Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Now What Pittsburgh?

04/25/2015 at 8:04am EDT

from Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

So even though the Penguins don't want to end the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era, I'm not sure they're going to have a choice in the matter.

It's not that the franchise centers are unhappy. (They are, but they've been that way since last summer). They've lost faith in the direction of the franchise. And I'm not sure what can be said — especially to Malkin — to make things right.

Something has to be done in the wake of the Penguins' 2-1 series-ending overtime loss to the New York Rangers in Game 5 on Friday at Madison Square Garden that eliminated them from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Otherwise, the Penguins might have to sell another early playoff exit and a trade they'd rather not make.

Co-owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux could have a lot more to consider than whether to let pride — or stubbornness — get in the way of doing what's best for business. They must hire a new general manager, one who understands the NHL's not-so-new salary-cap dynamic, a hockey boss with autonomy to make hockey moves.

Because this isn't what Crosby and Malkin signed on for when each agreed to a second long-term contract at below market-value salary.

The Penguins are unrecognizable. They've gone from the marquee to the second stage. Or, put in hockey terms, from Stanley Cup contender to playoff pretender.

read on

added 8:40am, from Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

It's hard to be mad at the Penguins. It wasn't a fair fight against the New York Rangers from the start. The Penguins were missing too many key players because of injuries and illness. The surprise wasn't that the powerful Rangers closed out their first-round playoff series Friday night with another 2-1 overtime win in Game 5. The surprise was that the Penguins won a game.

"Are we a better team with those guys?" defenseman Rob Scuderi asked, referencing his missing teammates, notably Kris Letang and Christian Ehrhoff. "Sure, we are. But that's not the hand we were dealt. That's hockey, sometimes."

It's a lot easier to feel sad for the Penguins. Another year of the Crosby-Malkin era has come and gone. The franchise has had - in theory, anyway - two of the best players in the world but made it as far as the Eastern Conference final just one time in the past six seasons. This was the third time in those six years that the Penguins were eliminated in the first round. It's fair to wonder if Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will win another Stanley Cup to go with the one from 2009. It's fair to wonder how many more chances they will get together with the Penguins.

"I thought we left it all out there," Crosby said just moments after Carl Hagelin's goal at 10:52 of overtime ended the Penguins' season.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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