After a second consecutive postseason exit, the pressure is on general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas to make headway toward the team’s future.

This will involve keeping as much draft capital and as many high-end prospects as possible, but it will also entail making sure the team can compete as soon as possible.

Perhaps the biggest roster deficiency last season – and the past several seasons – was the bottom-six. On the surface, it seems Dubas did not do much to address the central issue, which was depth scoring.

And unless prospects like Brayden Yager or Tristan Broz impress enough to make the roster out of camp, it doesn’t appear likely that any more forward help is on the way.

So where does this leave the Penguins’ bottom-six?

Kevin Hayes is likely the 3C

Hayes was acquired from the St. Louis Blues, along with a second round pick, this summer. He struggled last season, scoring only 13 goals and 29 points in 79 games after registering 54 points in 2022-23.

The Penguins are hoping to get the 2022-23 version of Hayes, who – complemented by guys like Valtteri Puustinen, Blake Lizotte, Drew O’Connor, or Anthony Beauvillier – might be able to use youthful legs on his wings to his advantage. He doesn’t provide much defensively, so it will be paramount for him to be a source of offense in the bottom-six.

Lars Eller is likely the 4C

Of all the players left on the current roster, Eller is arguably still the most likely to get traded. However, as it stands now, he will probably be the guy centering the fourth line.

Having Hayes and Eller down the middle in the bottom-six will allow the Penguins to move Noel Acciari back to the wing, where he is more comfortable and more effective and which should help bolster the fourth line. And, honestly – on paper, anyway – the Penguins’ fourth line should be pretty solid.

If Eller does indeed stick around, the fourth line is likely to be Acciari, Eller, and some mix of Lizotte, Nieto, and Beauvillier. This could work out well for the Penguins, as Eller and someone like Lizotte could provide a little bit of offense to go along with their other linemate. Plus, they could prove to be an effective shutdown line as well.

Potential line combinations

All in all, the bottom-six probably doesn’t look much different than it did at the start of last season. There are any number of line combinations that the Penguins could roll with. This could, potentially, be their best deployment, assuming that Yager or Broz does not crack the roster out of camp and that no other moves are made:

Drew O’Connor – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rakell

Blake Lizotte – Kevin Hayes – Valtteri Puustinen

Anthony Beauvillier – Lars Eller – Noel Acciari

The Penguins desperately need depth scoring from their bottom-six this season, and unless several players like Hayes, Beauvillier, and Acciari have bounce-back campaigns offensively, it is likely to be more of the same in comparison to last season.