The Pittsburgh Penguins have the worst prospect pool in the NHL. This according to ESPN Insider prospect expert Corey Pronman.

Here is what Corey had to say about the Penguins:

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New post at @ESPNInsider: My 2015 organization/farm system rankings http://t.co/BNzUDLD8fp

— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) August 11, 2015

There really wasn't anybody close to Pittsburgh for the 30th spot. This organization is all-in for the next two or three years, and it has more or less burned its system to the ground, through deals of top picks and prospects, to get there. The Penguins have some (albeit not great) depth in the AHL, particularly led by breakout star goalie prospect Matt Murray, to help fuel a run.

I don't believe anybody who has paid attention to the Penguins the last few years could disagree with his assessment. Every year the Penguins have to go shopping at the deadline to fill a void(s) on their roster. Over time this limits the amount of draft picks available and thus lessens the likelihood of having success with a draft selection.

Daniel Sprong is really the only high end forward prospect they have in the system and he was just drafted a few months ago. Pittsburgh's defense prospect pool used to be a strength but even that has been dwindled down.

Something very important to keep in mind about Corey's rankings:



Under Corey's parameters Derrick Pouliot is not considered a prospect even though Pouliot has a limited NHL sample (34 games). Most people probably still view Pouliot as the Penguins best prospect and not having him eligible obviously hurts Pittsburgh even more in the rankings (they would still be low even with him).

Here is the good news for the Penguins. They are in a win now mode with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It makes sense for them not to be near the top of the league in prospect depth (doesn't mean they should be 30th). Teams that are rebuilding are the ones that really need the prospect depth. For example New Jersey being 26th on the list is a lot more damning than Pittsburgh at 30th overall.

One way to combat against not having a great prospect pool is being able to identify quality veteran players at the NHL level and trading for them or signing them to very cost effective contracts. Pittsburgh has done just that this offseason with the acquisitions of Nick Bonino, Eric Fehr, and Matt Cullen. They have also taken a chance on the KHL's Sergei Plotnikov. Additionally, Ian Cole's contract has the potential to be a great value signing.

By signing/acquiring these players in the offseason Pittsburgh should not have to be heavy buyers at the trade deadline. This will allow Pittsburgh to keep more draft picks and more picks means more chances at getting lucky in the draft. If they can continue to do their depth shopping in the summer as opposed to the trade deadline Pittsburgh will be able to build up its prospect pool in the next few years. This will coincide with the Crosby/Malkin prime era ending and will make for a better transition period.

Ultimately Pittsburgh being ranked 30th isn't ideal, but they are in a position where it won't kill them right now. This offseason is the template moving forward to fix Pittsburgh's prior prospect neglect.

Thanks for reading!

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