I am not sure Dubas was all in this year with a tight cap, Pretty sure missing the playoffs two years in a row will change the Sullivan narrative in bean town. Dubas has room here and will be far better off making the changes and adds to the mix. As Pens get behind the 5 ball, Jake has to be moved for value. Malkin will be here contractually until the end of next year. Same with Rust. FSG thought the Pens could be good with the core for 3 years and were wrong. Age just goes faster and faster. Letang is not killing them and Sid is still a top player. Start the process of adding younger guys with size and compete and a coach who will get the Pens playing with more purpose.
I think Dubas did his best with the limited cap he had. The Petry/Granlund/Rutta swap to EK was still a good move in my opinion because they wouldn't be doing any better with them than with EK. That said, I think that was a move that still suggests they were "in". The tough part is, he wasn't handed the best of cap situations. We've never had major cap worries - at least not like other teams but this offseason was one where we felt it a bit due to the errors of Hextall and the AGM. I do applaud Dubas for helping rectify it as best he could.
The problem isn't Sid, Geno, or Letang. I think we can look at them and suggest they have performed as well as they always have. Yeah, Letang has a brain fart every now and then. Yeah, Geno goes through a slump but these are things we've dealt with whether or not we're having a winning or losing season. The primary factors leading to our losing season typically come down to two things:
1. Goaltending on any given night. Jarry and Neds have both won us games and 100% lost us games. With plenty of games being in the middle where they didn't win or lose for us. The only thing consistent about them is their inconsistency. It fluctuates game to game on whether or not they are a problem and that's a problem.
2. They don't give the 60 minute effort. We've seen that when they play the full 60 min, they can beat damn near anyone. They throttled Seattle and make them their bitch and then turn around a drop a massive turd and lose a game in a single period against Vegas. They are not good enough to let up off the gas for any amount of time. While this is mostly on the players, I think the underlying issue is 100% coaching. There is a staleness about this team that is so similar to 2014 Bylsma and 2015 Johnston.
But you're right in that they need to "start the process" and what I think that looks like is adding the young kids like Pickering and Yager which comes with NEVER giving up for 1st and 2nd unless its a young impact player coming back and you make your roster changes through FA and trades. Need a new top 6 wing? Trade Smith or sign one in FA. Gone are the days of sending out the 1st for Bertuzzi.
This all comes with an adjustment in expectations as well. We aren't a "cup or bust" team anymore. We need to shift to a "verge of playoffs" and then just hope we can make some noise in the playoffs to give Sid/Geno a good send off. I'm less worried about Letang and Karlsson because quite honestly, I don't think they finish their careers here. Not sure what EK does but I think Letang ends up in Montreal the last year or two of his deal. Like a TDL deal with one extra year on his contract. And I'm willing to get that comes regardless of Sid or Geno being on the team. I think Sid extends out and plays to 40. My hope is that by then, his expectations have shifted or we've been able to add to the roster to compete. Maybe like what Boston did. Try to get Sid his 4th Cup as a 40yo where he's a high-end complementary piece and the rest of the roster is carrying the play ala Pasta in Boston.
