Let’s get real about expectations for 2025-26.
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18 Comments
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DK: I"m Geoffrey Currie / The Power of Art , from Toronto (this is my new business account), and I said two years ago when pitts hired dubas that the team was in trouble. Lo and behold, two years down the line you've gone from a playoff contenting team to the bottom of the league. I wasn't going to comment but i heard you say 'they played much better than the wild' (and deserved to win?) and I'm so glad that that kind of talk has departed toronto and followed dubas to pitts……….
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Geoffrey…. Getta life…
Yea they think the penguins are tanking for McKenna. I’ve heard this a couple different times. No way a team with Sid on it plays that bad.
The expectations are simple. We will get as much as we can out of the cheap players that we signed/traded for and sell them at a higher value at the trade deadline. Oh and tank for McKenna.
"the group hasnt changed" – yeah thats the problem bud
As long as Sid is in the building developing a long-term winning culture will NOT be about losing – as anyone has listened to you will tell you. Great show and – amazingly – in early/mid July! LOL – Classic focus on your only one negative – and that negative is the unwanted email! I never expected to start my day learning about "Jimmy Shapiro's betting tips" from you. That is why your program is such a rich vein of surprising balance of the logical and the absurd – what you call "those crazy things called facts." I'm sure your diplomatic-heritage Serbian rooted skill-set is appreciated by every black-and-gold loyalist in the Steel City nation – except of course the junk-folder "Jimmy Shapiro clan!" LOL – Unrivalled journalism – not based on perception and rumor and flashiness but through plodding and planning hard-work, thorough, entertaining, insightful, fun and well-conceived sports journalism! In a world of serious human rights issues (and thanks for your sharing recently a shout-out about the Winnipeg Human Rights Museum), a break in a long day to relax for a few minutes with some black-and-gold sports content is a welcome and positive reprieve and balm in Gilead! Thanks for your daily work, DK. Much appreciated! Now, back to the "salt-mines!"
Well I would love to see them take the lead and hold that lead this season. Hoping for a better defense, power play and stopping those breakaways. Thank you DK, Great show.
I think they probably need to pick up a fun young player or two before we think about really meaningfully exceeding these expectations. Which, i think they will do! Because dubas has pretty much said he would. Hes been extremely vocal – in multiple press availabilities – about vulturing for RFA cap space casualties
Imo, this season lies on the shoulders of Koivunen, McGroarty, Pickering, and maybe Brunicke. If those forwards can be decent and make a strong top 6 forwards, and the d men can be steady presences in the bottom 4 D, the team really will be decent. Of course, that is a huge If.
I dont think people realize what all needs to go wrong, and how terrible the development of important players will have to go, in order to just get that 25 percent shot at McKenna. (Or is it like 18 percent?)
This needed to be said. It's not a great hockey team, but pretending they're securely in the bottom 5 is outrageous, and that's what has happened, even locally
I think the Pens will likely finish worse than last season, especially if they deal more off the roster now or during the season. But they aren't finishing bottom of the league. They'll probably be in the lottery but they won't be the favorite. That's OK. Next year is a strong draft, and you could always luck out like the Islanders just did.
I think the Pens have quite a few "wildcard" players. As the roster stands at this moment, I'm talking about: McGroarty, Koivunen, Hållander, Brunicke, Pickering, and Mantha. Obviously one of these things is not like the others. Mantha isn't going to start developing at 30. But will Koivunen and McGroarty play like they did to end last season? Can Brunicke capitalize on his immense talent and rink awareness, to keep from being banished to Kamloops? Will Hållander's recent play in Timrå carry over to the NHL? Will Pickering become a reliable, badly needed lefthand shot on the blueline? And will Mantha stay healthy and provide some much needed depth scoring?
The odds of all that happening is probably low, but even if a few of those players can step up, the Penguins could surprise some people. And I say all this knowing Dubas clearly isn't finished making moves.
Didn't the pens lose Grzelck as well off the nhl roster?
Not a response to DK.
THIS TEAM IS NOT TANKING!
Rust & Rakell are not going to be traded unless a team is going to overpay. No need to trade them. Especially when Dubas is eyeing the Craps as an example. Karlsson on the other hand will be easier to trade for.
This team has a potentially good top 6 and added good depth. If they can move Karlsson they have some young guys that could step in and breathe life into the blue line. If Muse coaches the team to be more reliable with D positioning it will help the tenders.
This team could surprise.
Pretty disingenuous to focus on the end of the season record as indicative of anything. End of the season in 2024 they were good too. Means nothing.