Pittsburgh ‘5 Remaining Offseason Questions – Hockey Writers – Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have already done most of their offseason work. That doesn’t mean the offseason is completely over.

That’s a natural place for this team to be in late July. President of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas added forwards, reshaped parts of the blue line, addressed most of the restricted free agent list, and created a roster that looks close to training camp readiness. Heavy lifting seems more complete.

The questions are clear. Some are related to the contract. Some are about inventory balance. Some are big picture issues that could be included in camp, the trade deadline, or next season.

The latest midsummer offseason checklist made it clear that there isn’t much for Pittsburgh to do before camp. However, “not much” is not the same as nothing. Ville Koivunen hasn’t been signed, Cruz Lucius’ rights status is nearing the deadline, and the roster still has a logjam going forward and an odd split on defense.

Here are five questions left of the Penguins’ offseason.

1. What happened to Ville Koivunen?

Ville Koivunen remains the most obvious unfinished business.

The Penguins extended Koivunen a qualifying offer and several other restricted free agents earlier in the offseason. Most of this team is already managed, but Koivunen is not signed. His restricted free agent status gives Pittsburgh control, and his qualifying offer is listed at $850,000.

This should not be a complicated negotiation unless something unexpected happens. Koivunen doesn’t have much potential, and the Penguins have a good reason to keep him in the organization. The most interesting question is not whether he finally signs. What kind of role does he have once the contract is up.

Koivunen’s NHL path is already looking crowded ahead of the summer. Now it looks even stronger. Pittsburgh added Andrei Kuzmenko, Nicholas Robertson, Hendrix Lapierre, and other forward options while keeping veterans in place. Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes, and others push from below.

The development plan for Penguin’ Koivunen still needs to be clarified. He’s talented, and his American Hockey League (AHL) production has kept him relevant, but the NHL roster currently doesn’t offer many obvious openings. Signing him is easy. Finding the right opportunity can be difficult.

If Koivunen returns to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh should make sure he gets meaningful minutes and not just wait for an injury. If he pushes through camp, the Penguins need to be honest about whether they have a spot for him.

2. Is Cruz Lucius Leaving The Organization?

Cruz Lucius is a different kind of off-season question because it may already be near the end.

Lucius remains on Pittsburgh’s reserve list for now, but he can become an unrestricted free agent on August 15. PensBurgh’s checklist listed him as a possibility to sign elsewhere if that day comes, making this feel less like a conversation and more like a pending move.

The Penguins got Lucius as part of the Jake Guentzel trade return, so losing him for nothing wouldn’t be good. It couldn’t be more shocking. Prospective rights situations can be difficult if a player doesn’t see a clear future with the organization, and Pittsburgh’s system has changed since that trade.

The important part is the context. Lucius’ departure will sting even more if the prospect pool still looks thin. It doesn’t look nearly as slim as it did a few years ago. Dubas added Ben Kindel, McGroarty, Koivunen, Sergey Murashov, Owen Pickering, Bill Zonnon, Liam Ruck, Markus Ruck, Tomas Galvas, and several other young players who are already shaping the system.

Resetting Pittsburgh’s hopes under Dubas created multiple layers, making Lucius’ potential exit easier to absorb. That doesn’t make it pointless. Teams should seek to keep as few useful assets as possible.

Still, if Lucius doesn’t see a way out in Pittsburgh, the organization may have to accept the loss and move on. The big lesson is that prospects are only valuable if they end up in a development structure.

3. Is Dubas Finished Adding?

The Penguins may be largely depleted, but Dubas should still leave himself room for one more move if the right one comes along.

Pittsburgh has already added a few players. The offseason brought in Kuzmenko, Robertson, Lapierre, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Kaedan Korczak, Declan Carlile, David Gustafsson, and Oliver Okuliar, among others. The front office has been out of business. It also avoided large long-term commitments, which keeps future volatility alive.

The question is whether this group is really limited.

The current Penguins roster depth chart shows a forward group with more bodies than pure roles. PensBurgh noted that it is possible to build a realistic top 12 without Lapierre or Justin Brazeau on the list, and that several young options can be blocked without injury or free trade.

That is no small matter. Depth is only useful if it fits. If Pittsburgh has too many of the same forwards and doesn’t have enough defensive balance, Dubas may need to change the roster rather than just add to it.

A trade may make sense if it clears a forward spot and helps the left side of the defense. PensBurgh’s checklist indicated that moving forward at defenseman would help balance the roster. That doesn’t have to happen immediately, but the issue shouldn’t be ignored.

Penguins don’t need any other movement just for work. They may need one to build.

4. Which 2027 Free Agents Are The Names Of The Trading Clock?

Some of Pittsburgh’s biggest remaining questions may not be about this offseason at all. They may be about the next one.

The Penguins have several players entering significant contract years. PensBurgh listed Brazeau and Tommy Novak as players entering the final season of their deals, while Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell are under contract through 2028 and continue to appear in trade speculation. Big names are even more complicated.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson all have contract situations that could shape the next phase of the franchise. Crosby’s case is unique because of what he says to the organization. Malkin enters this season at age 40, and Karlsson is a tough trade due to his age, contract, and control.

That makes Pittsburgh’s season direction important. If the Penguins live up to expectations, Dubas may be more patient with the pending decisions. If they are smooth, the trading watch list grows rapidly.

Novak and Brazeau are worth hiring because they are not franchise icons, and their next contracts may not fit Pittsburgh’s long-term plan. If someone becomes a useful trade chip, the Penguins may have to decide whether keeping him helps now more than moving him for the future.

The same broad approach applies to veterans. The Pittsburgh tradecandidate conversation is not going away. Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson all carry different levels of value and difficulty. The Penguins don’t need to move any of them now, but the season could force some tough choices.

That’s why the quiet part of the offseason is still important. Decisions made now can affect trading profits later.

5. Is the Current Depth Chart Adequate?

The final question is the simplest and most difficult of all: is this list good enough?

The Penguins have a lot of options. They have a lot of young players. They have more competition. They also have unresolved issues in midfield, left defense, and in goal.

Pittsburgh’s forward group may be deep, but it also looks stacked. The central image behind Crosby still needs an explanation. The young goaltending room has upsides, but Artūrs Šilovs, Murashov, and Joel Blomqvist don’t give the Penguins the same full-season guarantee that a veteran does. Defensively, the right side has Karlsson, Kris Letang, Korczak, and van Riemsdyk, while the left side relies heavily on Samuel Girard and a collection of less-than-resolvable options.

That imbalance is one of the most important roster questions remaining. A breakdown of PensBurgh’s depth chart described the left side as weak and revealed that Pittsburgh now has plenty of right-shooting defensemen. That setup can work if the Penguins are comfortable playing someone on their side, but it’s not a common setup.

The struggles of the Penguins’ training camp schedule should account for part of this. If Koivunen, McGroarty, Pickering, or another young player forces the issue, Pittsburgh could look much deeper than it does on paper. If the fights continue to get messy, Dubas may have to revisit the market.

The current depth chart is interesting. It’s not fully convincing yet.

Penguins Still Have a Vigilant Duty

Penguins no longer sit on long to-do lists. Most of the big business has been managed. That’s a good thing.

The remaining questions are still important.

Koivunen needs a contract and a way. Lucius’ rights status is about to expire. Dubas must decide that the list requires one structural move. Several players may be on the clock as their contract years run out. The depth chart still needs to prove it can hold its own when training camp begins.

This is the quiet part of the NHL calendar, but Pittsburgh isn’t done testing itself. The Penguins created options. Now they need those options to be the answers.