PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – While understanding the sentimentality of the Evgeni Malkin signing, NHL.com veteran writer Dan Rosen tells Cook and Joe it’s the wrong move for the Penguins.
“I get it from the Malkin, Crosby and Letang perspective and from the fans emotional tie and pull,” Rosen told 93.7 The Fan. “We hear that the band is back together. The band hasn’t been playing very well in the playoffs together.”
“They’ve lost five consecutive rounds winning eight games total. Each of the last four years they have not won a single playoff round. They won six games, half of them this year when they blew a 3-1 lead.”
“We can talk about they outplayed the Rangers and Crosby got hurt. Jarry wasn’t available until Game 7 and DeSmith got hurt. The season before Jarry wasn’t good and they outplayed the Islanders.”
“You still have to find a way to win. You can come up with all kinds of excuses, but you got to find a way to win.”
To be fair, few teams could find a way to beat the Rangers with a third-string goalie. Few teams could find a way to overcome how Tristan Jarry played against the Isles. Maybe the overarching point is the Pens have much less margin for error with its current roster.
Rosen is also not saying that Malkin stinks, far from it.
“I still think Malkin has game, there is no question he does,” Rosen told the Cook and Joe Show. “I have reservations about his health and if he can stay healthy for an 82-game season. We haven’t seen it. Can he come back after a full offseason of training and be better?”
“I think Sidney Crosby could play to 100 (years-old) at a high level. On the surface a 35-year-old Evgeni Malkin, a point-per-game center at $6.1 million, seems fine. It’s reasonable for any other team, this team needed something different.”
“Jeff Carter, $3.18 million, at 37-years-old is very reasonable for a third-line center, but it’s the same thing down the middle. I don’t know why it would be much different.”
“I think sometimes you have to change what you are doing if what you are doing is not working for what you are trying to accomplish.”
“Getting into the playoffs every year is a major accomplishment and they should be applauded for it. That’s not the end game, the goal of the Pittsburgh Penguins is just to get in the playoffs. Their goal is to win and they haven’t been doing it. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to change it up.”
“I get Letang signing, it makes a lot of sense to me. You had Kadri out there, you had hometown boy in Trocheck out there. The potential to acquire another hometown guy in JT Miller. It would have changed things up a little bit for this team. I think a jolt would have done them some good.”
“Instead it’s pretty much status quo, everybody is coming back. I don’t know why it would be different now.”
Rosen also warns the rest of the division is only going to improve, maybe with the exception of Washington. The Hurricanes are still good. He believes the Rangers will be better, same with the Islanders and the Devils could be ready to compete for a playoff spot this year.