Ron Hextall Should Have Followed Bruins Lead in Building 2022-23 Penguins
Ron Hextall let the core down by not building the Pittsburgh Penguins properly.
It may not seem like it now, but at the beginning of the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins were on similar trajectories.
Both the Penguins and Bruins housed an aging core group of players that many didn’t believe could still get it done in the NHL.
As the 2022-23 season progressed, however, the NHL’s two black and gold teams couldn’t be any further separated.
The Bruins played their season the right way, and had a front office willing to help out by loading up at the trade deadline.
Thanks to the collective effort, the Bruins have not only locked up the Presidents’ Trophy, but have been breaking franchise records left and right.
The Penguins, meanwhile, haven’t had the luxury of a front office willing to help, and a depth group far from where it needs to be.
All of that has culminated to the Penguins barely clinging on to a playoff spot.
In the grand scheme of things, the Penguins should have followed the lead set by the Bruins.
The aging core in Boston is proving to still have legs, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have 57 and 63 points respectively and David Krejci returned to Boston and sits at 55 points.
Those players were rewarded at the deadline by their management not only buying big names at the deadline, but signing one of their best players to a huge extension.
Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Tyler Bertuzzi were all added at the deadline to build for a likely Stanley Cup run, and David Pastrnak was given eight years at $11.25 million per.
Those are signs of a front office doing whatever it takes to win; Ron Hextall and the Penguins decided to go in a different direction.
The core of the Penguins has been the highlights of the season; Sidney Crosby leading the team with 85 points, Evgeni Malkin putting up 78, and Kris Letang battling through countless issues all to lead the defense in scoring.
What did Hextall do to reward his core? He waited until the last possible minute and still struck out on multiple big names.
Instead of Jakob Chychrun, the Penguins got Dmitry Kulikov; instead of Ryan O’Reilly, the Penguins got Nick Bonino.
Aside from Pastrnak, the Penguins’ core has been outplaying that of the Bruins; it’s plain to see in the numbers, but the Crosby his crew haven’t gotten the help they needed.
To think where the Penguins could be had it not been for poor decision making during the off-season followed by next to no decision making during the season.
This isn’t saying the Penguins would be in a battle for the Presidents’ Trophy, but they certainly wouldn’t be one timely loss away from missing the postseason for the first time in 17 seasons.
The Penguins and Bruins will likely face off in the opening round of the playoffs and it won’t be pretty for Pittsburgh.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins