A change needs to be made to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup, and it's up to Ron Hextall to stop sitting on his hands.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the streakiest teams in the NHL through the 2022-23 season and are in need of something to push them over the edge.
It’s easy to see that there’s something there with the Penguins; the core is in place and producing, the surrounding cast of top six can get the job done, and the defense can be solid when fully healthy.
That bottom six, however, can’t do anything and a change in the personnel is far past due.
Fans have been begging for general manager Ron Hextall to make a move of any kind to help inject some life into this team, yet he’s done nothing but make minor league call ups to cover for injuries.
Sure, Hextall may want to wait for a fully healthy team to do a proper evaluation, but he’s dealing with the Penguins... full health is only a fantasy.
One of Hextall’s biggest criticisms during his time as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers was his tendency to sit around and hesitate on making moves.
Are the Penguins seeing that happen with each passing day? It sure seems like it.
It’s at least a far cry from what Jim Rutherford brought to the Penguins front office.
Had Rutherford still been in power in Pittsburgh, he would have seen these losing streaks and launched a first round pick and/or a player out of a cannon for some help.
Whether it would have been a beneficial move for the Penguins could be debated, but at least it would have been some kind of wake up call.
Rutherford may have been too reactionary and knee jerk with his trades, but Hextall is coming off as too patient in a desperate situation.
To be fair to Hextall, the salary cap is an issue and teams across the league are struggling, but a good GM finds a way around that.
The trade deadline is a little over six weeks away and the Penguins need a move to either bolster the bottom six or filter out some dead weight and they need it fast.
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