Have We Seen the Last March of These Penguins?
Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Luke Ranalli
This isn't fair, but being a sports fan, it never is unless you win.
This is different though. At least that's what I've been telling myself since the 4-3 overtime loss the Penguins suffered at Madison Square Garden two nights ago. This definitely wasn't supposed to happen. They had Sidney Crosby back, Tristan Jarry was in net, Rickard Rakell was back, and they were up 3-1 in the series.... 3-1.
This year, Tristan Jarry was supposed to prove he could be the future netminder of a playoff contender. This year, they had four lines all producing points and contributing on offense. This year, they had a defense that kept the Rangers under 40 shots in every game during this series, except for the triple overtime in game one. So what happened?!?!
If you couldn't tell, I'm not taking this loss all that well. I'm still trying to comprehend what happened Sunday night, and how a team with so much talent couldn't pull off one win in the last three games. I could sit here all day and keep analyzing what did happen, but I want to instead look at what this means for this team, and the future of this franchise as I see it after this devastating playoff exit in the first round, yet again.
The first word that comes to mind is rebuild. I've been saying it for a couple of seasons, but now it makes the most sense. Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are officially unrestricted free agents, and their cap hit during the 21/22 season combined for just under $17 million. That's a nice chunk of change to put towards the future of this team. Here's the tricky part though, will the front office allow both, if not one to be traded?
It was rumored that before Ron Hextall took over as GM, Jim Rutherford was shopping Letang around the league. Word was Rutherford stepped down because the front office wouldn't give him full autonomy. Now that Hextall is at the helm, and Geno and Letang are UFA's, was Sunday night the last in a Penguins sweater for them? My thoughts are yes, and that the writing is on the wall. Sidney Crosby already spoke about how "it's not going to last forever". I will miss Tanger and Geno, but if they don't start rebuilding now, this team is going to age itself out of contention for years to come.
If both Malkin and Letang are gone, who will step up in those positions? They will need someone on defense to take over the role of leader. My first thought is Brian Dumoulin. Who will slot in at center on the second line? In January, Jeff Carter was signed to a two-year contract extension, and he makes the most sense with his experience. Teddy Blueger could shift up to the third line, and they could either sign or look to Wilkes-Barre for the fourth line.
Now the big question per usual, is goaltending. I'm sure at least half of the Penguins fan base were and still are cursing out Jarry for letting up the overtime goal, especially with only seconds left on the Rangers' power play. After the playoff disaster that was last year's run, people were already calling for Jarry's head -- so does this one and done for him put the nail in the coffin? I don't think so, I think he has at least another year or two to prove himself. It's not exactly what I want, or most likely what you want, but given the circumstances, I'd put money on Jarry starting in net next season. Jarry still has one year left on his contract, so now more than ever will be his time to put up or shut up, but it's definitely time for the Penguins to start looking to the draft to start grooming their next netminder.
Now this will probably be an unpopular opinion, but does Mike Sullivan need to go? Personally, I'm on the fence with this, coming off a season that put him in the category of winningest head coach all-time for the Pens, AND he just surpassed Dan Bylsma for the most playoff wins with 44. Those are very impressive records, but much like the Mike Tomlin debate, is it worth it if they aren't winning in the playoffs? I know, the Pens won back-to-back cups with Sully, but that was in 16-17. Five years wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the stars are aging out, and some could be gone after this season. Sullivan has proved he's a great coach, but has it been enough?
Sullivan's contract is up after next season and I think it warrants being evaluated in full. Seven of the last 16 straight playoff appearances have been under Sully, and that's fantastic, but when four consecutive playoffs end in the first round, I think it's time to start asking why.
The Penguins season just ended less than 48 hours ago, so I know there's a lot of knee-jerk reactions here, but in my opinion, these are the most logical next steps for this franchise heading into the future.
You might also like
Yinzer Crazy
