The Penguins once Crosby/Malkin leave

[Harvey Birdman]

What will happen? We will have a mediocre to bad team that will miss the playoffs or bubble into a first round loss maybe once and also hit the draft lottery two or three times. Reload and build a team again. A vast majority of Penguins problems in the past can be chalked up to management and a arena deal. We have a fairly new barn on a long lease and as long an Mario/Burkle are around we won’t have the issues of the past. So ya delete two generational talents from any roster of any sport in the world and you’ll be drastically worse. So yes the Pens will go through a rough handful or more years. But I can not see with this ownership them allowing the team to dwell for more than 5 years without making drastic moves to at least be competitive again.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

You can take literally any one of those players out and they still win at least one Cup, in all likelihood multiple. If you remove Crosby or Malkin they likely don’t win any.

I don’t understand the need for Pens fans to be so defensive when it comes to people saying their team is built on those two. You have multiple Cups and regardless of how you got them you had two of the three best players of their generation be there for it. I don’t get the need to act offended or downplay their importance and ability when the topic comes up.

It’s not hard to get depth. Literally every team has depth, all you need to do is draft and you’ll get players like Rust sometimes. It’s not indicative of drafting ability. To that point, what kind of player and how many points do you think a guy like Guentzel gets playing with a Schenn or Stastny instead of Crosby/Malkin?

I mean, Murray was exactly what they needed in nets after years and years of watching Fleury flame out and not having a suitable replacement for him. To say you could literally take any of them out and they win a Cup ignores what he brought to the table.

And Guentzel lead the entire playoffs in goal scoring in 2017 when they won. So unless you think literally anyone would have scored 13 goals that playoff run, again, I think you're underestimating him.

Again, I even said they're not household names or superstars. But they provided the depth that the Pens lacked from around 2010-15 that constantly caused them to fail those years.

 

[PensandCaps]

We got Guentzel. We good

 

[666]

This is the way that it's supposed to happen. You suck for a while, drafting early. Then you get better as your young guys develop until you are a contender. Then you get old, drop out of the playoffs and restart again. Look at Detroit.

 

[Garbage Goal]

I’m just gonna leave this topic because, for whatever reason, Pens fans always have to get defensive en masse at the idea that their team is built around Crosby and Malkin. I’m not sure how much “oh, but Bryan Rust!” I can take before my eyes roll out of my head.

I’m just gonna say that, throughout their contending years which coincidentally align with Crosby and Malkin hitting their primes, the only constants have been Crosby, Malkin, and Letang (to a lesser extent). Before filling out 3C with guys like Sheary and Brassard it was Staal or Sutter. Before Murray there was Fleury.

Before Letang there was even Gonchar for a bit. Before whatever assortment of wingers playing their top six they had their last assortment (Kunitz, Gibbons, Neal, Jokinen, Dupuis, etc.). Before whatever guys they have filling out after Letang they had their last set (Niskanen, Scuderi, Orpik, Martin, Despres, Engelland, etc.). I guess it’s just also a coincidence that Crosby/Malkin have been the only non interchangeable pieces throughout their careers and Cup window.

 

[GOilers88]

It's a cap era. No team can ever stay at the top indefinitely. This isn't new.

 

[Night Shift]

The Pens have a solid organization and a good staff. Itll take time to rebuild it but it will be done right.

 

[the_fan]

They should start thinking about their future now and tank for Jack Hughes. After all it worked for them before with Mario, Crosby, Malkin.

 

[chethejet]

Pens are 3 to 4 years away from a big decline. But it all depends on what talent and opportunity presents itself to draft. Tank is not in the cards unless a super star talent is there. But Pens will do what good organizations do. Management is having a star offensive talent to lead the franchise and that will be the way they rebuild.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I’m just gonna leave this topic because, for whatever reason, Pens fans always have to get defensive en masse at the idea that their team is built around Crosby and Malkin. I’m not sure how much “oh, but Bryan Rust!” I can take before my eyes roll out of my head.

I’m just gonna say that, throughout their contending years which coincidentally align with Crosby and Malkin hitting their primes, the only constants have been Crosby, Malkin, and Letang (to a lesser extent). Before filling out 3C with guys like Sheary and Brassard it was Staal or Sutter. Before Murray there was Fleury.

