Dec 13, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) defends Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Ville Koivunen (41) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images On the precipice of the Everest known as the 84-game NHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins could be an extraordinarily fun team to follow.
Endless position battles that might extend well beyond training camp and preseason, young players steeling themselves for their golden opportunity, and more frustrating unknowns than an M. Night Shyamalan pic will keep us guessing.
Conversely, the season could unfold as a slow, frustrating slog in which so many questions go unanswered, young players are entombed by a lack of opportunity, and bigger issues for the future are tabled. Only one thing remains constant: Sidney Crosby.
Based on his comments on the NHLPA media tour, Crosby’s new contract could happen any day, but neither side is too worried about it. Fans in Montreal and Colorado can take note that Crosby is a Penguin and will remain so, the standard-bearer for whatever is to come.
Indubitably, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has created a bit of chaos with enough forwards to create two NHL teams, an unbalanced defense, and three goalies. But that’s also part of the fun, for now.
Currently, the Penguins are +6500 to win the Stanley Cup and +196 to make the playoffs. Penguins Thoughts 1.
The Ville Koivunen Contract Fallout Fraser Minten was the latest youngster to cash in with a long-term deal years before anyone expected, when the Boston Bruins handed him a seven-year, $50.4 million deal. Undoubtedly, Minten is an NHL player and has a bright future.
PHN has touted him as one of the current Penguins VP of player personnel Wes Clark’s exemplary finds from his time at the Toronto Maple Leafs draft table. Just a couple of weeks ago, Vancouver locked down 20-year-old defenseman Zeev Buium with an eight-year, $75.040 million deal, too.
Minten, 22, was Toronto’s second-round pick in 2022, and he is also evidence of the remarkable shift in trade values. Boston acquired him at the trade deadline on March 7.
2025, as a centerpiece when they dealt defenseman Brandon Carlo to Toronto. Boston also received a 2025 fourth-rounder and a 2026 first-rounder for Carlo.
So, Boston forked over a top-pair defenseman for a first-round pick, a second-round asset with potential, and a fourth-round pick. It seems a paltry sum in light of the recently unhinged conflgration of rising prices.
While owners and GMs might lie in wait to have a few rounds with Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere for dropping a nuclear weapon on the apple cart with the Leo Carlsson offer, Dubas has also exacerbated the mess by dishing to unproven players. And yet, Carolina’s Alexander Nikishin remains unsigned.
2. Wilkes-Barre Cost?
The AHL does not have a salary cap, and that’s a good thing for the Penguins. Imagine a roster with Koivunen, Ryan Graves, Justin Brazeau, and a handful of NHL contracts, including Filip Hallander and Caleb Jones.
If Brazeau makes the team, then Elmer Soderblom or Hendrix Lapierre will get the dreaded tap from the Turk. Regardless of which veterans aren’t on the opening-night roster, the WBS Penguins could have a roster costing over $25 million.
Occasionally, stashing players in the AHL is a cost of doing business, but one wonders if the Hoffmann Group, which took over in June, will appreciate so much money spent with little return? If Lapierre is the biggest mystery for roster deployment, Dubas’s figurative junk food run through the bottom-six aisle also remains a curiosity.
Some in the Penguins organization have also sort of shrugged at the process. 3.
The NHL Buyout Process is Flawed The Anaheim Ducks are essentially going to buy out Chris Kreider without penalty, and teams should be crying foul. The news broke Wednesday afternoon that Anaheim was putting Kreider on waivers for the purpose of a mutually agreed contract termination.
Essentially, Kreider knows he doesn’t have a great place in the lineup, wants to move back East, and will forgo about $4 million in salary (assuming he’s already received his $1 million signing bonus), while Anaheim will shed a $6.5 million cap hit. That’s far too easy and seems to violate the spirit of the cap.
Anaheim shouldn’t be able to punt the player without a commensurate penalty. There are no extenuating circumstances, such as a sick spouse or other family necessities.
And Kreider isn’t on a bargain deal hoping for an opportunity elsewhere (as was the Jesse Puljujarvi situation). Anaheim is done with him, and he’s willing to go, but given the number of unforeseen changes to team building and creative cap structures this summer, the NHLPA cannot allow this to become another new normal.
Presumably, Anaheim was unable to trade Kreider and/or unwilling to part with a draft pick to do so. They shouldn’t benefit from that.
Somewhat ironically, the Penguins would be a good spot for Kreider, 35, who would add some much-needed sandpaper to an otherwise wonderfully analytics-heavy lineup and a net-front power-play presence. He’s not as fast as he was, though the wheels still turn.
But alas, there is no room.
