About an hour ago
When the clock struck all zeros in Toronto on Friday and no. 24-seed Montreal had eliminated the Penguins, some complaining the end of an era.
But the Penguins’ era of brilliance really ended when Evgeny Kuznetsov took over Washington’s overtime goal from Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. eight playoff games.
The Penguins are not a legal Stanley Cup fan, and will not be soon.
But of them is no shame. The Penguins were employees of legit Cup of 2008-’18, and won three championships. The franchise has great ownership and management.
But, like multiple champions Detroit, Chicago and the Los Angeles Kings before them, the Penguins are looking to fall free in anticipation of some tough choices.
Annoying Matt Murray is not a difficult choice. He has been going down since ’17. Murray does not stink, but is not what he was or should be. His subpar statistics do not lie. Did Murray peak at 22? At this point, it is not the question that the Penguins can debate them. Murray is a restricted free agent this offseason, the following not restricted. He is mediocre on the cusp of being unreliable.
A large part of the rest is just housekeeping.
Letting Patrick Marleau, Justin Schultz and Conor Sheary through unlimited free agency is easy. Marleau is washed, a bust during his short term in Pittsburgh. Looking back on his four-plus years with the Penguins, Schultz was hurt as bad as he was good. Sheary’s encore performance with “Sid and the Kids” was a waste of time. At 28, he is not a child.
Retain a few limited free agents if the price is right. Give Jared McCann, for example, two choices: Two years at $ 2 million per, or sayonara. (Love Tristan Jarry, of course.)
Ditch Jack Johnson. He is solid on the penalty spot, but has otherwise played too poorly, too often and is emblematic of the Penguins’ slide. If you can not trade him, buy him out.
That’s the easy part. Here it becomes sketchy.
Adjusting the supporting cast does not change much. The same goes for trading a player like Brian Dumoulin, Bryan Rust or even Jake Guentzel.
The core of the Penguins consists of three players. If the Penguins retain Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, nothing really changes. It’s basically the same team.
Crosby and Letang are 33. Malkin is 34. All three retained mean the same rabbit hole as Detroit, Chicago and the Kings left behind: Decide through paths of stagnation and nostalgia. Favorite winners are yet to be seen. The Penguins are likely to make the playoffs next year. (Though it would be more likely if the New York Rangers had not won the draft lottery.)
General manager Jim Rutherford all but guaranteed the core would return when he spoke to the media on Tuesday. He can not be blamed for it. The Penguins need to sell tickets, if / when that happens again. But the Penguins are getting smaller and smaller.
If Crosby, Letang and Malkin all come back and the Penguins continue with their path of mediocrity, how will the core handle that then? They have never been on a bad Penguins team.
More importantly, is everyone ready to adjust their game, given the age and the situation? They are accustomed to their talent overwhelming opposition. That doesn’t happen that often.
Crosby wants to attack almost exclusively from the rush. He would rather not play low. That’s why Crosby wants speed on his line: Sheary, not Patric Hornqvist.
Malkin wants to venture, then accelerate. But his hands and speed are not what they used to be.
Letang wants to try to keep risky plays, but the risk / reward factor bends too far in the wrong direction.
The decline of the core is not precipitation. They do not stink. But they are not what they used to be, or what they think they still are.
Can they change? Would they be willing to adapt to a game plan, for example, where the Penguins play airtight defense and counterattack?
Bryan Trottier was 34 when he joined the Penguins in 1990. He was a former MVP and scoring champion, and a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders.
But Trottier’s game was diminished with age. Upon arrival in Pittsburgh, however, he adjusted. He played closer, more basally. He contributed, and won two more cups.
Those Penguins were excellent, and the conditions were therefore better.
But Trottier was very self-conscious, and did not come in his own way.
Crosby, Letang and Malkin are unlikely to adapt much. They want to play like they always have. I respect that, because of what they did.
But that has the potential to make the situation a little more difficult.
Here is a narrative quote from Rutherford regarding Game 4 about the series vs. Montreal: ‘You’re waiting for the puck’s drip to despair, and it did not come in the first period. It did not come in the second period. It was even worse in the third period. There’s something wrong with not having that drive to win at that point in the series. ”
That does not change if the team does not really change. If you want to get their attention, you have to shoot a hostage. Dismissing assistant coaches is not enough.
It is possible for the Penguins to force by keeping the core intact. But it is far from likely.
Categories:
Mark Madden columns | Penguins / NHL | Sport
