Salary Cap: 24-'25 Salary Thread: Crosbicles Volume MMXXVII: Retool over! Time to go for a cup in 2026!

[DesertedPenguin]

I just hope there is a good thoughtful balance on how to use the draft capital. I know the thought is to use some of it on young players for now, but I don't want them to go overboard. I would rather they start trading a handful of the prospects we have instead. Like I'd rather trade Bemstrom or Puustinen instead of a 2nd. I might prefer to trade Poulin instead of a 3rd.

Players like Bemstrom and Puustinen have minimal value. Second round picks are far more attractive to teams.

 

[BobCole]

This team is so, so, so far away. I think each of the bolded positions require upgrading:

Rakell - Crosby - Rust
Hayes - Malkin - Bemstrom
Dewar - Novak - Tomasino
Imama - Lizotte - Acciari

Shea - Letang
Grzelcyk - Karlsson
Kolyachook - Timmins

Nedeljkovic
Blomqvist

That's 7 of 12 forwards, 4 of 6 dmen, and both goalies.

It's not unrealistic to say it will take 7-10 years until this team is competitive again.

 

[Pancakes]

This team is so, so, so far away. I think each of the bolded positions require upgrading:

Rakell - Crosby - Rust
Hayes - Malkin - Bemstrom
Dewar - Novak - Tomasino
Imama - Lizotte - Acciari

Shea - Letang
Grzelcyk - Karlsson
Kolyachook - Timmins

Nedeljkovic
Blomqvist

That's 7 of 12 forwards, 4 of 6 dmen, and both goalies.

It's not unrealistic to say it will take 7-10 years until this team is competitive again.

Kolyachook....what he did....there was not one guy close to do something. Maybe Maxim Talbot at the end. With five second left. Pffft.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Sullivan is the coach, Dubas is the GM, FSG owns the team and they're going to try to compete again before Sid retires. These are facts and they are unlikely to change, so complaining about them is like yelling at the sky. Pointless.

Id rather consider what it would take to pull off this plan and that's going to take a top line F and LD. Sure, not everyone will be willing to sign here, and we'll need to pay a premium for guys, but it's still Pittsburgh and it's still Sid. We didn't suddenly become Columbus, and even there they managed to sign Johnny Gadreau, God rest him. This isn't as bleak as you claim.

Dubas shouldn't be GM, he's better at his other job but has done a decent enough job in a role FSG forced him into.

FSG is f***ing garbage. f*** them.

Sullivan is absolute f***ing garbage, f*** him and his entire bloodline until they're wiped out by the eventual asteroid that ends us all. f*** the Sullivan's.

There's no "future" with Sullivan. There's only darkness.

 

[Turin]

This team is so, so, so far away. I think each of the bolded positions require upgrading:

Rakell - Crosby - Rust
Hayes - Malkin - Bemstrom
Dewar - Novak - Tomasino
Imama - Lizotte - Acciari

Shea - Letang
Grzelcyk - Karlsson
Kolyachook - Timmins

Nedeljkovic
Blomqvist

That's 7 of 12 forwards, 4 of 6 dmen, and both goalies.

It's not unrealistic to say it will take 7-10 years until this team is competitive again.

Novak and Lizotte is fine. A few of those forwards will be replaced by WBS players in the next year or so. If they sign/draft impact players this year it makes those other depressions in the lineup less.. depressed.

 

[DesertPenguin]

This team is so, so, so far away. I think each of the bolded positions require upgrading:

Rakell - Crosby - Rust
Hayes - Malkin - Bemstrom
Dewar - Novak - Tomasino
Imama - Lizotte - Acciari

Shea - Letang
Grzelcyk - Karlsson
Kolyachook - Timmins

Nedeljkovic
Blomqvist

That's 7 of 12 forwards, 4 of 6 dmen, and both goalies.

It's not unrealistic to say it will take 7-10 years until this team is competitive again.

