With a healthy combination of veteran leadership and youth energy, the Penguins look to become contenders again as soon as possible

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins finalized their roster for the 2024-25 season. And for the first time in a while, there is a noticeable wave of youth, including two former first round picks in Jesse Puljujarvi and Cody Glass, budding top-four defenseman Jack St. Ivany, and top prospect Rutger McGroarty.

But there is also a steady presence of longtime NHL veterans - such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson - cast in leadership roles and ready to usher that wave of youth into the next era of Penguins' hockey. 

This is general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas's design. And that design - this roster retool - may just be exactly what the organization and its city need.

"Our goal is to build a team each season that I think represents the city in which we play," Dubas said. "After a year in Pittsburgh, I view that very simply as equal parts grit and equal parts innovation. There's people who have lived here for their whole lives, perhaps that might have a much deeper feeling of what it means to be from Pittsburgh or representing Pittsburgh. But to me, with regards to the Penguins, it means a team that's built on grit and innovation."

He continued: “What we want to do this season, with the Penguins, is get the most out of every single person in our building. Every player, every coach, every staff member. I think we all understand the task at hand. We aren’t favored by anybody to accomplish anything. And that’s not to build a narrative, that’s just simple fact."

Having missed the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, the organizational focus for the Penguins has shifted. Gone are the days of going all-in at all costs, but that doesn't mean the team is selling out, either.

Dubas was transparent in saying how the Penguins were looking to build the roster out in the offseason. He pointed to younger guys such as Glass - who have generally untapped potential in terms of production but have shown they are capable of "defending their (butt) off" - as players who can spark bottom-six production. 

He took the time to credit the core veterans in the organization who have set the example for the younger core of players who are slowly making their way to the NHL roster. Instead of following a model like the Chicago Blackhawks - who sold all their veteran pieces in a scorched-earth teardown early on in the process - Dubas trusts in the core's ability to stay competitive enough to bridge the new era of youth.

He contrasted it to his time in Toronto, when they had a promising youth core but no talented, successful veteran leadership to usher in the new core and help the team compete better and faster.

"We have those players here," Dubas said. "I learned in the past how important it is to have those guys. I think that those players - Sid, Geno, Kris, Bryan Rust - they help expedite what you're doing because the standard is set. You're not trying to negotiate a new standard with younger players. And I think that helps thread the needle, per se."

And this philosophy follows the three foundational principles of the organization that Dubas said drew him to the Penguins in the first place: competitive spirit, organizational development, and the ability of the team to control emotion during games. 

The competitive spirit is there regardless of who is in the lineup. The development is strong in terms of the prospect pool, the coaching staff, and management. The verteran presence on the roster helps foster the control aspect. And Dubas believes it is his responsibility to "protect those as the core principles of the Penguins while also trying to stimulate progress and move along in the right direction." 

He knows what the outside expectation is. He knows that his players know what the outside expectation is. And he sees this combination youth and veteran movement as an opportunity for his team to change course on what has already been prescribed as their demise by many.

"If the expectation is that this chapter of the Penguins is going to go the same place as the previous two chapters, it will lead to a story that will slowly draw this era of the Penguins to a close," Dubas said. "The way I look at that is that this season and this chapter represents our chance to change the story. If we can simply channel our foundational principles of the Penguins... I think we'll have an extremely successful season, and we'll meet all the goals that we've set for ourselves this year."

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