After another gut punch, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves out of the NHL Playoffs without reaching the second round.
For the second time in three seasons, the Penguins get a jump start on the offseason at the hands of the New York Islanders, who took the opening round in six games, despite the Pens looking like the better team for much of series.
Fans may have more questions than answers as to what happened with these last six games, but one thing is for sure, it's going to be an eventful offseason.
For starters, there has already been discussions about whether the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang should still be in Pittsburgh.
Put it this way, all three of them have full no-move clauses and they don't want to leave Pittsburgh.
They are most likely staying no matter what people think of it.
The first big even that will certainly bring change to the team is the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, set to take place on July 21.
Each team in the NHL (with the exception of the Vegas Golden Knights) has to produce a list of players they will leave exposed to the Kraken.
Some names that have been discussed as being taken from Pittsburgh to Seattle are Jared McCann, Zach Aston-Reese, and Teddy Blueger.
Two days after the Expansion Draft comes the 2021 NHL Draft where, unless some moves are made, the Penguins won't be huge players.
As it stands right now, the Penguins only have five draft picks; That includes three in the last round and not a pick in the first round.
The Penguins are without a draft pick until the second round, then none in the following two rounds; It'll be up to Ron Hextall and Brian Burke to find a way to add some picks before draft day.
Then there's free agency on July 28, who will stay and who will go?
Some key players are at the end of their current deals and could be testing the waters to see who calls.
Upcoming unrestricted free agents include: Frederick Gaudreau, Evan Rodrigues, and Cody Ceci.
The list of upcoming restricted free agents is a little more substantial, with guys like Blueger, Aston-Reese, Radim Zohorna.
Many more questions will still linger, like will there be any big trades that don't include the main core? What prospects might reach the NHL next season? Will we see another goalie change? Can this team still contend?
Odds are this Penguins team has a much different identity when the puck drops on the 2021-22 season, but the goal will be the same: Winning the Stanley Cup.
