The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a tough spot but have to fully commit to either a full rebuild or one last run.

PITTSBURGH – While Kyle Dubas has not explicitly said what his plan is for the direction of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there is belief that he will kick off a “soft rebuild.” The Penguins are sitting outside of a playoff spot and one of their top players is in the final year of his contract.

Without solid footing in the playoff race, Elliotte Friedman opened the gates that a quick retooling might in the cards for the Penguins, but others believe that will be nearly impossible to pull off.

NHL analyst E.J. Hradek on the Jeff Marek Show said that players always want to shoot for championships. One way or another, the top players always move on to continue feeding that competitive fire.

“People talk about it all the time, they’re going to try and rebuild on the fly,” Hradek said. “They’re going to try and stay competitive and retool. These are difficult things to do.”

When a team commits to a full rebuild, it usually opens the door for some of the game’s biggest stars to test the market and find themselves new homes. The Penguins have their core group of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang who all don’t plan on leaving. Erik Karlsson was added to solidify the idea of taking more chances at the Stanley Cup. Jake Guentzel is in the final year of his contract, but he is still an elite-level talent.

With that many stars looking to stay in town, the Penguins don’t look like a team willing to tear it all down. It’s the presence of those key faces that make it understandable why bolstering on the fly could be an option. That doesn’t mean it’s the right one or even the smart choice.

“To me… it’s kind of a fool’s errand,” Hradek said. “I don’t think you can do it.”

Dubas is in arguably one of the toughest positions in the NHL. It’s up to him to keep the Penguins competitive with the core group while building for the future. The core has done great things this year, but the depth has left a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, there are a couple of key prospects, but not enough to consider themselves as threats in pipeline rankings.

The Penguins are also thin on assets that could be dealt to bring in players that can help them stay in win-now mode.

It’ll be interesting to see what direction the Penguins go in this season, and how they finish will likely decide what is to come over the next few years. Crosby may still be at the top of his game, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Penguins begin big changes around him.

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