The Penguins Are the Most Interesting Team of the Offseason

The Pittsburgh Penguins are set to embark on yet another franchise altering summer.

If you thought last offseason was wild within the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, 2023 will be amped up to 11.

Last year, the Penguins not only had to wheel and deal new contracts to multiple high-level talents, but had to build a team they believed could push them out of the first round of the playoffs.

Ron Hextall and his crew signed the deals to key players, stood firm with a few other faces, and made sure the team didn’t lose in the first round for another consecutive year.

The Penguins didn’t lose in the first round, but that’s because Hextall’s game plan wasn’t good enough to even reach the postseason.

With the Penguins out of the playoffs for the first time since Sidney Crosby was a teenager, Fenway Sports Group decided they had seen enough from Hextall and Co.

The wheels were in motion to make the Penguins the most interesting, non-playoff team to watch this summer.

Crosby will be 36-years-old soon, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are also getting older, and their Stanley Cup window may finally be closed.

That is unless the most interesting team of the NHL offseason can play the proper cards.

To salvage the last few years of their careers, FSG is tasked with finding a general manager that can retool the team on the fly and build a Cup-caliber team.

Some big names have been tossed around as possible candidates; Brad Treliving, Jason Botterill, and Kyle Dubas have all been brought up as options, while Sam Ventura and Eric Tulsky could be fresh faces among the NHL GM pool.

Once the front office is settled, then comes building the team; how long of a leash will head coach Mike Sullivan and his staff have? What happens with free agents like Tristan Jarry and Jason Zucker? What about the first round pick?

The Penguins have a ton of parts that, once a new staff is in place, will soon be rolling on all cylinders.

Pittsburgh fans want to see the core of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang go out on top; it’s still possible there is one deep playoff run left in them, they just need to right supporting cast.

That isn’t just on the ice, but behind the bench, and in the managerial box.

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