Bringing my post in from the other thread in here.
I'm think some Penguins fans have a really warped view of what a "rebuild" looks like for actual NHL teams, just because the Penguins haven't done one in so long. The Penguins rebuild that made them the team they've been with Crosby/Malkin wasn't done overnight, and the moves made pre-dating the Crosby and Malkin picks were absolutely essential in the team turning into the dynasty it was.
Just pulling up the Penguins trade history starting with the Jagr trade, here's when some of the more rebuilding trades went down with more "major" Penguins players of that era:
-July 2001: Jagr trade
-March 2002: Kasparaitis trade
-February 2003: Ference trade
-February 2003: Kovalev trade
-March 2003: Hrdina trade
-August 2003: Hedberg trade
-November 2003: Straka trade
It wasn't anything immediate, and it didn't really fully ramp up until the 2002-2003 season (that 2003 deadline was wild with trades from the Penguins). But it took all of those moves plus the picks/prospects used in those drafts PLUS the Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Staal additions for this team to take the next step. The real "nuking" of this roster isn't going to take place for another 2 or 3 years.