What's The Offseason Plan For The Pittsburgh Penguins?

Sidney Crosby & Connor Dewar, Pittsburgh Penguins

The plan for the Pittsburgh Penguins is to compete for a playoff spot next season, but there will have to be changes, growth from within, and for the veteran leaders not to fall off too hard. That is a lot to ask and there's work to be done.

The young players and prospects the Penguins have acquired creates a strong base for the future, but those players need to take more of a role this season. That may be difficult for some as there aren't enough spots, without injuries, for everyone to play every night and with adequate minutes.

Up front, between Rutger McGroarty, Connor Dewar, Philip Tomasino, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Ville Koivunen, Valtteri Puustinen, and Filip Hallander, there will be a battle for minutes. That can be a good thing, but a number of them are at the age where they should be making a difference in the NHL and staying there.

I expect Kevin Hayes to be bought out of the final year of his contract and Matt Nieto, Bokondji Imama, and Joona Koppanen not to be re-signed. If the Penguins are going to move up in the standings, at least one impactful piece has to be added to the mix as well. Who that is remains to be seen, but Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell can't contribute all of the offense.

The Penguins have Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, and Ryan Graves signed for 2+ more years, Matt Grzelcyk is a UFA, and both Conor Timmins and Pierre-Olivier Joseph are RFAs that need to be signed. The Penguins will be in the market for defensemen, even though the expectation is that Owen Pickering spends most of the season in the NHL.

The final and big area is goaltending. This is another tough one Tristan Jarry is signed for three more years and Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist are signed for one more year. None of them have been consistent, but Jarry was very good at a point down the stretch. Consistency will be a major key for the Penguins in net as all three of their goalies have shown the ability to play at a high level in the past. I don't think anything can be done in net with the contracts and there aren't great options in free agency this year.