The Pittsburgh Penguins have played far too much of the season to not have a real label.

We are officially under a month away from the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 regular season.

It hasn’t been a great year for the Penguins, especially as of late, but in reality, it hasn’t been a totally bad year either.

As a season progresses, it usually becomes pretty easy to pinpoint a team’s ‘identity.’

For this season, the Boston Bruins are the outright favorite on a record setting pace; the Anaheim Ducks are among the teams trying to lose as much as possible for that coveted first overall pick.

So, what kind of label do the Penguins get? What is the Penguins’ identity for 2022-23?

Well, they (still) don’t have one.

The Penguins have 14 games remaining in their season and their volatility has kept them from being given a confident way to identify what kind of team they are.

There are moments where the Penguins look like world beaters and are primed for one last run with the core; the wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning or winning seven-straight to open December come to mind right away.

But, the Penguins have looked like a minor league team on multiple occasions; a pair of seven-game losing streaks, over 20 blown leads, management doing nothing to fix the problems, the list goes on.

The closest thing the Penguins have to a label for the 2022-23 season is one of the worst words in sports: mediocre.

When a team is mediocre, they’re not good, they’re not bad; probably won’t be able to contend for a championship, but won’t be bad enough to look at snagging an early draft pick.

Given how massive the swings in luck can be, the Penguins have to be the most confusing team in the NHL, too.

In hindsight with so few games remaining, the Penguins missed a massive opportunity given the season guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jason Zuker, and Kris Letang are having.

A few players outside of the core have been outstanding, but the supporting cast outside of the top-six has been borderline unwatchable.

General manager missed his window of opportunity to help this team not only be given a label, but maybe exceed expectations.

Fans will have to settle in and try to enjoy whatever comes for the rest of the year and likely quick out in the playoffs.

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