The Pittsburgh Penguins swung for the fences at the trade deadline and popped out on a foul ball, says Adam Proteau. Whose times in Pittsburgh are in jeopardy?
The Pittsburgh Penguins swung for the fences at the trade deadline and popped out on a foul ball, says Adam Proteau. Whose times in Pittsburgh are in jeopardy?
For the first time in 17 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins will not be playing Stanley Cup playoff hockey this spring. And, as devastating as that reality is to Penguins fans, the truth is it’s even more of a gigantic letdown to Pens players and management. And the ramifications of the Pens’ current situation almost assuredly will lead to changes in the roster, but more importantly, at the top of the management structure.
First and foremost, Pittsburgh GM Ron Hextall’s future with the team is in jeopardy. Since he was hired as GM in February of 2021, Hextall has presided over a group that has gotten progressively worse.
In his first half-season running the organization, the Pens finished first in the makeshift East division. But in 2021-22, the Penguins slid to the third spot in the Metropolitan division. In both of those seasons, Pittsburgh failed to make it out of the first round of the post-season, dropping the first playoff matchup against the New York Islanders in six games, then falling to the New York Rangers in seven games in the 2022 playoffs.
This year, they dropped to fifth in the Metro, pushing them out of the playoff picture completely.
To say that is disappointing is a massive understatement, especially after Hextall went above and beyond on the trade front at the NHL’s March 3 trade deadline. He made three trades of consequence, including a deal to acquire former Nashville forward Mikael Granlund, a trade to re-acquire veteran forward Nick Bonino and a move to land journeyman defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.
The assets given up in those three trades are notable: Hextall surrendered a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft for Granlund, a fifth-round pick and seventh-round pick for Bonino, and a third-round pick with Brock McGinn for Kulikov.
Now, they have nothing to show for it. You can easily see that the trade deadline moves did not work out, as Pittsburgh put up a 9-10-1 record after the deadline.
Unfortunately, even worse is that Hextall’s trade deadline moves have saddled the team with salary-cap problems.
The 31-year-old Granlund – who posted a single goal and five points in 20 games with the Pens after the trade – has two more seasons left on his contract at a $5-million annual cap hit.
As per CapFriendly, Pittsburgh does have $20.2 million in cap space this off-season, but they also have only 14 players under contract for next year, and they have to pay key members who are now UFAs, including starting goalie Tristan Jarry, blueliner Brian Dumoulin and winger Jason Zucker.
Even if they let Zucker go – and let’s remember he generated 27 goals this year – his $5.5 million in cap space will quickly be eaten up by a new deal for Dumoulin. And Jarry, who had a cap hit of $3.5 million this year, also will be getting a major raise. That means there will be far less than $20 million in cap space for the Penguins to use this summer. If you believe Jarry gets a new contract that’s at least $5 million per season, and a little bit extra for Dumoulin’s new deal, that leaves less than $15 million left to flesh out the rest of Pittsburgh’s roster. And that’s not nearly enough to bring in some difference-makers.
When you look at the Penguins’ problems this year, you have to focus on the bottom-six group of forwards and the third pairing on defense. Stars and core components Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang did their jobs this season, but you can’t say the same for the lower-tier roster members. And you certainly can’t say the same for Hextall. Pens fans, who have grown accustomed to playoff hockey, have every right to be enraged. Hextall swung for the fences and popped out with a foul-area fly ball.
The Penguins’ (relatively-)new ownership group has a clear decision to make in the coming weeks: part ways with Hextall and give the reins of the franchise to a new person, or stay with Hextall and hope they don't set themselves up for diminishing returns again next season.
Crosby, Malkin and Letang will be back, but just about everyone else should have their real estate agent on standby. This year was unacceptable by the Pens’ standards, and maintaining the status quo is not an option.
Whoever is running the Penguins has stark choices to make, and the prospect of missing the playoffs again next year would be an even bigger calamity. With Crosby/Malkin/Letang all being at least 36 years old in 2023 or 2024, the horizon ahead of the Penguins looks bleaker and bleaker. Putting a new person in charge is the best way to ensure there’s a better vision for the near-and-far future.