Last night was supposed to be the kind of game where you show up, you take care of business, and you head into the All Star break on a positive after weeks of injuries and inconsistent play. The Sharks were as much of a layup as you’re going to get in the NHL. A below average team from the other coast playing the second night of a back to back. Instead, the Penguins were outscored 5-1 at 5v5 and lost outright on a late third period goal by Logan Couture.
The Penguins don’t play again until February 7th so there’s plenty of time to let this marinate. There’s also plenty of time for let’s say, an NHL general manager, to assess the situation and have a plan of action moving forward. We can nitpick the individual mistakes from each game. Those are going to happen throughout a season. The frequency in which they happen are a result of the team not having a lot of talented depth. This was an issue diagnosed in August. Nothing has been done to remedy the situation. If there isn’t anything done the Penguins are at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006. For perspective, Evgeni Malkin has never missed the playoffs. His rookie year was 2006-07 when the Penguins bowed out to the Senators in the first round. It’s been that long.
Chasing down the Penguins is an incredibly hungry Sabres team who are going to start to believe they can make a run at a playoff spot. The longer you let a team like that hang around the bigger believers they become. It isn’t the kind of team you want chasing you down for your playoff spot. The status quo isn’t going to work for the Penguins.
It’s already been said and it remains true. It makes no sense to extend the 30 something forwards and Kris Letang if you aren’t willing to use your futures to improve the current product. Owen Pickering and the next two first round picks should be moveable assets. You’re either in or you’re out but not really because you gave those contracts out. This team is barreling towards being a late stage Detroit Red Wings we saw Ken Holland bumble his way through. While ultimately the Penguins will land in an undesirable location on their arc it doesn’t mean the Penguins have to screw it up as bad as the Red Wings did.
The situation is not what I would consider easy to naviage. However, it is the bed Ron Hextall made. He didn’t have to make the poor choices he did with his mid-tier and depth contracts. He does have to figure things out and he needs to do so with some urgency (insert lol). If he isn’t willing to do it perhaps Fenway Sports Group would like someone of their choosing to figure things out. Something has to give. The Sabres are a point back and I don’t think they’re going anywhere. There’s going to be plenty of time over this break to reflect on this team’s shortcomings. The people who actually have the power to make decisions should take advantage of it.
Thanks for reading!
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