The Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs last season ending a sixteen-year playoff streak. The streak was the longest current playoff streak among the four major North American sports. Penguins legendary Captain Sidney Crosby had made the playoffs every year except his rookie year. Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins other Hall of Fame bound center had never missed playoffs. The 2022-23 campaign was the first season Crosby and Malkin each played all 82 regular season games. Each also averaged over a point a game. The truth is the Penguins top two lines were among the best in the NHL. The rest of the roster so was putrid it didn’t matter. This led the Penguin’s organization to make a major roster overhaul in the summer offseason.
Tristan Jarry signed a five-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguin’s first order of business was firing GM Ron Hextall and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke. Former Toronto Maple Leaf’s GM Kyle Dubas was hired. Dubas is now the Czar of Penguins hockey. Dubas quickly jumped headfirst into the job of restructuring the Penguins roster.
Kyle Dubas’ number one job was to build up the Penguins pathetic bottom six forwards. He signed Lars Eller and Noel Accairi to be the team’s 3rd and 4th line centers. Dubas acquired Rielly Smith to replace Jason Zucker in the top six forwards. He signed Ryan Graves to replace aging out Brian Dumoulin as Kris Letang’s defensive partner. He signed or resigned depth forwards Alex Nylander, Radim Zahorna, Matt Nieto and Vinnie Hinostroza. He also brought in a several PTO’s to make a lively camp.
Dubas sorted out the Penguins’ goaltending mess by resigning Tristen Jarry to a five-year deal and acquiring Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg to be adequate backups.
Dubas did not rest on his laurels. When many GM were already at their summer cabins Dubas traded for reigning Norris winner defenseman Erik Karlsson. If Karlsson never plays a second for the Penguins, it is still a top five trade in Penguin’s history. Dubas unloaded four underachieving, overpriced in the trade.
What do the Penguins have in 2023-2024.
Forwards – The Penguins top two forwards lines are elite. While Crosby and Malkin aren’t what they were ten years ago, they still control the game most nights. Wingers Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rackell and Reilly Smith compliment the centers with good hands and high hockey IQs. The bottom two lines should be much improved with Lars Eller and Noel Accairi now centering them. Dubas’ signings with make these lines harder to play against. Hopefully they will chip in a few goals as well.  The Penguins would love to see home grown forwards Drew O’Connor, Sam Poulin or Valterri Puustinen take a big step this season.
Defensmen – The Penguins top two defensive pairings are set. Newly acquired Ryan Graves will partner with the third member of the Penguins Big Three Kris Letang. Erik Karlsson will partner with fellow Swedish defenseman Marcus Pettersen. Pettersen is a stay home defenseman. He was the only Penguins defenseman last year who played above his pay grade. The bottom pairing will be P O Joseph and either Chad Ruhwedel or Ryan Shea. Not the best bottom pair but a situation that could be addressed at the trade deadline.
Goaltending – Tristen Jarry was handed a hefty five year contract this summer but is still somewhat of a question mark in big games. Jarry’s highs are high but he is inconsistent. The Penguins chose the devil they knew in a weak goalie market this summer. One of Jarry’s problems last year was his unreliable back up Casey DeSmith. This season Jarry will be backed up by Nedjelkovic and Hellberg. Nedjelovic will be looking to bounce back from a rotten year. Hellberg is young and has promise.
Outlook – The Penguins missed the playoffs last season by one point but never looked like a Stanly Cup contender. The Penguins offseason acquisitions should help the Penguins make the playoffs this season. Erik Karlsson will bolster the Penguins power play. The Penguins power play is never as good as it should be with all their talent. The penalty kill should also be improved with the new depth forwards and more consistent goaltending. Karlsson with also help the Penguins in overtime. A few more overtime points will make the Penguins either the third seed in the Metro or a wildcard in the playoffs.
The Penguins can beat any team in a seven-game series. It’s very doubtful they could win four straight seven games series though. Anything short of winning one playoff round would put Head Coach Mike Sullivan on the hotseat. Sullivan has never been on the hotseat in Pittsburgh. It would be the sixth season in a row the Penguins failed to get past the first round of the playoffs.
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