He will be in a different sweater soon….and that’s gonna be wierd.
Please trade Crosby to the Habs
i mean the isles already passed them in prospect pool, and have quality sellable assets at the deadline (pageau,lee, etc) so to say theyre the only team pondering a rwbuild is untrue. realistically, the pens isles and caps are all staring it down. caps will wait one more year obviously but pit and nyi have already begun nudging in that direction. curious when nyr decide to join in
No, the best time passed, but they should start the process now. As in the GM should trade the veterans for prospects or draft picks before New Years.
As opposed to any of the other options? Pittsburgh fans, in general, are fairly used to year in, year out middling performance from their other teams. Sooo… Sure. Why not?
They should have started their rebuild a while ago. But yes, now is the best time to rebuild. The upcoming draft in 2026 is supposed to be stacked, and this team needs some more blue chip prospects. Now, they’ve been able to get some good young players who I think can help them now and in the future as they begin their rebuild. But yes, it’s time to start the rebuild.
Three years ago
They are in a rebuild. Tho not fully
Best time was *probably* when either they shipped Kessel off to Arizona or sometime around the COVID shutdown when they still had some more of the Cup winning core.
They absolutely should be selling everything besides Crosby right now. The market for the types of players they have is incredibly slim. They could get a massive haul for a reliable 2C like Rakell and probably get something from a mid-pack team for Karlsson.
It’s also the perfect year to tank.
They realize their window is closing. Enjoy a few down years. Get you get, rebuild. Draft for 5 or 6 more years. Keep trade your RFAs for draft picks.
I have a theory that a proper lifecycles for winning the cups come down to 3 cycles. 3 years dump aging veterans for draft picks. As the late firsts you get start again past 25 you trade them for fresher draft picks, while signing leadership peices. Then you get 5 years to draft and develop. Thru the last 2 years your now dealing peices to bring in the right peices for playoff contention. Then you should hopefully enjoy the next 12 years of playoffs. If you stagger contracts well you can mitigate cap issues exceptionally well.
You know by the end you’ll be lacking draft picks and prospects so just restart the cycle. Just don’t jump the gun or you get the leafs. They finished 9 scoreless innings without even rounding past 2nd
Rebuild will be easy when they get McKenna
No it was 3-4 years ago
They will get McKenna who will be mentored by Crosby. Book it.
They have the worst guy on the job for it
The Penguins, today, are where the Kings are headed in three years and I, as a Ducks fan, can’t wait.
PENGUINS
2018-19: 100 points / Lost in first round
2019-20: 86 points (in 69 games – pace of 102 points) / Lost in first round
2020-21: 77 points (in 56 games – pace of 112 points) / Lost in first round
2021-22: 103 points / Lost in first round
After that, the Penguins haven’t made the playoffs once and have seen their point total go to 91 points, 88 points and 80 points. Now they’re entering a rebuild with empty cupboards.
KINGS
2021-22: 99 points / Lost in first round
2022-23: 104 points / Lost in first round
2023-24: 99 points / Lost in first round
2024-25: 105 points / Lost in first round
Like the Penguins the Kings are loaded with veteran players with NMC/NTC clauses. They have five defenseman already signed for the 2026-27 season, the average age of those players is 32 and all have NTCs. By the way, those five are Doughty (turns 36 this year), Dumolin (34 years old), Edmundson (32 years old), Ceci (turns 32 this season) and Mikey Anderson (26 years old). Not exactly a murderer’s row on the blueline. Add in the fact that Anze Kopitar turns 38 this year and you can see why the Kings are just beginning their descent into mediocrity that they’ll most likely deny is happening for a few years before they accept it and start from scratch, like the Penguins are about to do.
The Kings will still have 90+ points this season, like the Penguins did the first year they missed the playoffs back in 2022-23 and it’ll be written off, by some, as an aberration. A slight step back. But Penguins fans have seen this movie before and know what’s coming.
They’re going to tank for McKenna and unlike the Red Wings, the NHL will give them the #1 pick
18 comments
Yes!
