That shows Penguins fans are engaged in the process. That’s very good news for the organization (and PHN). Like any revolution, the first to go are usually the loyalists who get disillusioned with the process. You probably don’t want to know what Lenin and Stalin said to do with those people, but instead it seems Penguins fans are getting energized by the prospect of a roster turnover toward young players.

But not all of the under-25 set are popular. In fact, one prospect turned regular has become quite polarizing, just as fans are wondering how patient they should be and how patient general manager Kyle Dubas will be as he prepares the transition.

Penguins Questions

**What are your honest thoughts on Koivunen’s play this year? I feel like he’s the most polarizing player in the fanbase right now. — Online Agitator

Well, Online, if that is your real name, I have much different thoughts on Ville Koivunen than most. With this outlet, I’ve probably invested more time into figuring out his game and his prospect status (and Owen Pickering‘s) than any person who doesn’t work for the Penguins. So, my answer will be very careful because I don’t want to feed the negativity, nor do I want to spin his performance this season too far to the positive.

Koivunen, 23, has been OK, with some pretty good games, but he has a lot more to give. Penguins fans saw his creative playmaking when he played with Sidney Crosby at the end of the 2024-25 season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fans have seen a guy who can create enough hate from opponents that 19 opposing players want to hurt him, and then score a couple of goals in the process.

In short, I’ve seen what Dubas sees, but I’ve also been a bit disappointed in his overall performance this season. We’ve detailed it for a couple of years now, and others are catching on: his confidence fluctuates, and sometimes he feels small in the NHL rather than asserting himself. He’s got to get over that and let it rip.

If there was anything noteworthy, I would write it. A couple of things I don’t think most fans know are that coach Dan Muse has much more of an edge than fans typically see. He can and will put the boots to players (but he doesn’t pick scapegoats and ride them).

Every veteran player is very well regarded, but not every player is everyone’s best friend. There are a couple of serious men in the room who aren’t necessarily part of the groups. And Most fans don’t realize how likable Rickard Rakell is, or how analytical about everything Arturs Silovs can be; we once talked about rollerblades for five minutes.

First, and very importantly, the Penguins did not err in acquiring Rutger McGroarty. However, it remains surprising that Dubas gave apples to apples for McGroarty when the Winnipeg Jets had almost zero leverage.

My scouting of Yager, who was the team’s 2023 first-round pick (14th overall) at the 2024 Memorial Cup, was less than enthusiastic, and the director of player personnel, Nick Pryor, was out of the organization shortly after the 2024 Draft. In fact, 15 of the next 20 picks have played well more NHL games than Yager, who has only one point (1-0-1) in six games, so the Penguins shouldn’t be viewed as losers in the trade.

With respect to H. Jon Benjamin’s Archer, Dubas cannot simply go on a rampage. Every return is crucial now, and there is no time constraint like a Stanley Cup chase. He must maximize the returns and judge when the market has peaked. And no, he can’t just hold a fire sale because he needs the most out of every trade; getting the best prospect, the highest pick, or the one player the other team doesn’t really want to lose is most critical now because those players will be center stage, not just ancillary pieces for a star-laden core.

So, he has to really push hard in any Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell trade, but after more than a year of those conversations, he should have a good idea of what other teams think and where he can push for just a little more. We analyzed the values last week:

Karlsson will likely be worth more now than at the deadline because he is not an impulse buy. Teams will have to strategize how to acquire him and how to deploy him. He’s not a blood-and-guts veteran for the limited minutes on the third pairing of a Stanley Cup run that can just plug-and-play. You don’t buy a Ferrari without advance work, and you don’t buy one for short-term use.

I appreciate the compliment, but I must concede that I’m chasing one or two people on the beat for that title. I’ll let others decide who those are. But if you insist, I will buy myself a watch. It’s been a minute since I’ve padded the collection (and I’ve got a couple for sale on eBay, with a couple more slated for departure).

There is a segment of the fanbase that has really gravitated toward Kaedan Korczak recently. I would temper that a bit, and certainly stop short of calling him a blueprint. He’s been solid and certainly doesn’t show up in the other team’s highlight reels like others, but I’d also like to see a bit more physicality and aggressiveness from him before annointing him as an example to follow.

Ahh, Richard didn’t read our notebook with Muse’s vigorous defense of Declan Carlile. Embedded within Muse’s defense was the trump card: Carlile is, in their view, a young defenseman with only “40-something NHL games,” and they’re willing to go through the growing pains of a player stepping into a bigger role for the first time in his career.

But those growing pains have hurt, haven’t they? Carlile was on the ice as Kris Letang was left to defend a couple of odd-man rushes Sunday against Anaheim. There should be a limit to the patience, especially as I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Ilya Solovyov with Kris Letang.

In this game, sometimes labels and projections get in the way of reality. Solovyov is battling that right now.

There were a ton more questions, so we’ll do some video and maybe a second part to this. This writer very much enjoyed the questions. Thank you.