Mark Madden: Penguins face free fall pending difficult roster choices - TribLIVE

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When the clock hit all zeroes Friday in Toronto and No. 24 seed Montreal had eliminated the Penguins, some lamented the end of an era.

But the Penguins’ era of glory really ended when Evgeny Kuznetsov’s overtime goal took Washington past Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. The Penguins have since been hot garbage in high-leverage situations, losing seven of eight playoff games.

The Penguins aren’t a legit Stanley Cup contender, and won’t be anytime soon.

But theirs is no disgrace. The Penguins were legit Cup contenders from 2008-’18, and won three championships. The franchise has great ownership and management.

But, like multiple champs Detroit, Chicago and the Los Angeles Kings before them, the Penguins face free fall pending some difficult choices.

Shedding Matt Murray isn’t a difficult choice. He’s gone downhill since ‘17. Murray doesn’t stink, but isn’t what he was or needs to be. His subpar stats don’t lie. Did Murray peak at 22? At this point, it’s not a question the Penguins can bother to debate. Murray is a restricted free agent this offseason, unrestricted the next. He’s mediocre on the cusp of being unaffordable.

Much of the rest is mere housekeeping.

Letting Patrick Marleau, Justin Schultz and Conor Sheary walk via unrestricted free agency is easy. Marleau is washed up, a bust during his brief Pittsburgh tenure. Looking at his four-plus years with the Penguins, Schultz was hurt or bad more than he was good. Sheary’s encore performance with “Sid and the Kids” was an utter waste of time. At 28, he’s no kid.

Retain a few restricted free agents if the price is right. For example, give Jared McCann two choices: Two years at $2 million per, or sayonara. (Keep Tristan Jarry, obviously.)

Ditch Jack Johnson. He’s solid on the penalty-kill, but has otherwise played too bad, too often and is emblematic of the Penguins’ slide. If you can’t trade him, buy him out.

That’s the easy part. After that, it gets sketchy.

Tweaking the supporting cast changes little. Same goes for trading a player like Brian Dumoulin, Bryan Rust or even Jake Guentzel.

The Penguins’ core consists of three players. If the Penguins retain Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, nothing really changes. It’s basically the same team.

Crosby and Letang are 33. Malkin is 34. Keeping all three means going down the same rabbit hole as Detroit, Chicago and the Kings: Decline via the paths of stagnation and nostalgia. Beloved winners are still on display. The Penguins probably make the playoffs next year. (Although it would be more likely if the New York Rangers hadn’t won the draft lottery.)

General Manager Jim Rutherford all but guaranteed the core would return when he spoke to the media Tuesday. He can’t be blamed for that. The Penguins need to sell tickets, if/when that can happen again. But the Penguins will keep getting worse.

If Crosby, Letang and Malkin all return and the Penguins continue down their path of mediocrity, how will the core handle that? They have never been on a bad Penguins team.

More important, is each willing to adjust his game given their age and the situation? They’re used to their talent overwhelming opposition. That’s not happening as often.

Crosby wants to attack almost exclusively off the rush. He’d rather not play down low. That’s why Crosby wants speed on his line: Sheary, not Patric Hornqvist.

Malkin wants to dangle, then accelerate. But his hands and speed aren’t what they were.

Letang wants to keep attempting risky plays, but the risk/reward factor is bending too far in the wrong direction.

The decline of the core isn’t precipitous. They don’t stink. But they aren’t what they were, or what they think they still are.

Can they change? Would they be willing to adjust to a game plan, for example, where the Penguins play airtight defense and counterattack?

Bryan Trottier was 34 when he joined the Penguins in 1990. He was a former MVP and scoring champion, and a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders.

But Trottier’s game was diminishing with age. Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, however, he adjusted. He played tighter, more basic. He contributed, and won two more Cups.

Those Penguins were excellent, and the circumstances were better because of that.

But Trottier was very self-aware, and didn’t get in his own way.

Crosby, Letang and Malkin are unlikely to adjust much. They want to play how they’ve always played. I respect that, because of what they’ve accomplished.

But that has the potential to make the situation all the more difficult.

Here’s a telling quote from Rutherford regarding Game 4 on the series vs. Montreal: “You’re waiting for the desperation from the drop of the puck, and it didn’t come in the first period. It didn’t come in the second period. It was even worse in the third period. There’s something wrong if you don’t have that drive to win at that point in the series.”

That won’t change if the team doesn’t really change. If you want to get their attention, you have to shoot a hostage. Firing assistant coaches doesn’t suffice.

It’s possible for the Penguins to contend by keeping the core intact. But it’s far from probable.

Categories: Mark Madden Columns | Penguins/NHL | Sports

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