Do we have legitimate reason to worry?

[mikethelegacy]

Here's how I see it, we are 2nd in the Metropolitan after winning only 4 of our last 14 games, so if we can go on a slide like that and still be in contention, we must have been playing the right way before the injury trouble, right?

You have to figure we would be in 1st if not for the ridiculous curse that's on this team and I think the way we would be playing would look a lot more similar to the beginning of the year, when Johnston's system looked to be what we've been waiting for for the past 5 years.

Obviously this team looks like garbage right now, but I don't know that we can really complain until we see this team healthy. What do you think?

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[BobCole]

I'm "worried" insofar as believing we are not the class of our division and if our injury luck doesn't improve we could find ourselves fighting for a playoff spot.

Our defense, even when healthy, doesn't seem like an optimal mix of guys for me. Subtract Letang and Maatta from it and it looks really shoddy.

Our forward group, when healthy, possesses a nice cumulative sum of talent, but the second 1 or 2 guys go down our organizational lack of depth at forward becomes evident.

Basically, if we continue to be down an average of 4-5 opening day roster players for the rest of the season, I think we'll struggle mightily.

 

[Winger for Hire]

What are we worrying about?

Being Cup contenders? Probably worrying some

Winning the Metro? Yea, get your worrying pants on

Making the playoffs? Not in the least.

 

[Frederick Stanley]

I'm not worried about the playoffs yet, as matter of fact I hope we don't win our division.

There are still a lot of question marks at every position and some dead weight on this team, so sadly I'm not too optimistic this year.

Will we make the playoffs? Yeah, without a doubt.

 

[JQR]

The only thing I'm worried about is the Pens facing the Islanders in the post season again. The Isles had a lot of answers to the Pens when their goaltending was terrible. Halak is solid and the tilt goes to NYI, I'm afraid.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Whats the worst that can happen? They miss the playoffs and become sellers at the deadline? That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for a roster that doesn't look like it has everything it needs.

Have to enjoy the process. Finding whats wrong and whats needed.
After the Shero/DB firings, they're well on thier way to their next Cup. Think of it that way.
Are MJ/JR the answer? I couldn't tell you but they won't be around for 5 yrs to find out like the last brain trust.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

I would never have expected one offseason to fix the numerous issues we had, I was hoping by next season we would be a legit cup contender again. But even that is no guarantee considering some of the obnoxious contracts on the books for a while yet.

But snagging Perron, a legit top line winger for nothing more than a low 1st, could accelerate our timetable. We now have two legit top 6 wingers with heart, who play the game the right way, including going to the net, hustling, taking a hit to make a play, etc. That's two more than we had before JR got here. Oh, and one functional facsimile of a top 6 winger in Comeau.

I'm not at all worried, because I see us as ahead of schedule on our mini-rebuild, and I would not mind them being sellers at the deadline and taking our chances with the youth.

 

[Til the End of Time]

i dont like how this team is constructed overall. great top two centers, still subpar wingers, subpar third/fourth line. talented but soft mix of players on the blueline, simply not a group built for playoff hockey. and obviously goaltending goes without saying.

not enough young players ready to make an impact in the appropriate areas coming down the pipeline either, so i dont think this will just be a one year thing.

expectations for this team should be low going into the playoffs, probably the lowest they have been in awhile.

of course the '09 team looked pretty underwhelming as well, so who knows.

 

[FRUSTRATEDPENFAN*]

Wow if the goal with Crosby and Malkin isn't to win the cup then holy crap making the play offs better not be the standard cause if it is that is sad

To me the pens aren't a cup contender just in the east their behind the Rangers Boston Montreal and the west there are a number of better deeper teams

I would think the trading of Crosby or Malkin in the summer is the only thing that can be done to improve this team overall but does Management have the guts to pull the trigger on a deal like that doubtful

Please don't get on me cause I mentioned trading Crosby or Malkin but if you want to build a more complete team without it taking a long time its what has to be done.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Well, I think we're a virtual lock to make the playoffs anyway. We've managed that every year of the Crosby/Malkin era, and I don't see this year being the exception.

But there are a ton of reasons to worry.

1) Health. Losing Maatta for the year is a bigger blow than many realize...kid adds so much composure and smarts to our blueline. And the rotating cast of other injuries shows no signs of slowing down, so I'm not sure we'll see this team remotely healthy for the rest of the year.

2) The Metro. There was a time when the only team we had to worry about was the Flyers. Now, we don't seem capable of beating the Flyers (don't count them out of the playoff race yet), Isles, or Rangers. The Caps have gotten better, and Columbus gives us fits. Gulp.

3. Fleury. He's been good this year, but mediocre against the same teams we struggled against last year, and his play has fallen off of late. I still have very little faith in him when the games matter.

 

[JQR]

I would think the trading of Crosby or Malkin in the summer is the only thing that can be done to improve this team overall but does Management have the guts to pull the trigger on a deal like that doubtful

Yeah man totally I mean the best possible solution right now would be to trade one of the two best players in the league that makes the most sense I wish I were GM so I could pull the trigger on a move like that then we'd win the cup for sure maybe pick up like a few draft picks or something also I'm really glad punctuation is optional there's nothing worse than being bogged down by things like commas and periods

 

[cassius]

If we make it past the first round, I'll be pretty surprised. We're a great regular season team, but playing on the perimeter and being soff doesn't get you very far in the post-season.

Plus, how can you ever truly feel confident with Fleury in net?

 

[Ugene Magic]

I'm "worried" insofar as believing we are not the class of our division and if our injury luck doesn't improve we could find ourselves fighting for a playoff spot.

Our defense, even when healthy, doesn't seem like an optimal mix of guys for me. Subtract Letang and Maatta from it and it looks really shoddy.

