Penguins Q&A: Playoffs, the Trade Market, & Realistic Expectations (+)

Penguins Q&A: Playoffs, the Trade Market, & Realistic Expectations (+)

Published: Sep 10, 2026

Training camps are days away. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ participation in the Prospects Challenge begins this weekend, followed by the real deal mid-next week.

And the drumbeat is starting.

The Chris Kreider situation and plummeting trade values for veterans are prime topics for Penguins fans as the expected and hoped-for trades of the summer have not come to pass, while the Penguins’ forwards roster is stuffed fuller than the goodie bag of cookies from grandma’s house, and the defense is patchier than grandpap’s hair.

— Colloquialisms aside, the Penguins are an interesting lot with heated position battles and stubbornly high hopes to repeat last year’s second-place finish in the Metro Division. They will do it with the same core group of players, but a much different supporting cast.

And that’s just where the questions about trades, rosters, and coaches begin in this week’s Q&A for PHN+ subscribers:

**If any of the young incoming talent seems ready by the trade deadline, is it time for Dubas to reduce the ask for Rakell or Rust and get whatever he can and push the rebuild forward? Something needs to be done to break the logjam at forward, and that’s the best way forward.

They don’t need to be in the top 6, since some of the players caught in the jam could move up. — Jstripsky

Answer: My firm belief is that fans and Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas will differ on this topic as long as the Penguins are in playoff contention. Fans are ready for the next wave (except for sacrificing Evgeni Malkin), but the organization is instead forcing the young players to beat established NHL veterans to earn spots in the lineup.

Through his actions, Dubas has shown a desire to win while rebuilding. He could and should have dealt Anthony Mantha, Ryan Shea, Stuart Skinner, and others at last season’s trade deadline, but opted to decline trades in favor of chasing a playoff spot.

Until he says otherwise, or shows a crack in that philosophy, there’s no reason to doubt that he will do the same this season. In short, that means not trading Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell unless a team meets his price.

**Last year, coach Dan Muse was an unknown. What are your expectations for Muse this season?

What will constitute a successful season for him? How does his reputation for player development unfold with a roster of veterans and the majority of the youth (presumably) being in WBS?

— Matty V.

Answer: That’s an interesting Q, and one that I’ve not written much about. I think Muse is a very good coach, and he has not yet succumbed to the disease of personally presumed infallibility that swallows up many coaches (and sportswriters).

First, some background. What makes Muse so very effective is his relentless preparation.

If teams still used VCRs and tape, he would wear out machines. Even better, he didn’t come into last season with a set system and try to mold players into HIS design.

Instead, he identified his team’s strengths and weaknesses and set about building a system to help them succeed.

Remember in the first half of the season when they retrenched in a defensive 1-3-1? Muse is also a collaborative sort who gets buy-in through participation.

When I talked to players about him last season, sometimes off the record, the guys really liked him because he kept them honest without cheerleading or resorting to heavy verbal excoriation. Some said he has “an edge” that we don’t see in public, and they appreciated the authenticity when he cracked them.

So, what are expectations for the coach? I think that’s the wrong question for this veteran team.

Expectations will be determined more by Dubas’s roster construction. I think the team is more worthy of a top-10 pick than of a playoff spot, and the development of the young players is also more on the organization, since this is not a young team fully under Muse’s charge.

So, whether the team stinks or succeeds, it’s more likely the result of the players assembled than the coach, unless we see or hear something glaring.

Remember, this isn’t Little League where every player’s performance is tied to how much the coach can teach them. That gig for the young player or two who will make the roster now falls on the assistants and Player Development staff.

If this were a very young team, Muse would be watched closely for their development because his job focus would be just that, and his role would be much different.

**Are we all invited to Caliente’s for unlimited pizza and beer for your 50th birthday bash? — 71

Answer: I’ll never turn that age. Won’t happen.

But if you catch me out in the wild, the round is on me.

**This Kreider waiver is a bad news situation for the Penguins and their hopes of getting a substantial trade return for Rust/Rakell. He’s 34 years old and scored 20+ goals and 50 points last season.

