Have the Penguins Done Enough This Offseason?
Did Kyle Dubas improve the Pittsburgh Penguins roster enough over his first five weeks?
Kyle Dubas has changed much of the Pittsburgh Penguins roster in his five weeks as the team's President of Hockey Ops. Dubas has been active throughout the summer, making the highest draft selection in over a decade, signing over a dozen players, and getting involved in what could be one of the biggest trades this offseason.
Presumably, the Penguins will not be many people's favorite to hoist the Stanley Cup next spring, but with the team coming off their first playoff absence since Sidney Crosby's rookie season, let's start by judging if they'll get back to that point in the 2023-24 season.
Dubas' path to bringing the Penguins back into the playoffs involved improving three major areas of the Penguins' roster the bottom six, defense, and goaltending.
Last season, the Penguins' bottom six failed in all aspects of the game for most of the season. They provided little offensive support and would often get hemmed into their zone defensively, turning the momentum of most games. Dubas addressed the latter by signing a handful of respected defensive forwards, Lars Eller, Noel Acciari, and Matt Nieto.
His most recent additions, Vinnie Hinostroza and Andreas Johnsson, will bring more of that offensive punch to the Penguins' bottom six. While it was a low bar to clear, Dubas improved the team's forward depth.
Most of the Penguins' defense has remained intact. However, the addition of Ryan Graves to the left side does make a significant impact on the entire unit. Graves' presence solidifies the left side, with Marcus Pettersson and either P.O. Joseph or Ty Smith filling out the bottom two spots.
While the right side remains the same for now, it would be hard to imagine that Jan Rutta and Jeff Petry struggle to the extent they did during their first season with the Penguins.
In net, Dubas ensured that the team had more of a contingency plan if Tristan Jarry is injured again by adding Alex Nedeljkovic to the fold. Jarry remains the key factor in the Penguins' goaltending puzzle and the team's success.
So with all these minor improvements, should you expect the team that missed the postseason by one point in the standings last season to get over the hump and back into the playoffs this year?
The Eastern Conference continues to be a bear as the Hurricanes, Devils, Rangers, Maple Leafs, Lightning, and Panthers are all expected to remain in the mix as contenders.
The Boston Bruins lost a lot of good pieces but will still be part of the playoff picture, and young teams like the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings are all hoping to take that next step in their progression and end their respective playoff droughts.
Dubas and the Penguins seem finished making improvements, but from where they currently stand, it could still be a dogfight for this team to make the playoffs.
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