The End is Near for the Pittsburgh Penguins

With only a handful of games remaining in the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are limping into the playoffs and look like a prime candidate to be bounced early. They have gone 3-6-1 over their last ten games which have included a number of lackluster performances that has led to Sidney Crosby to question the team’™s overall effort.

Yes, they are 42-24-11, tied for second in the Metropolitan Division with 95 points. Yes, they still have a very reasonable chance of securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Yes, they still boast the eight best power play and second best penalty kill in the league. Yet, something just doesn’™t seem right with this team.

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Is it the pressure of being the Pittsburgh Penguins? They’™ve been one of the premier franchises for nearly a decade now, yet only have one Stanley Cup to show for it. While Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are super-duper stars, they’™ll turn 28 and 29 later this year, respectively, and we’™re at the point where we can say they are on the second-half of their careers now…kind of wild when you think about it.

Or is the team just not that good anymore? They’™ve been hit hard with injuries this season, no doubt, the latest coming to all-star Kris Letang. And even if they had enormous depth, the injuries they suffered would be tough to overcome- Pascal Dupuis, Christian Ehrhoff, Blake Comeau, Olli Maatta, Patric Hornqvist- have missed significant time this season- and the team just didn’™t have enough quality depth to overcome it and not have it catch up eventually.

The problem the Pittsburgh Penguins face is that it’™s not going to be any better next year. Yes, they’™ll still have the stars. But their depth is going to be severely challenged again. According to sportrac.com, they have about $58.5 million committed to 14 players next season. Those figures don’™t include restricted free agents Beau Bennett and Ian Cole who will see modest raises. With the cap expected to be around $72 million next season, the team isn’™t left with a ton of flexibility to add significant players. The 14 players under contract also includes Dupuis, Letang, and Maatta, a trio that has faced serious health issues that go beyond just hockey.

With depth players such as Comeau, Craig Adams, Steve Downie, Daniel Winniks, Ehrhoff and Paul Martin set to hit unrestricted free agency, there’s a good chance the Penguins will be forced to bring up much more youth to fill out the roster than they’d probably like to.

While it may be crazy to think it, unless general manager Jim Rutherford does something drastic with one of his players under contract this summer, this current core of guys have probably already hit the pinnacle of what they’™ll accomplish. That’™s not to suggest they won’™t be a perennial playoff contender who could put a scare into you now and then. But those days of being the elite, slam-dunk, no-doubt-about-it favorite to run through the conference are over. If the Pittsburgh Penguins want a preview of the future, just take a look at what the Sharks are up to these days.

Would things be different if they could have closed the deal last year against the Rangers in the playoffs last season? Probably. They would have been set up nicely with home ice advantage against the Canadiens and the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference. They may not have beaten the Kings, but then again…

It’™s all hypothetical anyway. They couldn’™t close out the Rangers. They never had the chance to play the Canadiens or Kings. That second-round collapse led to a new general manager and new coach, players being traded or not re-signed. It’™s a loss that shook the organization and seems to have sent it down a difficult road.

Of course one of the reasons why this Penguins’™ run of excellence appears to be coming to an end is the man between the pipes. No one can ever take away Marc Andre Fleury’s 2008 and 2009 playoff runs. Simply put, without Fleury, the Penguins would never have won a title in 2009. And his regular seasons have been solid enough and even was garnering some Vezina-candidacy buzz earlier this year. But his playoff save percentages since 2009: .891, .899, .834, .883, .915. The optimist will say that he regained his form last playoff season. The realist will say that he’™s one bad goal away from having a mental breakdown and costing his team a series. Of course none of that stopped Rutherford from handing him a four-year extension in November.

No one is suggesting just yet they do the unthinkable and trade one of their stars, but it isn’™t the worst course of action either. The team appears to have stagnated and fresh blood may be the trick. They tried it last summer by dealing James Neal, and Hornqvist and Nick Spaling have actually played well this year. Perhaps it’™s time to seriously consider a significant move again this summer. I won’™t speculate on who they could possibly move, but you know Crosby isn’t going anywhere, Fleury’™s new contract makes him untradeable, and Letang’s health issues are a concern. You can connect the dots from there…

Whatever is done, it feels like we are witnessing the end of the post-lockout Pittsburgh Penguins as we know them. They’™ll get prime-time billing when the playoffs start, and when they are eliminated two weeks later, the main stream media will start pumping out features as to “œwhat went wrong with the Pens?” They’™re nothing more than a paper tiger, and soon enough everyone will see it too.

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