Has Success Run Out in Pittsburgh?
Ever since selecting future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang in their respective NHL Entry Drafts, it seemed to be inevitable for the Pittsburgh Penguins to not be successful.
They made the playoffs for 16 straight seasons (2006-2022) and won four Stanley Cups in that period. Unfortunately, they missed the playoffs last season, and it looks like they are going down that same path for this season as well. With these all-stars starting to age and all under big contracts, it's been management's goal to keep a winning team out on the ice until they retire. People are now asking if it is time to turn the page on this era of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey.
Photo from New York Times
Last season, the Penguins missed out on the final wild card spot by one point. General Manager Kyle Dubas had to make sure the Penguins would come back better than ever by signing another future NHL Hall of Famer in free agency, Erik Karlsson.
However, that has not been the case as the Penguins currently sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and 8 points out of a playoff position. To make matters worse, the 29-year-old superstar, Jake Guentzel, who is another big part of their core, was just placed on the injured reserve for the next four weeks. It seems like an uphill battle for the Penguins to make it back to the playoffs as it leaves Dubas with challenging decisions to make in the next couple of weeks with the trade deadline coming up.
Photo via Twitter
There's a few options Dubas has when it is time to decide the direction for the future of this team. He can completely sell off and start the rebuild by trading players for draft picks to hopefully start a new dominating era of Penguins hockey. Another option could be trying to win one last Stanley Cup with this group by trading draft picks and prospects for current NHL players that are being shopped around. However, it would most likely put them in a worse position for the future with minimal prospects in the organization. The last option would be letting the rest of the season play out with their current roster, which doesn’t necessarily harm them nor make them better.
It is certainly a tough time to be a Penguins fan, especially seeing their team dominate for many years, it seems like that time is coming to an end. It will be interesting to see the direction the team takes in the next couple of weeks.
