The Athletic Writers Tear Apart the Penguins: The Difficult Path to Contention Revealed
The Penguins future is looking shaky, and now, The Athletic have torn the organization to shreds as they assess the coming years in Pittsburgh.
For years, the Pittsburgh Penguins have built around their star core led by Sidney Crosby, but in 2025 and beyond, that's simply not enough, with the team likely having a long road ahead under new Head Coach Dan Muse.
In 2025/26, the outlook of this team is shaky at best, and now, during their latest piece, The Athletic have taken a look at all 32 NHL teams and their long-term prospects, and it's safe to say that they didn't take it easy on the Penguins.
Future Outlook (Rating: 0.3)
The Pens have quickly filled empty cupboards with quantity. Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel and Rutger McGroarty all made Prospect Tiers. Ville Koivunen and Bill Zonnon were close and could appear in next year's project with another strong season. William Horcoff's probably going to be a nice third-line piece. Now they've got to add quality - that future first-liner to wait in the wings (ideally two). Which brings us to
Path to contention
Tank, tank, tank! We don't know what Karlsson, Rust and Rakell are all still doing on the roster, but the trio's presence is greatly inhibiting the Penguins from going all-in for Gavin McKenna. The Penguins are bad, but they're unfortunately not McKenna bad as currently constructed. There's no reasonable way the Penguins can get back to consistent contention before Crosby retires (unless he plays until he's 43.5, which we can't completely discount). That puts them in full-scale rebuild mode where building out the next core is the one and only priority. With Brunicke, McGroarty and Kindel grading out as Tier 5 prospects, it's safe to say the Penguins have their work cut out for them. Championships are built off multiple pieces in the top three tiers and the Penguins are one of just three teams expected to not have any in five years. The best way to get those pieces? The top of the draft. So again, we ask, what are Karlsson, Rust and Rakell still doing on this roster?
The Pens have quickly filled empty cupboards with quantity. Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel and Rutger McGroarty all made Prospect Tiers. Ville Koivunen and Bill Zonnon were close and could appear in next year's project with another strong season. William Horcoff's probably going to be a nice third-line piece. Now they've got to add quality - that future first-liner to wait in the wings (ideally two). Which brings us to
Path to contention
Tank, tank, tank! We don't know what Karlsson, Rust and Rakell are all still doing on the roster, but the trio's presence is greatly inhibiting the Penguins from going all-in for Gavin McKenna. The Penguins are bad, but they're unfortunately not McKenna bad as currently constructed. There's no reasonable way the Penguins can get back to consistent contention before Crosby retires (unless he plays until he's 43.5, which we can't completely discount). That puts them in full-scale rebuild mode where building out the next core is the one and only priority. With Brunicke, McGroarty and Kindel grading out as Tier 5 prospects, it's safe to say the Penguins have their work cut out for them. Championships are built off multiple pieces in the top three tiers and the Penguins are one of just three teams expected to not have any in five years. The best way to get those pieces? The top of the draft. So again, we ask, what are Karlsson, Rust and Rakell still doing on this roster?
Unsurprisingly, Pittsburgh's lack of high end prospects doesn't have this team looking good beyond 2025/26 and the era of Crosby/Malkin, but what about the present outlook?
Penguins immediate and long-term future is questionable
Unfortunately, The Athletic don't think much of the immediate future in Pittsburgh either, with the team likely not good enough to make the playoffs, but potentially not bad enough to be terrible and add a generational star like Gavin McKenna either.
Present Outlook (Rating: 2.1)
If you assume Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust (and Rickard Rakell) are likely on the outs, Sidney Crosby in 2C is basically a living embodiment of the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" scene where Will is all alone in an empty living room. Yes, Crosby still absolutely rules, but the rest is absolutely dire. But because of Crosby (and, for now, Karlsson and Rust), Pittsburgh's Present Rating isn't quite low enough at 2.1. That puts seven teams below them and if the 2025-26 goal is a real shot at Gavin McKenna, there's still work to do.
If you assume Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust (and Rickard Rakell) are likely on the outs, Sidney Crosby in 2C is basically a living embodiment of the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" scene where Will is all alone in an empty living room. Yes, Crosby still absolutely rules, but the rest is absolutely dire. But because of Crosby (and, for now, Karlsson and Rust), Pittsburgh's Present Rating isn't quite low enough at 2.1. That puts seven teams below them and if the 2025-26 goal is a real shot at Gavin McKenna, there's still work to do.
This is the exact worst spot for NHL teams to be in, as the Penguins have one star in Crosby and some solid prospects, but now, they'll need to choose their path, whether that's move some prospects to compete or tank for the future, but either way, looking to do both will hurt them in the long run.
Thankfully, the Penguins believe they have the right man to lead them forward in Kyle Dubas, but unless they can find a way to land a star of the future in a draft or in a trade for Rakell, Karlsson or Rust, this team may be stuck in the middle for a few more years to come.
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