Which signings would have been better for the Pittsburgh Penguins?

Kyle Dubas' first few months as the Pittsburgh Penguins' President of Hockey Ops have been eventful. He has reshaped the bottom six, added a top-pairing defenseman, and reaffirmed the organization's trust in its' starting goaltender. But could he have done a better job at filling out the roster?

Dubas identified goaltending and a top defenseman to pair with Kris Letang as the Penguins' most pressing needs this summer. In signing Ryan Graves and re-signing Tristan Jarry, he addressed those needs by acquiring two of the top options available on the free agent market.

However, the other significant decision by Dubas this summer was acquiring Reilly Smith via trade to replace Jason Zucker on the Penguins' second line. Smith has two more years remaining on his contract entering the 2023-24 season.

Smith fits in with the defense-heavy decisions by Dubas, as does the signing of Lars Eller to be the team's third-line center. While the Penguins are better off defensively with these moves, they will still rely heavily on the top six to produce a majority of the team's offense. 

Could Dubas have found more offensively capable replacements for those two positions this summer? Or was his decision to solidify the Penguins defensively the best course to get this team back into the postseason in 2024?

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