3/8/2024
He will be in a different sweater soon….and that’s gonna be wierd.
Please trade Crosby to the Habs
i mean the isles already passed them in prospect pool, and have quality sellable assets at the deadline (pageau,lee, etc) so to say theyre the only team pondering a rwbuild is untrue. realistically, the pens isles and caps are all staring it down. caps will wait one more year obviously but pit and nyi have already begun nudging in that direction. curious when nyr decide to join in
No, the best time passed, but they should start the process now. As in the GM should trade the veterans for prospects or draft picks before New Years.
As opposed to any of the other options? Pittsburgh fans, in general, are fairly used to year in, year out middling performance from their other teams. Sooo… Sure. Why not?
They should have started their rebuild a while ago. But yes, now is the best time to rebuild. The upcoming draft in 2026 is supposed to be stacked, and this team needs some more blue chip prospects. Now, they’ve been able to get some good young players who I think can help them now and in the future as they begin their rebuild. But yes, it’s time to start the rebuild.
Three years ago
They are in a rebuild. Tho not fully
Best time was *probably* when either they shipped Kessel off to Arizona or sometime around the COVID shutdown when they still had some more of the Cup winning core.
They absolutely should be selling everything besides Crosby right now. The market for the types of players they have is incredibly slim. They could get a massive haul for a reliable 2C like Rakell and probably get something from a mid-pack team for Karlsson.
It’s also the perfect year to tank.
They realize their window is closing. Enjoy a few down years. Get you get, rebuild. Draft for 5 or 6 more years. Keep trade your RFAs for draft picks.
I have a theory that a proper lifecycles for winning the cups come down to 3 cycles. 3 years dump aging veterans for draft picks. As the late firsts you get start again past 25 you trade them for fresher draft picks, while signing leadership peices. Then you get 5 years to draft and develop. Thru the last 2 years your now dealing peices to bring in the right peices for playoff contention. Then you should hopefully enjoy the next 12 years of playoffs. If you stagger contracts well you can mitigate cap issues exceptionally well.
You know by the end you’ll be lacking draft picks and prospects so just restart the cycle. Just don’t jump the gun or you get the leafs. They finished 9 scoreless innings without even rounding past 2nd
Rebuild will be easy when they get McKenna
No it was 3-4 years ago
They will get McKenna who will be mentored by Crosby. Book it.
They have the worst guy on the job for it
The Penguins, today, are where the Kings are headed in three years and I, as a Ducks fan, can’t wait.
PENGUINS
2018-19: 100 points / Lost in first round
2019-20: 86 points (in 69 games – pace of 102 points) / Lost in first round
2020-21: 77 points (in 56 games – pace of 112 points) / Lost in first round
2021-22: 103 points / Lost in first round
After that, the Penguins haven’t made the playoffs once and have seen their point total go to 91 points, 88 points and 80 points. Now they’re entering a rebuild with empty cupboards.
KINGS
2021-22: 99 points / Lost in first round
2022-23: 104 points / Lost in first round
2023-24: 99 points / Lost in first round
2024-25: 105 points / Lost in first round
Like the Penguins the Kings are loaded with veteran players with NMC/NTC clauses. They have five defenseman already signed for the 2026-27 season, the average age of those players is 32 and all have NTCs. By the way, those five are Doughty (turns 36 this year), Dumolin (34 years old), Edmundson (32 years old), Ceci (turns 32 this season) and Mikey Anderson (26 years old). Not exactly a murderer’s row on the blueline. Add in the fact that Anze Kopitar turns 38 this year and you can see why the Kings are just beginning their descent into mediocrity that they’ll most likely deny is happening for a few years before they accept it and start from scratch, like the Penguins are about to do.
The Kings will still have 90+ points this season, like the Penguins did the first year they missed the playoffs back in 2022-23 and it’ll be written off, by some, as an aberration. A slight step back. But Penguins fans have seen this movie before and know what’s coming.
They’re going to tank for McKenna and unlike the Red Wings, the NHL will give them the #1 pick