Though it’s a word Kyle Dubas has avoided, the Penguins’ rebuild is happening.
Dubas’ summer likely was the surest signal. Aside from signing captain Sidney Crosby to a two-year extension, the boss’ moves pointed to the Penguins’ contention window slowly slamming.
The exception was the surprise acquisition of Rutger McGroarty, a top prospect who wasn’t working out with the Winnipeg Jets.
McGroarty instantly became the best Penguins prospect, briefly opening the season in Pittsburgh before an AHL assignment.
So far, McGroarty’s AHL production has been discouraging (a goal and three points in 12 games). Still, he’s a young first-round pick who will carry a low cap hit for the next several seasons — qualities that matter to Dubas.
Witness his acquisition of Philip Tomasino from the Nashville Predators yesterday.
Young? Tomasino is 23.
First-round pedigree? He was chosen 24th in 2019.
Cap hit? He’ll count $825,000 through this season, but barring a dramatic uptick in production — he has 23 goals and 71 points in 159 NHL games — Tomasino is unlikely to command a significant raise as a restricted free agent.
This is a classic low-risk/high-reward trade for a flailing team. The Penguins have the fourth-worst points percentage in the NHL and are 4-10-4 since a modest 3-2-0 start to the season.
The Penguins roster hasn’t provided Dubas much (if any) reason to go all-in for anything other than the dreaded rebuild.
But wait, there’s more
Dubas isn’t done trying to add players similar to McGroarty and Tomasino.
The Penguins are in the mix to trade for David Jiříček, league sources told The Athletic. The sources were granted anonymity because they are not permitted to publicly comment on the Penguins’ offer to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
No Penguins prospect is off limits as part of the package, the sources said, including McGroarty. A Penguins source said Dubas hasn’t soured on McGroarty. Rather, that source said, Dubas simply loves Jiříček, a right-shot defenseman.
A Blue Jackets source said Dubas attended Jiříček’s AHL game in Cleveland on Sunday, when Jiříček scored a nifty winning goal. Take a look:
Think the Penguins could use some of that? His qualities check the boxes:
Young? Jiříček turns 21 on Wednesday.
First-round pedigree? He was chosen sixth in 2022.
Cap hit? He counts $918,333 through next season, per Puck Pedia.
Jiříček is 6 feet, 4 inches and figures to add to his 200-pound frame. It’s easy to see why Dubas would covet him, even if the Penguins already employ a couple of high-profile/high-priced right-shot defensemen in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang.
It’s not as easy to see how Dubas would beat other offers Wadell might receive. The Penguins’ prospect pool is deeper than before Dubas took over the organization, but it’s not exactly teeming with future stars.
Thanksgiving Eve: A Pittsburgh tradition
There’s an adage that Thanksgiving Eve is the unofficial start to Penguins season in Pittsburgh.
That’s not as true now as it once was, as the team has gotten more popular over the past 20 years.
The Penguins don’t even always play at home on Thanksgiving Eve. They do this year. And they plan to keep asking the NHL to schedule home games for that date. The Penguins regularly play to a sellout the night before Thanksgiving, which in Pittsburgh is generally considered the second biggest party night of the year. (The first is whenever the city holds the St. Patrick’s Day parade, annually one of the largest in the United States.)
Pittsburgh is a pro sports town first, a drinking town second — and the Penguins are tethered to the city’s biggest drinking days. They usually play at home either on Thanksgiving Eve or the day the green beer flows, and often enough on both dates.
The Thanksgiving Eve game is timed well for the Penguins. Students are home from college, off from high school, and most of the prep football teams are finished with their seasons.
Small-scale family and friend reunions tend to end at local watering holes in the city’s South Side neighborhood, but a good many of those start in the Uptown area the Penguins have always called home.
Penguins Today won’t publish on Thanksgiving and Friday. I’d like to devote Wednesday’s edition to readers’ memories of past Thanksgiving Eve games and examples of what yinz are thankful for when it comes to being a Penguins fan.
Drop your comments below, please and thank you. Have fun with it, but keep things clean.
Don’t miss
• The Big Three’s place in Pittsburgh history will not be marred by what increasingly looks like a lousy endgame. There’s a Stanley Cup for each of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Letang, remember? (Letang should have won the Conn Smythe in 2016, but I digress.)
Josh Yohe examines the bleak picture facing the Big Three in this insightful story.
• Former Penguins player and current national analyst Paul Bissonette said he escaped significant injury after an altercation with several men at a restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz. Chris Johnston has more details.
• Hailey Salvian took a deep dive into the future of professional women’s hockey in North America. The Penguins would like that future to include a team in Pittsburgh, but the city’s exclusion from hosting a neutral-site PWHL game — as it did last season — in 2024-25 disappointed Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Penguins.
(Photo of David Jiříček: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