Before Letang there was even Gonchar for a bit. Before whatever assortment of wingers playing their top six they had their last assortment (Kunitz, Gibbons, Neal, Jokinen, Dupuis, etc.). Before whatever guys they have filling out after Letang they had their last set (Niskanen, Scuderi, Orpik, Martin, Despres, Engelland, etc.). I guess it’s just also a coincidence that Crosby/Malkin have been the only non interchangeable pieces throughout their careers and Cup window.

I don't understand why you label anyone disagreeing with you as "being defensive". I simply disagree with your viewpoint that guys like Murray and Guentzel's roles could have literally been filled by anyone and they'd get the exact same results.

I'm pretty sure Flyers fans would "get defensive" if someone made a comment about how (potentially) Carter Hart's or Travis Konecny's impact weren't anything special and literally anyone can be plugged into those spots without the Flyers missing a beat.

 

[TDotMassive]

Super Mario will come back out of retirement, lead them to 2 more cups.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

You can take literally any one of those players out and they still win at least one Cup, in all likelihood multiple. If you remove Crosby or Malkin they likely don’t win any.

I don’t understand the need for Pens fans to be so defensive when it comes to people saying their team is built on those two. You have multiple Cups and regardless of how you got them you had two of the three best players of their generation be there for it. I don’t get the need to act offended or downplay their importance and ability when the topic comes up.

It’s not hard to get depth. Literally every team has depth, all you need to do is draft and you’ll get players like Rust sometimes. It’s not indicative of drafting ability. To that point, what kind of player and how many points do you think a guy like Guentzel gets playing with a Schenn or Stastny instead of Crosby/Malkin?

If it was so easy to build a cup winner around them, why was Shero only able to do it once and got himself canned?

Pens actually lacked depth for years and that was their undoing. The Crosby and Malkin era was heading towards a disaster until JR came in and properly built proper depth for this org.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

Note for the people who think that Pittsburgh isn’t a good drafting team: They never got a lottery pick since Malkin’s first stride in the league, no shit they won’t draft top line players if their pick are always 14+.

 

[rfournier103]

The Oilers picked #1 overall 4 times from 2010-2015. Plus 3rd overall in 2014.

Yeah. I know.

I’m trying to be nice. The oilers have had a bad week. I was at the game last night...

 

[Penguin Suited Up]

You can take literally any one of those players out and they still win at least one Cup, in all likelihood multiple. If you remove Crosby or Malkin they likely don’t win any.

I don’t understand the need for Pens fans to be so defensive when it comes to people saying their team is built on those two. You have multiple Cups and regardless of how you got them you had two of the three best players of their generation be there for it. I don’t get the need to act offended or downplay their importance and ability when the topic comes up.

It’s not hard to get depth. Literally every team has depth, all you need to do is draft and you’ll get players like Rust sometimes. It’s not indicative of drafting ability. To that point, what kind of player and how many points do you think a guy like Guentzel gets playing with a Schenn or Stastny instead of Crosby/Malkin?

This is just wrong all over the place. You certainly can’t take away Murray or Guentzel and think the Pens would have they success they have. And having players like Rust and Sheary and Maatta also on cost-controlled contracts is huge for a team that has Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Kessel’s contracts on the books.

Of course you are going to think the Pens haven’t drafted well when you ignore the talent that the Pens have drafted and developed and also fail to realize the amount of picks and prospects they have traded away to become as successful as they are.

Letang, Guentzel, Rust, Simon, Sprong, Maatta, Riikola, Murray, and Jarry - none drafted as a top pick- will all play a role on this team this year. This isn’t counting guys like Dumoulin or Schultz whom the team can take credit for having developed into solid dmen, or players like Sheary or Kapanen who will play significant roles on other teams. So yes, the franchise’s identity rests on Crosby and Malkin, but neither of those guys would have 3 Cups without many of the moves that were made to surround them with quality depth. That’s not taking anything away from two generational talents. It’s just recognizing that in hockey, it takes more than a couple elite players to be the best.

 

[22FUTON9]

If the Pens trade Sid or Geno I’ll be so pissed. And I’m not even a pens fan

 

[Human]

They will color their seats black in the PPG Paints Arena...

Also, Riikola!!!

 

[Empoleon8771]

Uncle Gary will gift the Penguins Crosby 2.0, so they'll be good again.

 

[Reality Check]

Say hello to your Kansas City Penguins!