Our forward group, when healthy, possesses a nice cumulative sum of talent, but the second 1 or 2 guys go down our organizational lack of depth at forward becomes evident.

Basically, if we continue to be down an average of 4-5 opening day roster players for the rest of the season, I think we'll struggle mightily.

No need to type, you got it covered, BC.

 

[Asuna]

Please don't get on me cause I mentioned trading Crosby or Malkin but if you want to build a more complete team without it taking a long time its what has to be done.

I get the idea, but I watch Crosby and Malkin play and it just makes the most sense to give them the best tools to succeed. Because when they're on, there's no one any better in the NHL.

 

[FRUSTRATEDPENFAN*]

Having Crosby and Malkin on your team means nothing THEY HAVENT GOTTEN PASSED THE SECOND ROUND IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

Im a Penguins fan despite how it may seem

Im not trying to get a rise out of anyone Crosby and Malkin alone wont be able to get the penguins back to the finals that painfully obvious they need better depth players that can contribute its about some how building a complete team.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

If the team could stay healthy, I'd have far less cause for concern. But that just doesn't seem like an option... ever. So they are likely not contending for squat, this year. Even with a fully healthy lineup... lots of question marks and lots of teams that will be right there in the mix that the Penguins can't seem to figure out.

Also not sold on MJ. At all.

Mostly like (surprisingly) what the new GM has done thus far, though. This was always going to be a multi-year fix, whether we liked it or not. So far he's done about as well as can be expected, IMO.

I hate to sound like I'm writing this year off, or something. But I think next season/this offseason will be much more interesting and telling. This year feels like mostly one of transition.

 

[PensPlz]

Yes.

 

[JQR]

Having Crosby and Malkin on your team means nothing THEY HAVENT GOTTEN PASSED THE SECOND ROUND IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

And getting rid of one of them addresses this how, exactly? I can't believe I'm actually humoring this argument. Think I'll take a sledgehammer to the foundation of my house so my house will be stronger.

 

[K Fleur]

Having Crosby and Malkin on your team means nothing THEY HAVENT GOTTEN PASSED THE SECOND ROUND IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

Conference Finals 2013?

However if you're trying to make a point that Crosby and Malkin need more help come playoff time I agree. Trading one of the two best centers in the league is a backwards move no matter the return.

 

[JQR]

Conference Finals 2013?

However if you're trying to make a point that Crosby and Malkin need more help come playoff time I agree.

His point is that one of them should be traded.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Conference Finals 2013?

However if you're trying to make a point that Crosby and Malkin need more help come playoff time I agree.

If a poster has just made an account and is advocating trading Crosby and Malkin in their first few posts, they aren't trying to make a point, they're trying to get a rise out of people.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Please don't get on me cause I mentioned trading Crosby or Malkin but if you want to build a more complete team without it taking a long time its what has to be done.

Uh, actually no it doesn't.
Sid and Geno's contracts are gonna be STEALS soon. Absolutely fantastic contracts. In fact, they already are now with Toews/Kane's 10M about to kick in next year.

You have alllll of these blue chip D-prospects.
Saying trading Letang would've made alot more sense.
Then you have Martin's, Erhoff's, Scuderi's, Kunitz's, Dupuis's, Spaling's and Adam's money to play with to make a more complete team. Thats 33.425M including Letang and 26.175M without.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

To fix all of the problems this team has, it doesn't take one magical year of erasing 5yrs of coaching blunders and philosophies as well as player personnel movement that should have been made and should not have been made which also includes asset management.

It takes time. People expect Mike Johnston and Rutherford to come in here and make miracles happen. In one off season and half season, the team has 2 wingers that work their tail off and are legit top 6 wingers while only losing 1 very one dimensional (albeit, an amazing scorer in the regular season only) winger.

Insane amount of injuries to key players that no other team seems to endure on a yearly basis, questionable medical staff (some would argue against this being the case, some would), and an eye opener for depth.

The most you want to see is improvement, I've seen some. It will take time, people need to calm themselves with the whole "But they wasted another year of Sid & Geno's prime!"...well they don't have 3yrs left of their career, so people need to relax. I see this team quieting a lot of the people here, next year when JR has had more time to assess the damage he's undone and needs to undo and MJ has had a full year of trying to get his system in place on a team that has had 1 unrealistic system that if played perfectly, was great, but that required no room for mistakes.

I'm not worried at all. Frustrated to see this team go through so many injuries, but that's about it. I know (I hope, I pray) that the team will walk away from some of the garbage in Adams namely and maybe move Scuderi, but that's an off season thing.

Winning the division is nice, but making the playoffs is the goal and when the playoffs start, seeding doesn't always make a huge difference.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Im not trying to get a rise out of anyone Crosby and Malkin alone wont be able to get the penguins back to the finals that painfully obvious they need better depth players that can contribute its about some how building a complete team.

Of course it's about building a complete/deep roster.
That failure falls on Shero's shoulders.

But trading one away just when you are about to enter into a phase where you can spend nicely around them is a really dumb move.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Im not trying to get a rise out of anyone Crosby and Malkin alone wont be able to get the penguins back to the finals that painfully obvious they need better depth players that can contribute its about some how building a complete team.

Then get better depth players and keep the two all-world centers on the team that, aside from injuries that are beyond their control, have never been any sort of problem.

Their contracts do not and never have prevented the team from surrounding them with better players. Bad contracts to the wrong players, a poor team philosophy (and drafting) and misguided management and coaching have.

Chicago wouldn't get rid of Toews or Kane if they felt they weren't Cup contenders. At least I seriously doubt it. And they are going to be more expensive, shortly.