Fair salary. No trade takers.

— Placeholder

Answer: I want to argue and find flaws in the argument, but it is true

Kreider is 35 (not 34), a year older than Rust and two years older than Rakell, and makes about $1.5 million more than each of them, with less productivity, though not by a substantial amount. But those differences are not enough to nullify your argument.

Two things to note: The NY Post reported that Kreider vetoed some trades, so we don’t know exactly what the trade market was like. And we know that other teams knew Anaheim had to dump him, which immediately lessens his value, too.

HOWEVER, the market’s disinterest in the veterans will change when the Stanley Cup is within reach for a team that needs a top-six winger. Unquestionably, keep in mind that we know the all-encompassing pressure of the trade deadline, and we also know human nature.

A general manager WILL look at Rakell or Rust and think—yeah, he can put me over the top.

But that moment is obviously not right now.

**Which is the better outcome for fans who want the Penguins to win a Stanley Cup: an Eastern Conference Final appearance (they lose), or having the worst record in the league and earning a top-3 draft pick? — Anonymous

Answer: In this scenario, only one is realistic, but I’ll bite.

The top-three pick would do more for the organization than one last gasp for the Penguins’ core players, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Rakell, and Rust.

(I intentionally left Sidney Crosby out of that mix because I suspect if the Penguins undergo a turnaround, he will be a part of it in a few years).

A top-three pick should provide a star player for the coming decade-plus and be a focal point of a rebuild, whereas a playoff run with a bunch of veterans would have no future-building value (beyond showing Ben Kindel what is required for a playoff run) and would be impossible to duplicate as those players get even older the following year.

**Can and should the Pens try for an Alexander Niskishin trade? Do we have the assets without giving them Kindel, Sergei Murashov, or Egor Chinakhov?

— Steve301

Yes, they should try. Maybe Dubas has?

Yes, they probably have the assets, especially if they accept Jesperi Kotkaniemi in trade.

The two problems are Carolina’s trade ask and Nikishin’s contract ask. He wants at least $8 million per season, and the foolish long-term deals that general managers are handing out like jury duty only serve to embolden a player like him.

I wouldn’t trade for Nikishin if it cost $64 million. I hate these long-term deals for unproven players, and someone is going to end up holding the bag on a player they regret.

Since this is for PHN+ subscribers, I will print this and ask you not to share it around the interwebs. When the Penguins gave Tommy Novak a three-year deal, it clogged things up.

Crosby-Kindel-Kotkaniemi would have been a wildly interesting trio, but Novak would have to be involved in the trade for it not to be a giant cluster.

If Nikishin would accept a bridge deal, then yes, by all means, go for it. Declan Carlile, Alex Nikishin, and eventually Owen Pickering could form a solid left-side trio to go with Harrison Brunicke, Kaedan Korczak, and whomever else on the right.

**Does Brunicke have a legitimate chance this year to again break camp with the NHL club, or do the Pens prefer he marinate in the AHL if it’s close? — Joe9195

I don’t know the answer to that question because the Penguins have held a strict wait-and-see policy on most of their prospects. While there have been hints about others, such as praise and a call for patience on Pickering, and positive comments with some caveats for Tristan Broz, Brunicke was just too good in the AHL playoff run to offer anything but praise.

Brunicke had a special playoff run. He was good in junior hockey, but after his vanilla play in the NHL and for Team Canada, he was so much better than expected that he probably caught the team by surprise.

That’s what made the Korczak trade, followed by signing Trevor van Riemsdyk, almost shocking.

I don’t think he’ll make the team out of camp, but he should make it interesting and put some pressure on Dubas to find space for him. If Brunicke is as good in October as he was in May and doesn’t make the team, Dubas’s plan is going to come under some heavy scrutiny.

And it should.

Brunicke, Ville Koivunen, and Rutger McGroarty all being sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won’t be shocking, but it will be a stinging indictment of this summer’s curious decisions blocking their own very necessary rebuild.

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