Apr 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) attempts to deflect a shot against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim (6) in overtime in game six of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Pittsburgh Penguins trade talks, the lack of salary dumps, how to rebuild, and Sidney Crosby’s gravitational pull within the rebuild.
The weekly PHN chat on YouTube and the podcast network was lively but also more in-depth than expected. You brought plenty of heavyweight questions, questioned philosophies, and did more than needle at the current state of the Penguins. A few of the questions needed an hour unto themselves and the input of people much higher on the hockey food chain than this occasionally humble scribe.
A couple of the more interesting pressure points involve Crosby, and whether he is a detriment to the Penguins rebuild. **I’m sorry, but Sid is screwing up the rebuild — CPL4200. There are indeed two downsides to having one of the greatest players of all time still playing at an extraordinarily high level: wins and holding on.
Sometimes, those wins can be meaningless, if not counterproductive, such as the phantom playoff chase of 2024-25 in which the Penguins nearly got back into the chase. The team missed an opportunity for a high-level player such as Porter Martone or James Hagens, or even Roger McQueen, but rescued their draft by snaring Ben Kindel with the 11th overall pick and eventually spinning the 12th pick (acquired from the New York Rangers via the Vancouver Canucks) into Bill Zonnon at No. 22 and Will Horcoff at No. 24.
But I suspect the vexing issue some are looking at is the retention of Crosby’s linemates Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Perhaps even re-signing Evgeni Malkin. And the absolute lack of trade chatter surrounding Erik Karlsson, who is now officially a pending free agent.
You’re not entirely wrong, but there is a better position to stake in which Crosby is vital to being competitive, keeping the culture, and setting the tone for the players here and soon-to-be here. Winning develops players far quicker than getting punted around by better teams. It should also be noted with certainty that general manager Kyle Dubas has often admitted to transparency with Crosby regarding the team’s direction, but Crosby has long maintained he does not get involved in management’s affairs.
However, yes, it is time to begin regenerating the top of the Penguins lineup around Crosby, regardless of any player’s thoughts. This writer expects significant movement at mid-season. **Go after Alex Nikishin.
Give up Karlsson and keep some cap; he’s gone next year anyway (Letang likely as well). Carolina has been begging for a true PP QB. Get younger, get tougher, get cheaper.
— KidCrosby87 Your idea has merit beyond armchair GM’ing. If Brent Burns could survive the Carolina Hurricanes’ system, so, too, could Erik Karlsson. He was willing to go there in 2023, and they might be more attractive now as Stanley Cup champions.
PHN maintains the Carolina duo with Nikishin and beleagured center Jesperi Kotkaniemi is the ideal Penguins trade get, but Carolina GM Eric Tulsky and Dubas are cut from the same analytics cloth, so agreeing on players to swap could be more difficult than usual. Also, Tulsky isn’t going to give up Nikishin for less than the other young defensemen netted, including David Jiricek, Bo Byram, and Simon Nemec.
In fact, Nikishin is probably better than Jiricek and Nemec, who drew multiple assets, including first-round picks. On June 23, New Jersey traded Nemec, who was not well regarding in the analytics community, to Calgary for a pair of first-rounders, a second-rounder, and a prospect. Ouch.
A Nikishin deal would necessarily be as expensive, but the impact could be lessened if a player such as Karlsson were included. It could also be lessened if the Penguins took on Kotkaniemi. Yet to this date, only the St. Louis Blues have been publicly connected to Nikishin.
Count this as one time Dan is with the fans. **I would be calling Anaheim incessantly about Vatrano, Kreider, and Killorn. Unload cheaper players like Braz or whatever they like for a 1st or 2nd, maybe a younger asset?
— Drizzy1974 Wait, you want to give up a high draft pick for any one of those players?! I’m going to say no, absolutely not. Or, are you expecting Anaheim to give up a first-rounder if a team takes on any of them?
Again, that won’t happen, and I’m taking away your ice cream social privileges. **How much truth is there to the Penguins and Kraken talking about Shane Wright? –@joshsteele6924 Credit to colleague Josh Yohe for getting team sources to admit they were “intrigued.” PHN heard it from industry sources, but it was second- and third-hand that the Penguins were expected to take a look.
It was nothing solid enough that we could report it, so a stick tap to Josh. BUT teams can be intrigued without serious talks occurring, and this is likely one of those cases. When Seattle and Vancouver engaged in trade talks because Wright’s representation requested Vancouver, Seattle’s trade ask was reportedly one of their talented young defensemen, Zeev Buium or Tom Willander.
For context, Buium was the 12th overall pick in 2024, and Willander was 11th overall in 2023. Both are on track to be very valuable blue liners, and that’s an enormous ask for a center who had just 12 goals and 27 points in 74 games last season. It would even be an extremely risky gamble by Dubas to give up something of lesser value, say Harrison Brunicke, in that type of move.
They most likely talked, but if that’s what Seattle wants, they’re essentially denying Wright’s trade request without actually denying it. The old “we’ll see what we can do, but no promises,” veto. ** With Brunicke and Sergei Murashov potentially being their best prospects, and Kindel with solid two-way play, do you think a Stanley Cup team could be built focused mostly on the back end in the modern NHL?
— @ozzymandias7649 I can’t tell you how much I loved this question, not because it strikes at my wheelhouse, but because it’s a genuine hockey question that cuts to a long-held axiom of GMs on how to build a team and if it’s still relevant. That’s the definition of an intelligent question. I suspect if we posed this query to all 32 GMs, we’d get at least 16 different answers.
The method to build from the back out was once the generally accepted path forward, and the method was that was once the Penguins’ path forward under Craig Patrick. He wanted to build a blue line, get a goalie, and build out from the middle. It was his stated philosophy and he started by drafting Brooks Oprik, Ryan Whitney, Noah Welch, and then trading up in 2003 to select Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Penguins then drafted Evgeni Malkin in 2004. All was right on schedule, eh? Who knew the hockey gods would direct the ping-pong balls to unite the Penguins and Crosby in 2005?
And here comes the big BUT. The game is changing so rapidly toward what many in the youth and junior hockey ranks are calling “positionless” hockey that I’m not sure the old method is as “tried and true” as it was. Even former coach Mike Sullivan and a couple of players talked about positionless hockey during his last couple of years.
My projection is that athletes, more so than positions, are the way to go. The ability not just to score goals but to control the puck will supersede being able to stop goals, even in the playoffs. Of course, that could change–probably will change–in the ebbs and flows of the game.
As soon as the game goes one way, a GM figures out a counter and everyone chases that direction. The game has evolved into a good place. It’s not wide-open but low-scoring soccer, and it’s not the clutch-and-grab era.
It’s a beautiful game with some physicality, a few fights, lots of goals, and incredible skill and skating. Where the game is right now is as…