Kyle Dubas and Penguins Poised for Major 2025 Deadline Splash to Boost Cup Chances
With the NHL Trade Deadline approaching the Pittsburgh Penguins are now expected to be aggressive to turn their season around in 2025.
This week the Pittsburgh Penguins kicked off what is expected to be a busy 2025 with a trade involving the Buffalo Sabres.
This trade while minor between the Penguins and Sabres is likely a sign of things to come particularly for Kyle Dubas and the Penguins.
Currently, the Penguins sit just outside of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot but have not played to the standard that many expect from a team led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
With their lack of success, the Penguins have several pieces that they could use to be aggressive to either put themselves in a contending position this season or set themselves up better for next year.
Pittsburgh Penguins looking to pull off a quick rebuild with a major splash
The Pittsburgh Penguins in 2024 did a ton to bring in a wave of young talent to the organization which has now set them up to be aggressive on the trade market.
Of course, the major trade to bring Rutger McGroarty to Pittsburgh in exchange for Brayden Yager.
While McGroarty has not been the NHL caliber player that many were hoping to see right away he has still shown potential to be a future piece alongside Crosby and Malkin in the next couple of years.
Then there is the Jake Guentzel trade which has done wonders for the Penguins prospect system.
Guentzel last season was of course traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Vasily Ponomarev and Ville Koivunen, the rights to forward Cruz Lucius, a conditional first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft.
Ponomarev in his first season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL has 13 points in 19 total games as well as earning 3 NHL appearances.
Koivuneni is the second leading scorer for the Penguins AHL squad with 23 points in 28 games at just 21 years old.
Then there is Lucius who the Penguins have not signed yet but is considered a star at the NCAA level.
Lastly, there is the 2024 First Round Pick which became Harrison Brunicke who is now one of the top defensive prospects in the Penguins system.
All of these players could serve one of two purposes in the Penguins' quick rebuild.
First, they could come in as effective players on cheap contracts to play in the middle of the Penguins lineup allowing the team to pay more for stars surrounding Crosby and Malkin.
Second, if they are not part of the NHL plans in the next couple of seasons Dubas and the Penguins could look to flip them to another NHL organization for a star player that could be available either at the NHL Trade Deadline or in the offseason.
Beyond their prospects, the Penguins will have a big decision to make with upcoming free agents Matt Grzelcyk and Marcus Pettersson.
If the Penguins see themselves as contenders this season then Grzelcyk and Pettersson likely stick around as self-rentals for Pittsburgh.
If long-term success is the main goal for Dubas then we could see Grzelcyk and Pettersson moved for either future assets or younger roster players that will be under contract going forward.
Regardless of what the final plan does end up being for the Penguins they clearly have several options and Kyle Dubas needs to take advantage of the freedom he has over the next year to make aggressive and impactful moves.
