The Evgeni Malkin deal has polarized the Penguins' fan base since it was signed late Tuesday night. Are the Penguins selling out for nostalgia's sake? Are they paying and keeping him for what he's done in the past and not what he'll do in the future?
To be honest, I see both sides of the argument. Malkin is about to turn 36. He wasn't particularly good 5 on 5 last year. He only played 41 games last year due to yet another injury. Yet he was a point per game player last year and outside of Vincent Trocheck, who signed for 7 years with the Rangers for $5.6 million AAV, who was going to be a viable replacement at a lesser cost?
Of course, Malkin is only one piece to the puzzle and part of the bigger picture of what the Penguins and GM Ron Hextall have done this offseason and that's keep the band together. Rust. Letang. Rakell. Malkin. The length of those deals have come under some question, but the money figures have been praised by some.
So is it worth bringing everyone back after a 4th straight early exit in the postseason? Do they have another Stanley Cup run in them?
All initial signs would indicate "no." The Penguins are one of the oldest teams in the league now. As of this writing there hasn't been a major trade yet this offseason, but there's sure to be at least one to move some salary cap space because they are now right up against it. One year older, same team, the Metro division is getting better by the day with Trocheck signing with the Rangers and Johnny Gaudreau going to Columbus (although they've got a long way to go). Oh, and did you see the buzzsaw that Colorado was this year? Can the Penguins really compete with that to win another Stanley Cup?
But when looking a little deeper, there are some legitimate excuses for their lack of playoff success, at least in the last two years. It's simple. It's the goaltending. Tristan Jarry folded like a cheap tent against the Islanders two years ago and then was unavailable until Game 7 of this year's playoff series against the Rangers in which they ultimately had to turn to the Spicy Pork and Broccoli King Louis Domingue (who's now a Ranger!). And the cheap headshots that the Rangers took to knock out Rickard Rakell and Sidney Crosby didn't help, either.
I fully believe they would have escaped both series if Casey DeSmith had been available. If the Penguins get past the opening round, who knows what happens after that?
So here we are then. The band is back together. The Penguins have gone all in...and I mean REALLY all in...on riding out this great era for as long as they can. My initial answer to my own question about a Stanley Cup run is "no." But to me, these next two years are really crucial.
Ron Hextall has locked these guys up and has committed the cap space to them. Now the pressure is on him to rearrange this roster so it looks different than the past two years. The Penguins need character, tenacity and a scoring touch from their bottom six. Every recent Cup team had a third line that separated them from the rest. Staal-Cooke-Kennedy. Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel.
Again, how are they going to do that with limited cap space? Hence the pressure on Hextall to work some magic. I see it as the next two years are the time to do it. After two seasons, Malkin will be 38. Jake Guentzel's contract will be up if they don't re-negotiate before then. Crosby will be going into the final year of his current contract. There's no real talent base within the Penguins organization to point to as the "next wave" behind them to supplement them. Things will look even more uncertain than they do now.
It's already going to be extremely difficult, but it will most likely get exponentially so after these next two years.
The only other thing I can bring into this discussion that gives a ray of hope for their Stanley Cup chances is this: the human element. The pride this core has. The idea that they stuck together for this. They're hungry for more, they're not done building their legacy.
Sidney Crosby reportedly played a role in getting the two sides to talk again after things ended poorly on Monday between the Pens and Malkin.
They're owning their last years together and expecting success. And there's very little denying they all can still play. Malkin 42 points in 41 games. Letang just posted his best offensive season of his career with 68 points. Crosby is still ultra-productive and was the best player on the ice, maybe even across the league, in the playoffs before he got hurt.
So, another Cup run? It's unlikely. But it's certainly not out of the question to at least win a series or two this year or next. We just have to hope that there's still some magic left in these 3 champions and that they are extra motivated by seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of their careers, and that maybe being able to stick together through an uncertain offseason provides that extra jolt.
It ain't a great one, but I guess I'm telling you there's a chance.
