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Michigan Wolverines defenseman Landon DuPont is widely expected to be the first overall selection in the 2027 NHL Draft. At just 17 years old—he won't turn 18 until May 28, 2027—DuPont already sits atop NHL Central Scouting's preliminary watch list.
Numerous NHL teams would relish the chance to draft him, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are quietly maneuvering into a position to be one of them. In eight games with Michigan this season, DuPont has recorded zero goals and eight assists with a plus/minus rating of 7. The young blueliner undoubtedly possesses the potential to be a franchise-changing defenseman for some lucky organization.
Penguins Could Be Dark Horse in DuPont Sweepstakes
Following a 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, the Penguins own a 5-9-2 record with 12 points this season. They are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. The Los Angeles Kings have the same point total, and only the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks have fewer points than Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh made the playoffs last season with a 41-25-16 record before falling to Philadelphia in six games in the first round. This could be the year the team finally hits rock bottom. There is no question that Pittsburgh needs a franchise-changing defenseman on the roster. If DuPont were playing for the Penguins now, he would be the best defenseman on the team—that's how dire the situation on the blue line is.
Current Blueliners in Pittsburgh
The Penguins' current defensive corps consists of Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Samuel Girard, Declan Carlile, Kaedan Korczak, Jake Livanavage, Ilya Solovyov, Spencer Stastney, and Trevor van Riemsdyk, with Ryan Graves on injured reserve. This could be the worst group of defensemen in the entire NHL.
Penguins Need to Get the Number One Pick
The last time Pittsburgh held the number one pick in the NHL Draft was 2005, when the Penguins selected Sidney Crosby. Crosby has built a Hall of Fame career in Pittsburgh and is still centering the team at 39 years old. What the Penguins need now is another number one pick to find their next franchise-changing defenseman. Drafting DuPont would be a nice start to fixing this disaster of a blue line.
General manager Kyle Dubas needs to draft as many blueliners as possible in the 2027 NHL Draft, because this group is old and reckless.
Originally reported by yahoo.