The Penguins very much needed to bounce back and collect two points against a beatable Montreal Canadiens team and they did. Once again they find themselves in overtime. However, on this night they found an unlikely hero in Marcus Pettersson.
After Tristan Jarry made a very good save on former #1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky the puck went the other way and Pettersson and Rickard Rakell found themselves on a 2v1.
RAISE YOUR HAND TO VIRTUALLY HIGH-FIVE MARCUS PETTERSSON! ✋ pic.twitter.com/dCqYuuVmX9
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 28, 2024
Plays like this are always a nice reminder that even the players not known for their offensive prowess are absurdly talented in the larger scope of hockey players. Just an absolutely awesome shot in a big moment for the team who now head into the all star break with something positive to cling to instead of disappointment and compounding doubt.
That’s not to say the victory last night addresses all concerns because it doesn’t. Kyle Dubas wanted to wait until the all star break to see where his team is in a self imposed deadline. I am thinking he was hoping to have a clearer picture than what he has right now. The Penguins are neither playoff bound or out of the mix. It is the grayest shade of gray possible. Per The Athletic they are at 75% chance of making the playoffs this year. Given the up and down nature of this team I personally think that is a little bit generous. However, the other Metropolitan teams have done some favors and have refused to completely pull away from Pittsburgh allowing them to hang on.
The direction on where Kyle Dubas wants to take this completely falls on what they do with Jake Guentzel. Signing an extension signals they will remain on the path they’ve been on which is to try and win as many hockey games as possible. It is also the one they are kinda stuck in whether they like it or not. There are no half-measures to take at this point. I lean into the sign Guentzel camp, assuming Jake even wants to do that. You aren’t replacing this chemistry
You love to see a game-tying goal ðŸ‘
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 28, 2024
Guentzel has points in 18 of 23 home games this season, and leads the Penguins with 25 points at home (11G-14A). pic.twitter.com/lRKy1fWNBC
The other pragmatic option is to sell everything, which I don’t think is all that likely. Selling everything includes Sidney Crosby that’s what selling everything means. I personally am not interested in this road. I’m more than willing to do down with the Crosby, Malkin, and Letang ship after all these years. I would love to see all three jerseys up in the rafters as lifelong Penguins.
Trading away Guentzel is a half-measure and would take some serious wizardry by the front office to replace what was lost. These trades never net the seller as much as the rumors out there suggest. You’ll always see multi first round picks, a top prospect, and a roster player speculation. It never materializes. What you’ll get is a late first round pick which doesn’t really move the needle at all for the Penguins and maybe some kind of depth player. It isn’t likely to propel the Penguins towards current success or a proper rebuild. It is just blah.
Alex DeBrincat who is roughly four years younger than Guentzel returned the following: Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, a conditional 2024 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. He was a pending RFA so not a one to one example, but you’d think a team controlled younger goal scoring asset would net you more than this.
Perhaps Dubas can try and get a first and perhaps a future second round pick, but I still don’t see how that moves anything in a definitive direction. Guentzel is going to a contender if he’s traded. The picks aren’t going to be at the beginning of the round. The odds fall sharply in the NHL draft
So unless you are going with the throw as many darts at the board approach you are likely going to spin your tires unless you get lucky. Which, you certainly could, but not likely. And if you’re one to believe in the Hockey Gods I’m thinking a team like the Penguins has used up a lot of goodwill in that area over the years considering the eras we have witnessed the past 40 years or so.
Long story short Dubas needs to figure out what he’s doing with Jake Guentzel before he can really do anything else. This was his self-imposed deadline so we should find out relatively soon.
Thanks for reading!