3 reasons the Penguins won't win the Stanley Cup in 2024

3 reasons the Penguins won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 20: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins hugs Evgeni Malkin #71 during a pregame ceremony honoring Crosby for his 1000th NHL appearance prior to their game against the New York Islanders at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 20, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

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Pittsburgh Penguins, Evgeni Malkin #71. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

2. Age

The Pittsburgh Penguins might be too old to do much damage this year.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are all in on winning. If they weren’t, they might not be as willing to add older players to their roster to win.

For one, Sidney Crosby is 36 years old and Evgeni Malkin is 37. Now, they were both playing at a very high level in 2022-23 and that is expected to continue.

The team added Erik Karlsson in the off-season and he is 33 years old. He had one of the best offensive seasons for a defenseman in NHL history last year but that doesn’t mean you can expect it again.

Karlsson joins Kris Letang on the defensive side of things. Letang is 36 years old so he is no hockey spring chicken either. That is the core four players on the team all over the age of 33. That usually isn’t a winning recipe in the NHL.

Chad Ruhwedel, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Reilly Smith, Jeff Carter, Lars Eller, Noel Acciari, and Matt Nieto are all over 30 as well. It is crazy how old they are as a group.

This is not something that is going to hold up for them. With Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson, they are going to win some games. They are going to be a pleasure to watch. It will just be hard to lift the Stanley Cup with this old group.

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