguins need to confront a reality they’ve been avoiding.
The Penguins can add defensive depth, as they have in recent years, but Pittsburgh needs a top-four right-shot defenseman to allow Letang to drop down the lineup to the third pairing. This would help Letang better manage his workload and role and perhaps extend his career.
Letang obviously means a lot to the Penguins, but do the Penguins want to go hunting for a top-four right-shot defenseman at a time when they’ve made it clear they’re looking towards the future? It’s possible that GM Kyle Dubas could swing a trade for a young top-four defenseman who has perhaps underperformed on their current team, but historically, such players are among the most expensive assets to acquire.
Would the Penguins do it simply to shelter Letang? The answer is maybe, but there would certainly need to be a long-term benefit if Dubas holds to his wish to look to the future.
The other major question mark in Pittsburgh concerns Malkin, who is a UFA in under two months. If “Geno” goes unsigned, do the Penguins go to Letang and offer him the chance to play elsewhere?
There are no indications that either side is interested in that, but would a Malkin exit open the door for Letang and the Penguins? It’s not likely, but it is an interesting thought.
However, if the Penguins re-sign Malkin, keeping Letang makes the most sense. The team should have an honest conversation about his play and how best to use him. Letang is a warrior who has played through injuries, personal tragedy, and enormous pressure, and it’s not necessarily his fault that Pittsburgh leaned so heavily on him last season.
If Pittsburgh were to find another top-four defender, it would likely limit Letang’s responsibility in the transition game, which should reduce his turnovers and perhaps alleviate some of the defensive lapses as well, given that Letang’s recovery speed isn’t what it used to be. Also, as previously mentioned, the reduction in minutes and the level of competition would drop, adding additional benefit to both the player and the team.
It’s hard to say how a personal conversation like that would go with Letang, but it’s likely the Penguins’ best course of action to get him to buy into their plan (if reducing his usage is the plan). The Penguins owe Letang some degree of loyalty, but at the end of the day, it is a business, and Kyle Dubas is paid handsomely to ice the best team he possibly can.
And if the plan is to maximize Crosby’s remaining elite years, the Penguins can’t afford to allow an aging defender to hurt them defensively simply because “he used to be great.” Dubas wasn’t there for Letang’s elite years and isn’t going to make his decisions based on past accomplishments.
There is a fine line between respecting a veteran and hesitating to move on, a trap that teams often fall into. GMs who are unemotional about this tend to be the best at assembling a competitive roster year after year (the Vegas Golden Knights, for example). That’s not to say the Penguins need to dump Letang, but they need to honestly evaluate the entire situation.
If Letang is open to a smaller role, that’s the best-case scenario. If he still sees himself as a top defenseman and intends to play that way, the Penguins have to seriously consider whether employing him in their top four makes sense going forward.
Great teams and players know when to evolve, and in this circumstance, both Letang and the Penguins have to do their best if they want to return to a winning culture.
Penguins Assign Five To AHL
Wednesday: The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned McGroarty, Koivunen, and Koppanen, along with wingers Avery Hayes and Rafael Harvey-Pinard, back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. All five got into at least one game in recent days.
Saturday: With the Penguins now having secured a playoff spot, they’re electing to get some players with nagging injuries some rest. That means that several players needed to be recalled to have a full roster available for their game today against Washington. Those promotions have been made as the team announced (Twitter link) that forwards Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, and Joona Koppanen have been recalled on an emergency basis from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With the emergency designation, none of them will count toward their post-deadline recall limit of five.
McGroarty is up with Pittsburgh for the fourth time this season. He has suited up in 21 games so far in a bottom-six role, picking up two goals and three assists while averaging 11:46 per night. The 2022 first-round pick has been much more productive in the minors, however, with eight goals and 22 assists in 28 games. With many key players out of the lineup today, McGroarty should have a chance to play in more of an offensive role than he has had most nights with Pittsburgh this season.
Koivunen, meanwhile, is also up for his fourth stint of the season. But unlike McGroarty, he has spent more time with Pittsburgh than in the minors. In 36 games at the top level, the 22-year-old has two goals and five assists while averaging 12:29 per night. Unsurprisingly, he has been a much better producer in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tallying 11 goals and 25 assists in 32 appearances.
As for Koppanen, he’s also getting his fourth promotion of the year. While he hasn’t played a lot with Pittsburgh, he has had to clear waivers twice already this season. In 10 NHL outings, the 28-year-old has just one assist. In the minors, he has fared better, picking up eight goals and 15 assists in 42 contests. A pending unrestricted free agent, a report surfaced last month that suggested he’s likely to sign in Sweden for next season.
