TSN's Critical Ranking Exposes Defensive Woes for Penguins Amid Karlsson Trade Buzz
TSN have recently placed all 32 teams into a tier list based on their blue line, and it's not pretty reading for Kyle Dubas, Erik Karlsson and the Penguins.
The Pittsburgh Penguins came into this off-season expecting to be sellers after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for three straight seasons, with the team struggling to build elite level talent around their superstars.
Now, those struggles have been laid bare, as their defensive group has been labelled as one of the worst in the entire NHL, especially with question marks around the future of Erik Karlsson.
TSN Ranks the Penguins Defense as Bottom-Five in the NHL
In their latest piece, TSN have ranked all 32 teams in the NHL based on their defense, and unsurprisingly, it's not easy to see just how far the Pittsburgh Penguins have truly fallen.
While there are certainly arguments to be had around whether or not a few teams deserve to be where they are, but in the ranking, the Penguins come in well at the bottom of tier 4, sitting above only the Ducks, Sharks, Kraken and Blues heading into the 2025/26 campaign.
How will this effect Erik Karlsson trade talks moving forward?
Even with Karlsson in the lineup, it's clear that the Penguins just don't have the talent on the blue line to compete, but according to recent reports, trade options are dwindling for the Penguins.
Ultimately, the Penguins have to get worse before they get better, with the likes of Bill Zonnon and Harrison Brunicke on the way as key pieces of the blue line in years to come, but heading into 2025/26, it's safe to say that there's little belief around the NHL in what this defense can do.
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