Hey now! Let's Not Forget About Pittsburgh!

[Reality Check]

Lost in all the hullabaloo of Tampa Bay making history are the Pittsburgh Penguins. Swept as well in the first round for the first time in over 30 years.

In addition, a second straight playoff series loss at the hands of Barry Trotz. More importantly and impressively on a new team with new faces I might add.

Should we just chalk this up to Trotz currently being Pittsburgh's daddy, the greatness of Mike Milbury's second favorite team or is the "retool era" in Pittsburgh closer than previously thought

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[lostinwarsaw]

The league will give them lafreniere, so it’s all good for them

 

[viper0220]

The Pens make some moves and I think they are back in it.

 

[benedictTavares]

How dare you invoke milburys name. I will cut you.

 

[PensandCaps]

The league will give them lafreniere, so it’s all good for them

lets hope

 

[Pancakes]

I mean, what do you want? We've won back to back Cups recently and have paid the price for that in prospects/picks. We're getting older.

The window isn't closed but it's closing. But no regrets.

 

[Soundwave]

I think age/mileage is simply just catching up to them much like it did to Chicago.

They've won their fair share of Cups and I think some of that hunger dims and guys get older.

 

[Pancakes]

I think age/mileage is simply just catching up to them much like it did to Chicago.

They've won their fair share of Cups and I think some of that hunger dims and guys get older.

I think the window will stay open a little longer than it did for Chicago simply because Letang/Crosby/Malkin still look pretty good. Chicago took a big hit with how much worse Keith has gotten the past few years. I guess if it happens with Letang you could see the same thing for the Pens but we're not there yet.

 

[Beauner]

The Pens make some moves and I think they are back in it.

Yeah its kinda similar to where they were at in 2015. They need a direction and to get back to being a fast team. A few intelligent acquisitions and they're right back in the thick of it

 

[benedictTavares]

They need to lose some bad contracts to ltir island.

 

[6ix]

It’s extremely hard to win a cup, and yet they won it back to back. Tampa hasn’t won a cup with this core, and it was supposed to be their year. Apples to Oranges IMO.

 

[Satire]

I'm sure the Pens will somehow find a way to sleep at night given they've won 2 cups in the last 4 years.

 

[Tender Rip]

I'm sure the Pens will somehow find a way to sleep at night given they've won 2 cups in the last 4 years.

Indeed, its been a very successful period, but there is losing and then there is losing like that. We should still be at the tail-end of a genuine window, and as much as I respect the superior execution and compete level of the Isles/Trotz it is not a great enough team that we should be so soundly throttled for three consecutive games.

Tough meetings ahead for management - the team looked broken from game 2 on-wards, and either Sullivan did not know how to adjust or his key players completely refused to buy in.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

It’s extremely hard to win a cup, and yet they won it back to back. Tampa hasn’t won a cup with this core, and it was supposed to be their year. Apples to Oranges IMO.

This. TB having Hedman clearly not right is a bit of an excuse, but otherwise they were supposed to.. y'know, at least win a game. A series.

Pitts barely squeaked into the playoffs, they've won the cup recently, and their whole friggin d core has been ravaged by injuries this year. I'm surprised Isles made it look so easy, but the Pens weren't expected to seriously contend.

 

[Hockeyholic]

lets hope

Not to drift off topic here. But can you explain your username? How did you become a Caps and Pens fan? Been killing to ask.

As for the topic, Pittsburgh has alot to fix. I mean alot. That defense is atrocious.

 

[SomeDude]

That's what happens when you build a back to back Cup winning roster based on speed and skill and then spend the next 2 years compiling the exact opposite type of players.

3 Cups in the Crosby era, it's all gravy from here on out, but unless the front office realizes how foolish they've been...it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

They can retool, but constant high finishes have left the prospect cupboard bear.

It's probably going to be a painful rebuild when Crosby and Malkin finally decide to become old men.

 

[PensandCaps]

They need to lose some bad contracts to ltir island.

Like? Johnson is bad but its only 3 million.

Maatta is moveable at 4mil and is better than Pens fans let on.


If Hornqvist is this for the future...then yah that's a bad contract. But i think he'll rebound...hopefully.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Someone make the spiderman pointing meme with the Pens and Tampa.

 

[c9777666]

PIT acquitted themselves better than TB. Game 1 could have gone either way, game 2 was close until a late goal, game 4 was 2-1.

 

[SomeDude]

Someone make the spiderman pointing meme with the Pens and Tampa.

One team had a historically dominant regular season and got swept by a franchise who had never one a playoff series, the other one stumbled their way into playoff spot in game 81 and got swept by a higher seed...I don't really see the comparison.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

One of the best parts of watching the Pens get swept was reminiscing about all the threads from the past 2 years where their fans kept talking about how garbage Marc Andre Fleury is and now their team is golfing (again) while he's still posting shutouts in the playoffs (again).

I wonder what crow tastes like?

 

[Zirakzigil]

The Pens at least took a game to overtime..... Neither the Pens or Lightning deserved to advance. They were both brutal.

 

[heysmilinstrange]

They need to lose some bad contracts to ltir island.

Maybe one of our players will be stricken with a tragic rash. I'm hoping it's Jack Johnson.

One of the best parts of watching the Pens get swept was reminiscing about all the threads from the past 2 years where their fans kept talking about how garbage Marc Andre Fleury is and now their team is golfing (again) while he's still posting shutouts in the playoffs (again).

I wonder what crow tastes like?

If Fleury had played like he is now in Pittsburgh, instead of getting outplayed by a rookie and putting up years of historically bad playoff goaltending, he'd still be here. He couldn't do any of that, though. Fleury should consider himself lucky that Matt Murray was able to secure his legacy for him.

 

[Sam Spade]

The Penguins definitely picked the right season to get bounced in four.

However the Isles were picked by a lot of people to win this series, not by me, but by a lot of pundits. Higher seed, better defense, better goalie, etc., this isn't an upset at all really. The only shocking thing is the sweep.