The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a dog fight for a wild card spot, but is it even worth it?

How many embarrassing losses have the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered this season? Add another feather to that cap, as the Penguins were outplayed in every facet during their 6-0 defeat against the New York Rangers. After their second straight loss, the Penguins now sit just one lone point in front of the surging Florida Panthers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It's going to be a dog fight for the Penguins to make the playoffs, but a bigger question has emerged: is it even worth it? 

Pretenders, not Contenders

The NHL is enjoying some of the greatest parity it's seen in the salary-cap era. Sure, the Boston Bruins are the far and away best team in the regular season, but you can make an argument for at least 10 other teams that have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup. The Penguins are not one of those teams. 

For the first in the careers of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, a new reality has set in: these two players alone do not make a contender. It's not due to their poor play, rest assured. These two are more productive than a 35 and 36-year-old with 1,000+ games played should be. Crosby has 83 points, leading the Penguins in scoring, followed closely behind by Malkin with 72 points.

They may not be at the same level as, say, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl or Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but they're providing exactly what a number one and two center should. This failure isn't on them. The fact still remains that this team is not equipped for a deep playoff run. 

What Next? 

While preserving the playoff appearance streak is obviously important to Crosby and company, it would be much better for this team to miss the playoffs. As shocking as this sounds, there are two major reasons this would actually help the Penguins compete next season and beyond. 

1. Failure Breeds Change

It will be an utter shame if this Penguins team misses the playoffs, and a failure on the legacy of their core trio. However, it's been clear to many within and outside the organization that there are serious changes needed. It's especially difficult to justify big moves when you make the playoffs every year, but if the Penguins miss the playoffs, that all changes. 

It's suddenly much easier to justify a change in management when your decisions were instrumental in one of the greatest teams of the 2000's to end their 16-year playoff streak, right? If the Penguins miss the playoffs, it's likely that general manager Ron Hextall would be fired. His tenure has been mediocre at best, and downright awful at its worst. The Penguins need more shrewd and insightful leadership from a general manager, something Hextall fails to show on a daily basis. 

The Penguins have seven pending unrestricted free agents, two of whom were acquired at the trade deadline in Nick Bonino and Dmitri Kulikov. Aside from Jason Zucker, it's hard to justify bringing any back past this season. If the Penguins miss the postseason, it will certainly end the time of Brian Dumoulin and Danton Heinen, and possibly even Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh. 

2. Highest Draft Pick in 20 Years

The Penguins and their fans may be very unfamiliar with this concept, but this organization is likely looking at their highest draft pick since they took Jordan Staal in 2006. Last season, the Pens added a legitimate prospect to their shallow pool of young players in Owen Pickering.

If the Penguins were to miss the playoffs, they would be looking at a top 16 pick for the first time in nearly 20 years. And while it wouldn't be a guarantee they would select a player capable of playing at the NHL level within a year or two, the Penguins need to seriously invest in their younger players.

This particular draft class is receiving high praise from scouts and analysts, and if there were a recent draft to want a higher pick in, it would be this upcoming one. 

The time for hemorrhaging the future is long gone, and the moment to look for long-term successors to Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang, is here. Missing the playoffs would allow the Penguins, as an organization, to admit that time is coming, and a lot closer than some want to believe.

While missing the postseason would certainly make for some doom and gloom, it wouldn't seal the coffin on the careers of the Penguin's Hall of Fame trio. It may in fact be just the thing this team and organization needs to give this team a real chance to compete next season and beyond. 

This season is, for better or worse, done. Although the Penguins are still in a playoff position, and their veteran locker room will most likely find a way into the postseason, their performance on the ice paints a different picture. They don't have what it takes to win this season. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, maybe it's the exact wake up call they need. 

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