Penguins Update: A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words

Hey all. I’m still trying to get my brain around yesterday’s blockbuster trade for Erik Karlsson. One that dramatically altered our roster in one fell swoop.

Fortunately, our Caleb Di’Natale is way out ahead of me and posted a terrific article giving his ultra-entertaining and detailed take on the deal. Prompting Other Rick to respond with an equally impassioned and exceptionally well-thought rebuttal.

The PenguinPoop version of Point/Counterpoint from the golden days of SNL. “Jane, you poor misguided…”

I digress.

One thing that has occurred to me? How very different our team is today compared to the end of last season, thanks due entirely to the concerted efforts of Kyle Dubas. In scarcely two months on the job, he’s given the team a drastic and much-needed overhaul. Even more remarkable, he’s found a way to erase previous GM Ron Hextall’s most egregious (if well-intentioned) bungles.

To accomplish this feat while he was still getting acclimated to a new organization and culture, and in the salary-cap era to boot?

Nothing short of miraculous.

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of our projected depth chart as it stands now versus the end of the season. New adds and departures are italicized:

As you can see, 11 of the 24 players who finished the 2022-23 campaign are gone…nearly half the roster! An astounding amount of turnover in nine short weeks.

While some might argue it’s a matter of rearranging deck chairs on the RMS Titanic, I beg to differ. It’s given our core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang a fresh supporting cast. To say nothing of the addition of Karlsson, perhaps the most gifted and impactful offensive defenseman of his generation.

Indeed, it feels like a brand-new team. Probably because it is.

There’ll be plenty of healthy competition for jobs in the supporting roles, which should provide a heaping helping of electricity and energy come training camp. Speaking of, the sizzle and buzz surrounding the Karlsson acquisition is through the roof, and rightfully so.

All good stuff.

There’s another, more subtle undertone. Dubas has provided coach Mike Sullivan with his type of team. I had the feeling Sullivan and Hextall operated in separate galaxies during the last regime, with each pulling toward his own (and often opposing) end of the hockey universe. The result was a flawed, poorly coached hybrid team that Sullivan was ill-suited to lead.

While we can debate long and hard about the merits of a coach who only knows one style, since FSG is committed to Sullivan contractually and otherwise, it makes sense to provide him with the type of players he needs for his system.

To the very best of his considerable abilities Dubas has achieved that, and in a fashion that’s both deliberate and decisive.

No, the Penguins aren’t perfect. I’d like to see a bona fide physical presence in the third right ‘d’ slot, although Chad Ruhwedel and Pierre-Olivier Joseph formed a surprisingly effective tandem last season. I think we lack a bottom-sixer who can fill a top-six role in a pinch (ex: Evan Rodrigues). And I personally feel we need more size and grind to be competitive in the postseason. When, as Toronto GM Brad Treliving stated, “At the most important times, the rink shrinks. There’s no space. You need courage.”

Still, I think Dubas has done an exceptional job thus far in transforming a stale, aging, underachieving bunch into a team that should be improved…and considerably so.

Nor does our new GM seem to be one to rest on his laurels. I fully expect Dubas to boldly make whatever changes he deems necessary to improve the team. Similar in a way to former GM Jim Rutherford.

I, for one, look forward to watching him work.