If you were asked back in the pre-season to predict where the Pittsburgh Penguins would be in the standings in late March, most would’ve said in a good position to secure the No. 1-overall pick in the 2026 draft.
To say expectations were low for the 2025-26 Penguins would be a major understatement. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, all the talk last summer was around when Sidney Crosby would be asking for a trade. Pittsburgh appeared to be going nowhere fast and on the cusp of a full-blown rebuild, but what they’ve shown this year proves why hockey is so unpredictable.
There’s still work to do, though the Pens are in a good position to qualify for the post-season. Pittsburgh recently survived a few weeks without Crosby due to an injury and didn’t have the services of Evgeni Malkin for five of those games because of a suspension. The Penguins have answered every test they’ve been faced with this season and made a major statement earlier this week with a convincing win over the Colorado Avalanche. Whether this is a full-fledged turnaround remains to be seen but if the goal was to become more competitive in the short-term to keep Crosby around, mission accomplished.
Much of the credit for the Pens turnaround has to go to general manager Kyle Dubas. After an unceremonious exit from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dubas appears to be learning from his mistakes in his second GM job. He’s stacking up small wins instead of pursuing big splashes, setting the Penguins up for success today and not sacrificing anything for the future. He’s made a number of moves that have helped get Pittsburgh back on the right path, like moving off Tristan Jarry’s contract for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a second-round pick. Dubas then flipped Kulak, a pending UFA, to the Avalanche, for a much younger Samuel Girard and another second-round pick. Girard also has another year left on his deal after this one.
He also quietly added depth players like Connor Dewar and Justin Brazeau, a pair of moves that didn’t receive much fanfare. That duo has combined for 30 goals this season and provided the Penguins with some desperately needed secondary scoring. Those are just a couple of examples of how Dubas has turned things around, but let’s take a look at his four most crucial moves.
Not sending Ben Kindel back to junior
It’s very rare for a player taken outside the top 10 to make an immediate impact the way Kindel has. Still only 18 years old, Kindel was the fifth-youngest player in franchise history to make his NHL debut with Penguins and he hasn’t looked back since. The 11th overall pick from the 2025 draft has stepped in almost seamlessly, centring Pittsburgh’s third line and even getting some time on the top power-play unit.
Kindel’s 17 goals rank fourth on the Pens, he sits fourth on the team in shots on goal and he’s averaged more than 15 minutes per night. All this while navigating the centre position as an 18-year-old in the NHL, something that’s anything but easy and full of responsibility.
The Pens could’ve chosen to return Kindel back to junior before he played his 10th game. That wouldn’t have burnt a year of his entry-level deal and allowed Kindel to overripen in the WHL. Or, they could’ve loaned him to Team Canada for the world juniors to get some more big-game experience, but the Penguins would’ve really missed him and likely wouldn’t be closing in on a playoff spot. Without Kindel, Pittsburgh’s centre depth takes a big hit and they would’ve been more exposed during the absences of Crosby and Malkin. Not to mention the injection of energy and youth he’s provided to a roster that was getting stale.
Taking a chance on Anthony Mantha
When Dubas signed Anthony Mantha last summer, the move didn’t even make a ripple.
It was a one-year, $2.5 million deal for a 31-year-old player no one expected much from after a handful of underwhelming seasons and coming off a torn ACL. Instead, Mantha has been a revelation for the Penguins. He has a career-high 26 goals and counting, which is only two behind Sidney Crosby for the team lead. Mantha is also a plus-14, the best among Pens forwards and second on the team. He’s a big body that’s given the Pens a presence around the front of the net.
Maybe even Dubas didn’t foresee Mantha fitting in this swimmingly with the Penguins, but the logic behind the signing was sound nonetheless. Mantha is the perfect player to flip at the deadline, so Dubas probably thought in a worst-case scenario, he could at least recoup a draft pick for the veteran forward if things didn’t go well. Now Mantha has been one of the team’s best forwards and they’ve been rewarded in a big way by taking a chance on a player where they had nothing to lose.
Buying low on Yegor Chinakhov
Dubas has quietly been adding young players and picks to try and re-tool the Penguins, while also hoping to give Crosby a talented piece or two to keep hope alive for one more playoff run. One of those players has been Yegor Chinakhov, who Dubas bought low on from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a second and third-round pick, as well as veteran forward Danton Heinen. Chinakhov’s value was at an all-time low before he was dealt, scoring just three goals in 29 games prior to the trade. The former first-round pick was a gamble by the Pens, but it’s paying off.
Chinakhov has been found money for the Pens, scoring 11 times in 30 games since arriving in Pittsburgh. That’s more goals than he had across parts of the past two seasons in Columbus. The 25-year-old has found a home on the second line and is proving to have an excellent shot on a lightning-quick release. The secondary scoring has been critical to the Pens’ playoff push, as they are sitting sixth in goals-for per game after finishing just 18th a year ago. Pittsburgh is much more difficult to defend this season because there are a few more skaters to worry about than just Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
What makes the Chinakhov add so savvy is he’s having an impact now and young enough to help them for years to come as well. Having just turned 25 years of age, Chinakhov will fit into their future plans if they opt for a bigger rebuild over the next few years. Sure, Dubas had to expend some draft capital to get Chinakhov but the Penguins general manager has done a great job of stockpiling picks. In addition to owning all their first-round picks over the next four drafts, Pittsburgh also has nine second rounders and six third-round selections over that span. Dubas can utilize a couple of those picks to potentially add another piece over the summer if he chooses, and still have enough left to continue to stock Pittsburgh’s cupboards with young prospects.
Holding onto Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell
Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make.
With the Pens headed for a third straight season without post-season hockey, both Rust and Rakell were hot commodities at last year’s trade deadline. There were rumblings that each of them could be dealt to a contender and it wasn’t hard to see why. Rust had three years remaining on his deal at $5.1 million, while Rakell was making $5 million for the next three. A pair of quality scorers at a reasonable price locked in for a few more seasons could’ve returned the Pens a haul.
Unlike this month’s deadline that was dominated by no-move clauses, Rust and Rakell had little trade protection or say in the process. Rakell only has an eight-team no trade list and Rust has nothing. Dubas could’ve easily moved them if he wanted to and re-stocked his system with a handful of prospects and picks.
That didn’t happen, though. Whether he didn’t get the return he wanted or ultimately decided they’d have more value remaining on the roster, Dubas decided to keep them. It’s hard to re-tool a roster on the fly without at least a handful of talented veterans and had Dubas moved them, things would’ve looked a lot different this season. Pittsburgh would’ve had to lean even more on Crosby and Malkin, making them more top heavy.
Instead, Rust has 26 goals and 54 points in 61 games, while Rakell, even in a down year, is still scoring at nearly a 60-point pace. Both will be critical if the Pens get into the post-season and they will play an important role helping to set an example on how to be good pros for all the young players on the roster.