For their game today, the team announced (Twitter link) that numerous players are unavailable due to day-to-day injuries. Those include forwards Sidney Crosby (lower body), Benjamin Kindel (upper body), Evgeni Malkin (upper body), and Bryan Rust (lower body). On the back end, Erik Karlsson (lower body), Kris Letang (upper body), and Parker Wotherspoon (upper body) are all sidelined. Additionally, center Connor Dewar is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury of his own, putting his availability to start the playoffs in jeopardy.
Penguins Place Sidney Crosby On IR, Activate Kris Letang
The lower-body injury Sidney Crosby sustained at the Olympics will significantly impact the rest of his season. According to a team announcement, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed their captain on the injured reserve. Additionally, the team has activated veteran defenseman Kris Letang in a corresponding roster move.
Although Team Canada, largely out of respect for the Penguins, failed to clarify the extent of Crosby’s injury; Pittsburgh did. The team shared that Crosby is expected to miss the next four weeks at a minimum, putting his projected return toward the end of March in a best case scenario.
Obviously, Crosby’s absence will have a significant impact on Pittsburgh’s competitiveness to close out the regular season. Despite their strong performance this season, largely led by Crosby offensively, the team is only one point up on the New York Islanders and five points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals. Still, the Penguins have a few games in hand on the Islanders and Capitals, respectively.
Even if the Penguins commit to buying at the deadline, there are few options to fill the void left by Crosby, both on and off the ice. In his age-38 campaign, he’s remained a point-per-game player, registering 27 goals and 59 points in 56 games, averaging 19:35 of ice time per night. There’s a 15-point gap between Crosby and fellow veteran Evgeni Malkin for the team-lead in scoring.
If there’s any consolation, Pittsburgh will be able to move Malkin to the first-line center, where he’s filled in on occassion throughout Crosby’s career. Also incumbered by injuries throughout the season, Malkin has had a quality year when healthy, scoring 13 goals and 44 points in 41 games.
It’ll be interesting to see if Crosby’s injury will have any impact on the Penguins’ plans for the trade deadline. Given that they’re surprisingly competitive this season, General Manager Kyle Dubas has been able to add a few NHL pieces in a flurry of trades while also improving the team’s draft capital moving forward.
Meanwhile, Letang returns from injury after a month, though much of that was from the Olympic break. He had been recovering from a broken foot. The 20-year veteran has scored three goals and 25 points in 50 games for the Penguins this season. It’s expected that he’ll resume his role on Pittsburgh’s second defensive-pairing, alongside recent acquisition, Samuel Girard.
East Notes: Penguins, Laine, Flyers
As teams return to practice today, some without notable members still competing in the Olympics, several updates have emerged. In Pittsburgh, Kris Letang told the media, including Michelle Crechiolo, Penguins team reporter, that he is nearing 100% from his lower body injury. It’s expected that he’ll be ready for February 26 against the Devils, but not yet certain.
The 38-year-old had to miss the club’s last four games going into the Olympic break. Letang had a rough start to his 20th season with Pittsburgh, leading to questions on his outlook. Since then, the stalwart has still played heavy minutes, 22:06 a night, just behind Erik Karlsson. His 50.5% corsi at even strength is a slight improvement from last season, but still a step below the norm. Currently +3 with 25 points in 50 games, Letang has turned the corner from last season’s -15, 30 point output.
Symbolic of the team’s rebound as a whole, Letang’s Penguins are closing in on ending their three year postseason drought, as they have the opportunity to go on what could be one last dance as an unforgettable era winds down.
Also in Pittsburgh, Filip Hallander returned to practice, as reported by Crechiolo. The forward hasn’t played since November, missing 42 games from a blood clot in his leg. At 25 years old, the former second round pick is just getting off the ground in his NHL career, with all four of his career points coming this season. The timing of his ailment was especially unfortunate, costing him a chance to play in his native Sweden in the Global Series.
Elsewhere across the conference:
- Canadiens winger Patrik Laine missed today’s practice due to a lower body injury, per the team. He is still working his way back from core muscle surgery, not having played since October. Noted as a likely trade candidate last week, Laine’s days in Montreal seem to be nearing an end, although his $8.7MM price tag will be difficult to work through. The 27-year-old former 40 goal scorer will be an intriguing free agent this summer, but unfortunately his health is a major factor. Laine hasn’t dressed in more than 68 games in a campaign since 2018-19. His Habs return to action February 26 against the Islanders.
