Nov 8, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals center Hendrix Lapierre (29) skates with the puck as Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) defends in the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The offseason is blessedly at an end, and within days the Pittsburgh Penguins will begin answering questions both publicly and on the ice.
Why trade for Hendrix Lapierre and keep adding players who would fill similar roles? Why not acquire a third reliable left-handed defenseman?
Will they trade away veterans? Those are just a few of the escalating questions hovering beneath the bigger picture of the Penguins’ potential this season.
And for the record, some around the Washington Capitals organization were even excited by the Penguins acquiring Lapierre because they thought the popular human would get a fresh start and a new chance. After all, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas handed over a 2027 third-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round draft pick for him, but he would appear to be no better than the 13th forward this season.
Beyond Lapierre, there are a handful of players hoping for that big chance, but they will likely be hampered, if not restricted, by having only three full-squad practice days before preseason games and cuts begin. In fact, word around the team Friday was that a few soft decisions had already been made, though they could be changed with performances that merit consideration.
Following PHN’s Q&A Thursday, there remained some larger questions and deeper analysis to address. More Penguins Questions Why do free agents continue to sign here since they would likely be aware of GMKD’s track record of oversigning players?
Is it the possibility of playing with Crosby/Malkin? Do they not have better options elsewhere?
— Dsb I have wondered that, too, but there is a very definitive and specific answer, at least from the team side. While Dubas has touted the Penguins as a destination for players seeking both opportunity and the elite support through the sports science department and coaching, it would seem only the latter is true.
In the case of Lapierre, or even David Gustafsson, who has 149 NHL games to his credit and was acquired in a trade for Jack St. Ivany, opportunity is sparse. While the Penguins have not yet released their training camp roster, there will likely be very few tryouts or invites beyond contract players.
To specifically answer why the Penguins have no issue adding players well above the depth threshold, it is simply because Dubas does not fear losing players on waivers. He briskly confirmed that in one of his first press conferences.
Following the Erik Karlsson trade, Dubas spoke on Aug. 7, 2023, and addressed his philosophy.
“We’re not going to be afraid to use waivers to get flexibility or lose guys. I’ve never operated that way.
You never know. You have this fear that if you put a guy on waivers, he’s going to go elsewhere,” said Dubas that day.
“We’ll just put them on (waivers), and we’ll wish them well. If they go and show us they’re better elsewhere, we’ll be happy for them.” But no, D, if I were in that bubble space and had options, it doesn’t sound like you or I would choose the Penguins.
Which young player could surprise at training camp and make the roster like Kindel did last season? My picks are Tommy Galvas and Jake Livanavage.
Rob71 You may have one with Livanavage. It’s unlikely, but he does have a lefty stick and one game of NHL experience.
Livanavage skates quite well and had a full college career at the University of North Dakota—a blue-blood program playing in the “Palace on the Prairie,” perhaps the most beautiful hockey rink in North America, the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Livanavage is undersized at 5-foot-10, 174 pounds, and will most likely need some AHL seasoning, but he does have a chance.
But we have to be real about Galvas. In development camp and the first day of practice for the Prospects Challenge, he hasn’t been a standout.
He’s incredibly light at 5-foot-10, 168 pounds, and while scouts like his skating, he’s playing slowly, probably still “thinking” here. Galvas is 20 years old, but he’s a late bloomer, which is why he was undrafted in his first two drafts.
Move him to your long-range radar. If there is anyone who will steal that third-pairing lefty spot, it will be 2022 first-rounder Owen Pickering.
What are this season’s best-and worst-case scenarios, and what would be the downstream effects of each? -GovP The easy answer is playoffs or a first-overall pick, eh?
However, in that answer also lies both a duality and a polarity of the Penguins’ current path. Would getting a top-three pick be a worst-case scenario for a rebuilding team?
Heck no. Would making the playoffs be a bad thing? Of course not, and it certainly beats winning too many games to get a top-10 pick but missing the postseason altogether.
So, the worst-case scenario for this team is in the middle. Keeping Erik Karlsson for a playoff run but missing the playoffs.
Keeping veterans, such as Rickard Rakell, but winding up with the 15th overall pick. That would be regrettable.
Frankly, that’s by far the worst-case scenario. Anything else has enough silver linings and positive effects to be a good thing in the long run.
Commit this to memory for next June: The top players (Bo Byram, Brady Tkachuk) were acquired in trade packages that included a top-10 pick, while multiple players (Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Dorofeyev, etc.) were acquired for a top-16 pick, which then required significant additional compensation. The worst-case scenario is the middle.
