I've been talking a lot this week about the ongoing rebuild, reload, or return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Got a little bit of a different angle on it to share with you today.

Good morning to you.

I'm Dan Kovachiewicz of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports, and this is Daily Shot of Penguins.

It comes your way bright and early every weekday if you're into football and or baseball.

I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Pirates in the same place that you found this.

When Alex Nadelcovic was traded to the sharks five weeks ago,

the Penguins got back a 2028 third round pick,

which is really not the kind of thing that's going to get anybody anywhere excited.

Really, if you think back, even when Marcus Pedersen was traded to the Canucks and the Penguins got for

some reason a first rounder back, The response was mostly muted.

Why?

Because draft picks are not people.

At least not yet.

No kid anywhere has a poster on his or her wall that says,

future draft pick on it.

You know, it's got to be somebody you can appreciate a human.

And as such, in looking at the penguins from top to bottom,

and I mean from Sidney Crosby to the last child in a Finnish cave who happens to be

their property, it would be easy and arguable, I should add, to say that this organization doesn't have

the youth or the talent that it should. More specifically, the youth or the talent that's needed

in order to take a significant step forward toward actual Stanley Cup contention.

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