is it happening that Crosby/Malkin penguins are falling from contender status to a mediocre team??

[Talisman]

downfall…?

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[Tacitus Kilgore]

Quite possibly, but I think next year and maybe even a year after that will tell us for sure

 

[bobholly39]

I doubt it.

Crosby/Malkin are better than any of the players Chi/LA had - and so until they decline, that duo alone is enough to make that team into a contender every year.

 

[Beauner]

Crosby just scored 100 points and Guentzel got 40 goals. They got shut down in the playoffs, although Sid made some ridiculous plays that just didn't end up as goals.

They're in a similar spot as 2015, they need a few tweaks and some young guys to come up from WBS and develop nicely. No one can accurately anwer this question until this time next year

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

They could either fall into mediocrity and then into to the cellar, or they could re-tool, inject some youth and come back stronger than ever. Pens were at a similar crossroad in 2014-15.

 

[topshelf15]

Age and going for it for half a decade,does this...Pittsburgh has nothing to be upset about,they have been a champion and contender for so long it was bound to start sometime

 

[Plevna]

No one can say. Crosby and Malkin are older and it's harder to be good shape. If whole team is healthy when postseason games starting they are is still very tough group. But is harder year after year.

 

[Jacob]

They definitely need more young players in the line-up that are on an upward trajectory to counteract their core being on a downward trajectory.

 

[heysmilinstrange]

They have to miss the playoffs for that.

 

[FissionFire]

It’s a cycle all good teams go through. After winning in 2009 the Pens slowly slipped back to mediocre for awhile before reloading and turning into a powerhouse again. They might have some slow seasons but as long as Crosby and Malkin can still be elite they will be back as contenders before long.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Crosby and Malkin are still good enough to build a championship team around, but it would have to resemble more like 2016 when Crosby was merely required to be just another contributor.

The Pens made some nice moves in picking up Kessel, Hagelin, Bonino, etc. and that line carried Crosby when needed. I don't see why something like that couldn't happen again.

Certainly Crosby is still good enough to play at the same 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player (with zero goals and half a primary point per game in the finals) that he did in the 2016 playoffs.

 

[Prediculous]

Crosby doesn't strike me as someone who slacks off or let's father time catch up to him very easily. I see him being elite until his late 30s tbh. I think Malkin will be the first between the two to decline, but he still has a few years too I think.

 

[Juicy Pop]

Well, where is the defense? You can't just go full meme tier blue line and expect to do anything.

 

[The Objective troll]

Crosby and Malkin are still good enough to build a championship team around, but it would have to resemble more like 2016 when Crosby was merely required to be just another contributor.

The Pens made some nice moves in picking up Kessel, Hagelin, Bonino, etc. and that line carried Crosby when needed. I don't see why something like that couldn't happen again.

Certainly Crosby is still good enough to play at the same 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player (with zero goals and half a primary point per game in the finals) that he did in the 2016 playoffs.

But he'd be still better than ovechkin though.... So what's your point lol

 

[tony d]

These 2 are talented enough to still perform well, I do expect the Penguins, as a team, to take a step back as time goes on though.

 

[koyvoo]

Lafreniere incoming

 

[wetcoast]

Crosby and Malkin are still good enough to build a championship team around, but it would have to resemble more like 2016 when Crosby was merely required to be just another contributor.

The Pens made some nice moves in picking up Kessel, Hagelin, Bonino, etc. and that line carried Crosby when needed. I don't see why something like that couldn't happen again.

Certainly Crosby is still good enough to play at the same 65 point / 21 goal pace as a minus player (with zero goals and half a primary point per game in the finals) that he did in the 2016 playoffs.

You never miss a chance do you?

Or maybe you missed how Crosby literally carried the Pens this year to the playoffs?

 

[Midnight Judges]

Or maybe you missed how Crosby literally carried the Pens this year to the playoffs?

Indeed I did miss that. In fact I've never heard of any 1 player carrying any team ever - most likely because it isn't possible.

Anyway, Crosby couldn't possibly have single-handedly carried the Penguins, according to Pens fans anyway:

Letang for Norris?

..............

 

[TheTotalPackage]

It's up to Rutherford at this point. Crosby and Malkin may be on the other side of 30, but there's no reason why they won't be elite for anothe 4 to 6 years. Ovy is similar to them, and look at the Capitals -- they seem to have gotten better as their stars have aged.

It's now a matter of surrounding them (Crosby and Malkin) with the right talent, infused mostly with up-and-comers, as well as solidifying a D core that seems to get decimated by injuries. Murray is young and one of the best keepers in the game, so I can see them contending yet. The other teams in the conference, and around the league, have been doing the same to get up to and/or keep up with and/or surpass the Penguins.

 

[Trade]

I doubt it.

Crosby/Malkin are better than any of the players Chi/LA had - and so until they decline, that duo alone is enough to make that team into a contender every year.

This is what bothers me so much about the LA and CHI comparisons. They will clearly need more and more help as they age, but Sid is still Sid and Geno is still a top 10 center in the league.

 

[Lukin1978]

Hopefully a quick retool is all that's needed at this point. I don't have much faith in Rutherford being the guy to lead it though.

 

[Alex1234]

They could either fall into mediocrity and then into to the cellar, or they could re-tool, inject some youth and come back stronger than ever. Pens were at a similar crossroad in 2014-15.

Sid and Geno and Letang Kessel were 4 years younger

 

[Pens x]

I don’t think their putrid defense is fixable. They have a lot of gee dee money tied up in Gudbranson, Johnson and Maatta. I don’t think you can fix that in one summer.

Add that to the fact that Rutherford has pissed away the last 2 off-seasons with awful signings. You can’t afford to take off 2 summers like this.

 

[JaegerDice]

Crosby and Malkin alone are enough to make them a playoff team, but they aren't enough alone to make them a contender.

In truth, they never have been, cause there was a 7 year gap between 2009 and 2016 where the Penguins failed to provide them with enough support to be much more than playoff team. Some of those years you can toss out as years injuries killed them, but there were several years in there where Crosby and Malkin were going, dragged a team into the playoffs, but weren't enough by themselves to do much there.

That's not a knock against them, that's hockey.

The good thing for the Penguins is, that Crosby and Malkin are so good, that even if they are beginning or in the midst of decline, they're starting from such a high that even at 80% of what they used to be, they're still great players. So that basically buys Pittsburgh more time on their aging curve than teams built around less amazing players have to work with.

Improve the depth again like in 2016 and they're good. The longer you go, the better that depth has to be, because the longer you go, the less and less (however gradual), Crosby and Malkin can carry themselves. The window isn't closed, there's just more urgency.

 

[PensPlz]

One bad playoffs, 2 years removed of winning back to back cups...

EVERYONE POUNCE!