The Pittsburgh Penguins with their core three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have not made the playoffs in two years. They have not gotten past the first round in the playoffs since the 2017-2018 season. In addition, they also have Erik Karlsson who is another extremely talented aging defenceman. Simply put, the Penguins at some point with this core four of future hall-of-famers need to at some point push for one last Stanley Cup run while they are all playing at an elite level.
This past season was a brutal one to watch as the Penguins once again just missed the playoffs. However, last season was way worse to watch as almost everything went wrong between the powerplay, disappointing seasons from Ryan Graves and Tristan Jarry, and the bottom-six once again being awful. Also, the Penguins traded fan favorite and long-time Penguin Jake Guentzel.
Last season brought a lot of heartbreak and frustration. However, this year, it is time to focus on the positives this season and look at what needs to go right for a potential playoff berth and farther.
Penguins Fans Wish List
Re-sign Sidney Crosby
Let’s start with the obvious and that is re-signing the captain. Crosby is on his 20th season with the Penguins and has been an all-time great. Some Penguins fans are already worried he has not been re-signed as his contract ends after this season. People were hoping the extension would get done earlier this summer or even on his birthday. He recently turned 37 and is not getting younger.
Bounce Back Season From Tristan Jarry
Despite leading the league in shutouts with six this past season, this was the worst season of Tristan Jarry’s career. When playing a full season, Jarry had a losing record for the first time in his career with a record of 19-25-5. He also, posted career lows in save percentage (.903) and goals against average (2.91).
As a result, Jarry was benched when the Penguins went on that lengthy win streak where backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic got most of the workload. The Penguins committed to Jarry when they gave him an extension recently and he needs to bounce back.
Powerplay Finally Fixed
Outside of the Crosby extension, this might be the most important on the wish list. The Penguins powerplay has been abysmal the past two seasons and as a result they finally fired their powerplay coach in Todd Reirden. This past season, the Penguins had the third worst powerplay in the league at 15.3%. Kyle Dubas and company brought in David Quinn to fix the Penguins powerplay struggles (hopefully). What should be beneficial for the Penguins powerplay is having a full season of Michael Bunting who brings toughness and grit in addition to net presence which has been missing for awhile.
Formidable Bottom-Six
This was another serious issue with the Penguins roster. Some may say, the Penguins have not had a formidable bottom-six since they won the Stanley Cup and had the HBK Line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel. Dubas understood that and completely retooled the bottom-six. This offseason, the Penguins acquired Kevin Hayes, Blake Lizotte, Cody Glass, and Anthony Beauvillier to the forward group. They also traded for a forward who will be addressed in the next paragraph.
Prospects NHL Debut?
As mentioned, the Penguins traded for Rutger McGroarty who could/should be on the roster this year. In addition, he may even earn himself the opportunity of playing alongside Crosby.
In addition to McGroarty, other Penguins prospects could make their NHL debuts this season such as goalie Joel Blomqvist, Vasily Ponomarev, and potentially Owen Pickering. Ponomarev was the main player of return in the Guentzel deal and will be competing for a roster spot.
Dubas made his goals clear to get younger and better this offseason. Based on their expectations and potential, all four could see themselves playing in Pittsburgh at some point this season.
Potential Deep Playoff Run
This one could potentially be a stretch. However, this year may be their best chance and as long as the core four are Penguins and still playing at that elite level, anything is possible even with a loaded Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. If the Penguins miss the playoffs this upcoming season it could and should be Sullivan’s last season behind the Penguins coach.
Main Photo: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