Too pessimistic. We've got four forwards in WBS right now trending towards being NHL players by this time next year, if not sooner. Hayes and Dewar are fine on the 4th line, they're just too high in the lineup. Lizotte is solid. Novak too. So I think you fill one F spot with a WBS forward, another in free agency or trade. Keep the pipeline flowing and push more players out of the lineup when ready.

On D, definitely more work to do, but not awfuk. Letang and Karlsson can still play. Koly and Timmons on the 3rd pair is fine. Pickering looks like a viable #4D next year, so that just leaves gaping hole at top pair LD. Needs to be a defensively responsive guy who can cover for Letang or Karlsson, not a high scorer. Those are easier and cheaper to acquire.

In goal, im not sure how it sorts out but I think we've got the answer in house already. Ned keeps the seat warm till Blom or Murashov is ready to lead. Nothing needed there but time and a little luck in their development.

So again, go get me a top pair D and a top 6 F and we're gonna be way better next season.

 

[BobCole]

Too pessimistic. We've got four forwards in WBS right now trending towards being NHL players by this time next year, if not sooner. Hayes and Dewar are fine on the 4th line, they're just too high in the lineup. Lizotte is solid. Novak too. So I think you fill one F spot with a WBS forward, another in free agency or trade. Keep the pipeline flowing and push more players out of the lineup when ready.

On D, definitely more work to do, but not awfuk. Letang and Karlsson can still play. Koly and Timmons on the 3rd pair is fine. Pickering looks like a viable #4D next year, so that just leaves gaping hole at top pair LD. Needs to be a defensively responsive guy who can cover for Letang or Karlsson, not a high scorer. Those are easier and cheaper to acquire.

In goal, im not sure how it sorts out but I think we've got the answer in house already. Ned keeps the seat warm till Blom or Murashov is ready to lead. Nothing needed there but time and a little luck in their development.

So again, go get me a top pair D and a top 6 F and we're gonna be way better next season.

To clarify, I wasn't saying all of my original mentions were "bad" in a vacuum, just that they were playing above where they should be, so I agree with some of what you say here.

I still maintain that we need at least 3 upgrades on the wing, 3 on defense, and a starting goalie, at minimum. That's a lot of work

 

[Empoleon8771]

I have 1 "future" lineup, but it's based on the assumption that this team will try to compete again with Crosby still here in the 2027-2028 timeframe. If you think this team could possibly be good again before Crosby retires, I think you have a decent basis for a forward group with:

Rakell-Crosby-Rust
XXXX-XXXX-Koivunen
McGroarty-Novak-Tomasino

You still need significant additions to L2, but you have a L1 and L3 there. The defense needs a significant amount of work though, that involves both trading Karlsson and either trading Letang or demoting him to a 3rd pair role.

If you're talking more long-term than 2027-2028, I think it's pointless to try to project a lineup. So much is going to change with this team between now and 2030 that it's impossible to predict who will be on the team and who won't be on the team by then.

 

[orby]

I think the Pens have a lot of legitimately interesting prospects in the system who are close to NHL ready, but if they are looking to avert a full on rebuild and compete again before Sid retired, they had better hope they can attract a legitimate top 6 center, winger, and first pairing defenseman in free agency...at minimum. I don't see it happening. I am focusing on Crosby's quest through the record books rather than the team itself at this point.

 

[IcedCapp]

Even if we delay the rebuild 2 years for the core, 7-10 years seems wayyyyy too pessimistic

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

7-10 more years of rebuild on top of another 7+ prior to that of playoff one-and-dones and flat out no-shows would be a pretty huge failure on multiple levels, yeah.

I know we've had it good and that warps perception a bit... there are the Buffalos of the world, after all. I suppose it's possible but holy shit that would be a truly incredible stretch of futility particularly right off the heels of so much success. I feel like the league is so much different now than it was the last time the Penguins were truly bad, too. Admitted outliers aside... it's kinda hard to be awful for too long they way the league is set up, now.