Penguins Reportedly Not Tearing It Down While Crosby Is Playing

The Pittsburgh Penguins are open for business and are looking for some young pieces in return for some of their players, but will reportedly not commit to a full rebuild until Sidney Crosby retires according to Darren Dreger.

This move is similar to what the Washington Capitals are doing with the team around Alex Ovechkin while he chases the goals record, but different in the way that the Capitals have been able to successfully add the right pieces. The Capitals are one of the top teams in the NHL while the Penguins once again sit outside of the playoff picture despite what the top players have contributed.

A lot of the Penguins will come up in trade rumors, but it's not time to tear it all down just yet. The Penguins are still getting great production from players like Crosby and Evgeni Malkin while Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are strong complementary pieces.

Crosby, 37, still has two more years left on his deal after this season and has six goals and 17 points in 18 games this season. His running mate, Malkin, who is 38, has one year left on his deal after this season and has five goals and 18 points in 18 games.

The pieces are there for the Penguins to be successful, but everything just hasn't come together. There will be a lot of teams in the mix for the playoffs all season again, and even if Pittsburgh makes some trades to sell off some pieces again, the core can be built around with better pieces this time around.

There are a good amount of exciting prospects in the system for the Penguins and some should be making the jump to the NHL before Crosby retires. Some could possibly have an impact and get some great experience before the team really has to rebuild.