The Pittsburgh Penguins are far from a team that should consider beginning a rebuild.
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the All-Star break holding the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They have won just four of their past ten games and face a daunting schedule upon resuming the regular season next week.
And yet, the Penguins remain closer to winning the Stanley Cup than they are to beginning a rebuild.
That, to me, is more of an indictment of the notion that this team needs to begin a rebuild than an endorsement of their capability of making a run.
The Penguins are getting the very best from their aging core this season. Sidney Crosby, who is currently participating in his ninth All-Star weekend festivities, is on pace for 40 goals and 100 points which would be his best season in four years. Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin is on pace for 84 points, his most since the 2017-18 season.
The rest of the top six has performed to task as well.
When healthy, they have gotten a good performance from Tristan Jarry this season. Jarry is 16-5-5 on the season with a .921 save percentage.
If the Penguins wanted to rebuild with this core, they should've started several seasons ago. Just look at the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks, for example. Both teams began to rebuild in the mid-2010s, and only the Kings have returned to some level of contention.
With Crosby and Malkin already in their mid-30s and still performing at a superstar level, the Penguins will not even think about a rebuild until they are much further along in their decline in play.
While the Penguins would love to be in a better position in the standings, the notion that this team needs to pull the trigger on a rebuild is hasty and would mark the end of Crosby and Malkin's chances at another championship with Pittsburgh.
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