- Along with goaltender Carson Bjarnason, who was recalled earlier today, Flyers prospects Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald will join the team for practice this week, according to Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bonk, a first round selection in 2023, made a case to make the team right out of the OHL but was injured in camp. Finally activated in early December, he has just six points in 22 games, indicative that seasoning is needed for the team’s top blueliner prospect, who has second pairing potential. On the other hand, McDonald, a former sixth round pick, has a more limited upside at the highest level but at 6’4” he brings serious physicality. Both defenseman are awaiting their NHL debut.
Trade Deadline Primer: Pittsburgh Penguins
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league at teams on the playoff bubble; next up are the Penguins.
The Penguins spent the summer collecting what appeared to be spare parts, and many expected them to be a top contender for the first overall pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. That has not been the case, however, as the Penguins have defied projections and their own uneven play to find themselves not only in the hunt for a playoff spot but also in a position to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. It’s been a fun, feel-good story thus far, but it has certainly changed the calculus for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas as he heads into the trade deadline. What once appeared to be a surefire sell-off now feels as though it could turn into a conservative shopping spree for the Penguins.
Record
29-15-12, 2nd in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$53.52MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, WPG 2nd, PIT 3rd, SJ 3rd, NSH 6th
2027: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, NYR 2nd, PIT 3rd, NJ 3rd, WPG 4th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th
Trade Chips
The Penguins have no lack of trade chips heading into this deadline, which is something they haven’t been able to say all that often in recent years. Pittsburgh has built a healthy backlog of prospects and a robust stockpile of draft picks for the coming years. That said, GM Kyle Dubas has shown a willingness to pivot from the plan slightly if it makes sense to bring in young, controllable talent. In some cases, Dubas has brought in talent along with futures, but the deadline may be an opportunity for Pittsburgh to move some pieces out for a bigger piece.
So, who could Pittsburgh trade? Well, last summer’s trade chips are probably not on the table, given their playoff positioning. That list includes Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell, and unless Pittsburgh is blown away, it feels like all three will remain with the Penguins. In fact, it feels like most of Pittsburgh’s current NHL roster is safe for this season, because it is a tight-knit group, and it would be hard to tell the veterans that they need to subtract talent.
But what about in the minors? One potential chip is 2022 first-round pick (21st overall) Owen Pickering. The hulking defenseman hasn’t progressed as Penguins management would have hoped, but he shows signs of being an NHL defenseman, possibly even in the team’s top four. Pickering has long been viewed as a defenseman with a very high ceiling. He is mobile, has good size, and is reasonably skilled with the puck on his stick. That said, Pickering remains a project, and there is work to do on the defensive side of his game. Pittsburgh has been patient with his development, but you have to wonder if the Penguins might see him as another potential Samuel Poulin, a former first-round pick who ran out of chances and watched his trade value fall to nothing. Pittsburgh has to make a call on Pickering soon, and they could leverage him as trade bait before that decision is made.
Another prospect who has fallen out of favour this season is Ville Koivunen. The forward was a key piece in the Jake Guentzel trade two years ago and showed enough last season to have people thinking he would be part of Pittsburgh’s top six this year. He had chances this season, but his play was uninspired, and he was quickly returned to the AHL, where he has been fantastic, posting 25 points in 20 games. Koivunen has a ton of skill and hockey IQ, but he isn’t overly big or strong, nor is he fleet of foot. He will rely on his smarts to score, but there is an adjustment to the NHL game Koivunen hasn’t made yet. Given that Koivunen is probably Pittsburgh’s highest-skilled prospect, it’s hard to imagine them dumping him in a deadline move, but anything is possible.
Finally, we return to the NHL roster and the possibility of moving a player off it. While it seems unlikely that Pittsburgh makes any major changes with the big club, there is always the possibility that a team blows them away with an offer for one of their veterans. Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson aren’t likely to be moved, but a player like Noel Acciari probably wouldn’t be off limits. Acciari has formed a formidable fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar and is a free agent this summer. Pittsburgh isn’t likely to re-sign the 34-year-old, but Acciari has played well enough to get paid this summer. If a team made a strong enough offer, one would have to believe Pittsburgh could be persuaded to move him if it improved their long-term future.
Team Needs
A Right Shot Defenseman: It’s easy to look at the Penguins’ defensive core and think their bigger issue might be on the left side, but Pittsburgh is banged up on the right side. Kris Letang is out, as is Jack St. Ivany, and with those two hurt, the right side looks very thin. Ryan Shea has been filling in recently, but his performance has declined, and he looks uncomfortable in his current role. Right-handed defensemen are historically hard to acquire, and given that Dubas has been stockpiling assets, he probably isn’t interested in turning a bunch back to acquire a stopgap. An under-the-radar trade feels likely here rather than a big addition, but Dubas is nothing if not unpredictable, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see him look for a longer-term solution if it fits the bigger plan.
Top Nine Forward Help: The Penguins look set up front and able to roll four consistent lines. However, they lack depth beyond their top 12 forwards and struggled when several forwards were sidelined by injury in December. Pittsburgh lost 9 of 10 games during that stretch as the loss of Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha, and Justin Brazeau eroded the team’s depth. Given the Penguins’ history of injuries, adding an extra top-nine forward might be a wise move to prepare for such an unfortunate series of events. The Penguins don’t need to break the bank to acquire an additional body and could certainly shop the bargain bins to add a bit of depth just in case they run into injury troubles in the final weeks of the season.
Kris Letang Out At Least Four Weeks With Fractured Foot
As the Penguins head toward next week’s Olympic break, they’ll be without one of their key defensemen. The team announced (Twitter link) that Kris Letang will miss at least the next four weeks due to a fracture in his foot. He has been placed on injured reserve as a result.
The 38-year-old has bounced back a bit offensively this season, picking up 25 points in 50 games after managing just 30 in 74 contests in 2024-25. Of course, that’s still a far cry from the routine showings of 40-plus points that Letang has had for the majority of his career but his point total is still good enough to sit second among Pittsburgh defenders behind only Erik Karlsson.
On top of still being one of their more productive players from the back end, Letang is also one of their top minute-munchers, logging over 22 minutes per contests for the 16th straight season while taking a regular turn on both special teams units. That also ranks second behind Karlsson.
This is the second injury of note on Pittsburgh’s back end this week. The team is also without Jack St. Ivany for the next couple of months after he recently underwent hand surgery. Now, with Letang on injured reserve, the Penguins only have six healthy blueliners on their active roster so a roster move to bring someone up from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton seems likely. In the interim, Connor Clifton will return to the lineup after being a scratch for the past week.
This injury comes on the heels of Letang missing a pair of games last week due to an undisclosed injury. Head coach Dan Muse told reporters including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link) that the injury from last week is unrelated to this one.
If there was ever a good time for a player to miss four weeks with an injury, this is it. With the NHL shutting down for more than three weeks for the Olympics, Letang is only slated to miss the next five games. Of course, if the fracture doesn’t heal as quickly as expected, he’ll miss more time than that but as things stand, they shouldn’t be without one of their top blueliners for too long overall.
Injury Notes: Malkin, Letang, Halliday, Glass
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that veteran center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang both will not practice today. The club did not divulge any additional details as to why the pair will not practice, only adding that “their statuses will be updated tomorrow.” According to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Malkin “has been laboring with an apparent shoulder injury since December,” something that could be the source of his absence today. As for Letang, there is no indication as to if he is injured, but Rorabaugh noted he “had some struggles” during the team’s win Thursday over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Both Malkin and Letang have been pillars of the Penguins franchise for the last two decades, though their contributions have, to varying degrees, declined as they’ve gotten deeper into their thirties. Malkin, 39, is having a vintage season with 41 points in 39 games, but Letang, 38, has struggled and is no longer widely considered Pittsburgh’s best blueliner. Any extended absence faced by the two of them would deal a blow to the Penguins’ ability to hold onto their current position in the standings, which is second in the Metropolitan Division.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- Ottawa Senators center Stephen Halliday missed the team’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 28 due to an upper-body injury, and was classified as day-to-day. Today, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Halliday was at Senators practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. That would appear to indicate that Halliday is working his way back, but still has some way to go before he’s fully ready to return to head coach Travis Green’s lineup. Halliday, 23, has 10 points in 21 NHL games for the Senators this season, and 26 points in 22 AHL games.
- New Jersey Devils center Cody Glass will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip to Ottawa, per team reporter Amanda Stein. Glass missed the Devils’ game Thursday against the Nashville Predators with an undisclosed injury. The 26-year-old has carved out a steady role in the middle of the Devils lineup and has scored 13 goals and 18 points in 42 games so far this year.