 

[CanadianPensFan1]

*rubs my crystal balls*

Let's see. What will happen to this team when they retire .. in like 7 years? Hmmm.

Huh. Weird. Cant come up with much. It's almost like its 7 years away. It's not like dozens of other players will come and go between now and then.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You are right that a lot may change in 5 years. But I singled out the Penguins because most teams at least have a collection of kids that, if you project 5 years in the future, they could actually ice a decent line-up even without the 30+ years olds. The Penguins literally cannot.

They also have been bad at the draft table and so it doesn't bode well for the future. And as I also mentionned, they are prone to trading away 1st round picks, which won't help for 2022.

They will also lose a player to Seattle.

You keep saying they're bad at the draft table, when they're literally the only team to have been good enough to make the playoffs every single year since '06-'07, so they're both trading picks for playoff runs and drafting in the bottom half of the 1st round every single year except for the 2011 pick they got from Carolina for Staal.

Maybe that has something to do with the lack of prospects.

There has been 13 drafts since Crosby. Your best players drafted are Matt Murray, Jordan Staal, Jake Guentzel and Jake Muzzin, with Kapanen/Sprong/Hallander as good young guys.

If you can only muster this in the next 13 years after Crosby/Malkin departure, you are in for some long, long years my friend.

When Crosby and Malkin are gone, the Pens won't be trading half of their 1st rounders or drafting late in the 1st, now will they?

Not to mention, in the OP you talk about the Pens trading one or two of their core players in the 2020s. Well if they do that, they're likely getting some good picks and prospects back.

A player or two comes up and helps generational talent like Crosby/Malkin win a cup. That's all fine. But what happens if you don't have Crosby/Malkin anymore. As I've posted, the Pens have barely developped 1 decent player every 2 years since Staal. That's not nearly enough. That is why I posted that I can't see the Pens as anything more than a basement team for YEARS after 2022.

Once Crosby retires, the Pens probably will stink for a few years and add some great young lotto players.

That's what they've always done before and thrived with, and that's what successful teams generally do. Frankly I'd be a lot more worried if they decided to half-ass it and ice a bubble playoff team for years after Sid and Geno are gone.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I’m just gonna leave this topic because, for whatever reason, Pens fans always have to get defensive en masse at the idea that their team is built around Crosby and Malkin. I’m not sure how much “oh, but Bryan Rust!” I can take before my eyes roll out of my head.

I’m just gonna say that, throughout their contending years which coincidentally align with Crosby and Malkin hitting their primes, the only constants have been Crosby, Malkin, and Letang (to a lesser extent). Before filling out 3C with guys like Sheary and Brassard it was Staal or Sutter. Before Murray there was Fleury.

Before Letang there was even Gonchar for a bit. Before whatever assortment of wingers playing their top six they had their last assortment (Kunitz, Gibbons, Neal, Jokinen, Dupuis, etc.). Before whatever guys they have filling out after Letang they had their last set (Niskanen, Scuderi, Orpik, Martin, Despres, Engelland, etc.). I guess it’s just also a coincidence that Crosby/Malkin have been the only non interchangeable pieces throughout their careers and Cup window.

I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Who thinks the Pens aren't built around Crosby and Malkin?

The Pens built around them very well, especially over the last few years, but those 2 have always been the straws that stir the drink and I've never heard anybody suggest otherwise.

 

[Canes]

I mean this thread is basically:

“Once the Pens lose two of the top 3 players of the last 20 years they’re gonna suck.”

No **** Sherlock

They aren't guaranteed to suck even then depending on how they draft and develop players the next 5 years or so.

Obviously, that could be difficult if the Pens go for it every year by trading top picks and prospects but it's not a mutually exclusive thing.

 

[metalan2]

A player or two comes up and helps generational talent like Crosby/Malkin win a cup. That's all fine. But what happens if you don't have Crosby/Malkin anymore. As I've posted, the Pens have barely developped 1 decent player every 2 years since Staal. That's not nearly enouyne gh. That is why I posted that I can't see the Pens as anything more than a basement team for YEARS after 2022.

Maybe, maybe not. This is a'' just wishful thinking and Crosby and Malkin will, still be around then. Until at least five more years, you can stop concerning yourself with the Pens being bad.

 

[puckIuck]

in a few years theyll be 2005-06 bad and the bandwagon will disappear and join the latest "it" team. Some dark days lie ahead for that organization because their post crosby/malkin draft record is abysmal.