It was a season with no expectations heading into it, unless of course you count the expectation of being a lottery team. The over/under for the Pittsburgh Penguins standings points set by Vegas was right around 74.5. The team was supposed to be bad at hockey and borderline unwatchable. What unfolded was anything but.
The Penguins put together one of the more fun seasons they’ve had in a while. Not only did they shatter the preseason prognostications. They did it in a way that was engaging and enjoyable to watch. Gone were the Mike Sullivan Penguins. A team dragged into dull and ineffective hockey with a my way or the highway approach.
Arriving was a new head coach in Dan Muse who would at least try to lean into the skills his players had, not the ones they didn’t. The result was the highest scoring regular season team of the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin era with a return to greatness by Erik Karlsson. Given where we are in the Penguins arc, what more could you ask for this season?
The team even somehow turned an 0-3 deficit against an underdog opponent into something interesting. So while the result last night ended their season, they managed to give us another interesting night of hockey in a season where we weren’t supposed to have any.
The past few years I couldn’t wait for the season to end. It was a slog. It was boring. There was no reason to watch a rudderless team go out and play boring hockey. This year I looked forward to turning my TV on and watching the games. I watch the NHL to see players do cool things that most people who have ever played the game cannot do. I also watch to see players think the game on a level that most people who have played the game cannot do. We got that this year.
Make no mistake about it, I’m not thrilled they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers. I am not wavering from my assessment that the Flyers really aren’t that good. The Penguins downfall was that they couldn’t resist playing like bratty teenagers for the majority of Games 1-3.
Unfortunately, when you dig yourself a hole like that you haven’t earned any wiggle room. You can outplay a team, your goaltending can be lights out, and you can still lose a game like we saw last night. Hockey doesn’t always reward the team who is better on that particular evening. That’s why you don’t waste games like the Penguins did. In that sense, the Penguins got exactly what they deserved.
Even if I am incredibly annoyed by how the series played out, I didn’t regret my time engaging with this team like I had in Mike Sullivan’s final years coaching the team.
I am hopeful the front office will continue to put in the work and keep things moving in the right direction. If so, we will continue to have reasons to support and enjoy the team.
Moving forward
Off the ice, Kyle Dubas had a remarkable year. There is still a ton of work to be done, but he has started laying the foundation for transitioning out of this era. The Penguins still have the most 1st-3rd round picks in the next three drafts, even after the Egor Chinakhov and Elmer Soderblom trades.
The team’s salary cap situation is as flexible as it can be. Dubas can choose to weaponize it further if he wants by taking bad contracts for more draft picks. He can also choose to go big fish hunting and attempt to acquire a difference making player. He’s really in a spot where he can do whatever he wants. The flexibility allows him to not be forced into doing something just to do it. It can be done with proper motivation and intent. So many general managers in the league are not operating from those parameters.
Personally, I would not be taking huge swings with futures just yet in their rebuild/retool. I think it is a little too soon. There is a path to keep building for the future while still putting out a fun and watchable product.
One excellent way to bridge the gap is to re-sign a player who put up over a point per game in the regular season and only wants a very short term deal on a discount. That player is, of course, Evgeni Malkin. He costs no assets to acquire and he can still help contribute in a positive way to the current product. This provides what should be desired flexibility to focus those assets elsewhere. It isn’t a long term solution. The player isn’t looking for it to be, either.
I’ll have a lot more to say about the roster, the fallout from the season, and the locker room exit interviews in the days to come.
Today, I’m going to appreciate all the good things that happened during the season despite the crummy ending.
I leave you with a playlist of every goal this season
