Even though there’s still a ton of focus on the Stanley Cup Final and if Alex Ovechkin can finally bring home that elusive NHL championship he's so longed for his entire professional career, our eyes are set on the upcoming 2018 Entry Draft starting June 22, where GM Jim Rutherford and the Penguins seriously need to do their homework to find a decent second/mid-to-late round pick.
Defense should be at the the forefront of Rutherford’s mind, because as right now, the Penguins are seriously lacking in that department prospect-wise. The organization has a few decent-but-nothing-special guys in Kevin Czuczman and Andrey Pedan (who’s probably not returning and off to a different country) down working with the Wiles-Barre Scranton Penguins right now, but even with the successes they’ve had in the AHL, their skill level still wasn’t enough to crack the Pittsburgh lineup, forcing Rutherford to not only bring in Matt Hunwick in the 2017 offseason, but go out and make a trade for Jamie Oleksiak in the latter half of the season.