PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – What was immediately different in Kyle Dubas’ first news conference after taking over the Pens from the previous administration is that he didn’t promise the team would be good now and immediately in the future. He said he wanted to win now and then close the gap on the rebuild time.
Admitting there is an issue is the first step in solving it. Another step is drafting well. While previously trading picks in other rounds, the Pens do have their first-round selection and with the 14th pick overall the Pens need—everything.
“I know it’s cliché to take the best player available, but think especially where the organization is in the prospect pool and where the roster is at, you cannot worry about how a player may fit in the next 2-3 years,” Dubas said. “We have to get the best player we can at 14.”
That means the Pens could go after a top-line center, someone who could eventually be a top-two center knowing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can’t play forever. Dubas wouldn’t expect anyone they are drafting in the middle of the first round to make an impact on the NHL roster for the next two to three years. The Pens President doesn’t believe there is immediate help available unless they would trade up which he threw out as a possibility.
Trading up though requires equity. This team has little. Part of the concern for the next few seasons is what little has emerged to date with the Pens minor league system. The best scorer on the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Pens is recently re-signed winger Valtteri Puustinen and he was 25th in the AHL with 59 points. Their next best scorer was 49th in the league (5’10” Drake Caggiula, 28-years-old, 53 points). The Pens best AHL goalie was 33-year-old Dustin Tokarski, 15th in the league with a 2.69 goals against average.
The team doesn’t have a second or fourth round pick in the 2023 draft to use as leverage. They have six selections in the seven-round draft, a third of those in the final round.
Ideally, Dubas points out he would like to spread out the draft equally and with their six selections choose three forwards, two defenseman and a goalie. That’s not what he believes will happen. They can pick multiple players at any position knowing they need to build depth and again without any thought of how this affects the current roster make-up.
If they had that opportunity to add for need, it would be in the dozen starting forwards with not only wingers but centers.
“We need to add talent to the forward group,” Dubas said. “Last year, the group here got great performances out of its core players and still missed. We need to have players at the bottom of the lineup, who are third and fourth lines that can add certain utilities-talent, penalty killing, competitiveness, speed, youth.”
What is unique about the NHL is two days after the draft, free agency begins. It’s a critical time for not only a team trying to get back in the playoffs, but for a franchise is desperate need of young talent.
“I don’t there are going to be the big, splashy UFAs, they will probably be more subtle and we will need to hit on them in order to have success,” Dubas said. “I don’t think you will see us in the long-term, highly expensive forwards especially in free agency.”
Big week for the NHL, bigger week for the Penguins future.