The Penguins dropped an overtime decision to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 3-2. Pittsburgh was only able to gain three out of the possible six points against New Jersey. Pittsburgh obviously has a lot of injury issues going on. Splitting points isn't the worst thing in the world when the Flyers continue to lose games, but the way the games played out against the Devils is cause for concern.

It was the Sidney Crosby (and his linemates) show. Nobody else stepped up or did anything to help with depth scoring. A lot of people pointed at depth scoring being an issue when the lineup was completely healthy. Take out Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin and things get thin really fast. Take out Teddy Blueger and you might as well be watching the AHL streaming package.

Ron Hextall and Brian Burke are in a difficult spot, but we knew this the day they were hired. How do they balance the short term window with the long term one? There are a lot of different ways they can play things out. If they have any illusions about the team competing this season they are going to have to start reshaping the depth of the roster. If Hextall and Burke believe strongly they will have Evgeni Malkin, Teddy Blueger, and Jason Zucker in time for the playoffs they need to start the process of adding players now. If they don't, then I'm not sure it is worth sinking assets into this year's team. I think all three have a timeline which would have them back for the playoffs. Moves need to be made sooner than later or there might not be a playoffs to worry about. Sure, the Penguins schedule is loaded up with Devils and Sabres games, but they didn't look great against a Devils team without Nico Hischier or Mackenzie Blackwood. After the upcoming two Sabres games Pittsburgh will have the Islanders twice and then the Bruins twice. If things stay status quo it will likely not go well unless the goalies play great, which they kind of did against New Jersey stopping 89 out of 95 shots (.938).

This could mean looking at players like Eric Staal who has played extensively with Jason Zucker in the past. It could also be looking at players like... Conor Garland apparently.

Friedman mentioned on the 31 thoughts podcast that Conor Garland may be available for the right price pic.twitter.com/zix8SslvSk

— Chad DeDominicis (@CMDeDominicis) March 22, 2021

The Penguins aren't really set up well for trades considering their limited futures and number of rostered players who have value they would be hesitant to move. At the very least I would want to know what the "right" price was. it is Arizona so who knows what it is and why they want to move on from him.

The Penguins should be looking at adding either a third line center or a top six winger to bump another top six winger down a line for better depth. They need scoring depth in the worst way. Trades will not be easy to come by this year given the nature of the season, but if the Penguins think they will have all their key pieces ready for the playoffs they need to start aggressively searching for their depth pieces now before other teams get them or they drop too many points in the standings.

Thanks for reading!

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