Postmortem: Pittsburgh Penguins

Via: si.com

We gather again today to mourn the loss of the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins, their playoff lives cut too short by Boston in the Eastern Conference Final. Let's take a look at what went wrong, and what's going to happen in the Steel City.

The Penguins made few moves in the offseason, after losing to the Flyers in the 2012 playoffs, though the ones they did make were pretty large. Gone was long time Penguin and two way center Jordan Staal, and defenseman Zybnek Michalek, in came center Brandon Sutter, defenseman Mark Eaton and goalie Tomas Vokoun. Losing Staal hurt the core of the team, but his contract demands were simply too high. Vokoun was brought in primarily as an insurance in case starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury faltered again in the playoffs. As it turned out, it was a wise move.


The Pens started the season slowly, alternating wins and loses for the first month of the season. But once Februrary hit, the Penguins started to heat up, losing only 9 games the rest of the way and including a perfect March (15-0) as well as another 7 game win streak in April. At the end of the regular season the Penguins finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1992-93 and led the league in goals scored.

Individually, many Penguins had outstanding seasons. Captain Sidney Crosby finished third in league scoring with 56 points in only 36 games. For his efforts he was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, as well as the Ted Lindsay Award and the Masterton Trophy. Defenseman Kris Letang also had an outstanding year, finishing tied for first in defenseman scoring with 38 points in 35 games, and receiving a Norris Trophy nomination as a result. Rounding out the nominees was general manager Ray Shero, whose smart moves would lead to a nomination as GM of the year.

At the trade deadline they made some huge additions, bringing in veteran sniper Jarome Iginla from Calgary, former Dallas captain Brendan Morrow, and bruising defenseman Douglas Murray from the Sharks. All three would make an immediate impact and cement the Penguins as favorite in this year's post-season.

So, it goes without saying, the Penguins were feeling pretty confident by the time the playoffs rolled around. Most people felt they would easily make the Stanley Cup final, and through two rounds things certainly seemed to be heading in that direction. They eliminated the 8th seeded New York Islanders in 6 games, scoring 25 goals in the process.

There was an anxious moment during that series, where it looked like Marc-Andre Fleury was once again starting to fall apart after allowing 11 goals in game two, three and part of game four. Luckily they had Vokoun on the bench, and he was excellent the rest of the way for Pittsburgh.

 In the second round they got past Ottawa in 5 games, adding another 22 goals to their total. The offense was absolutely humming and they again were leading the entire league in goals scored. Then came the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final, and everything just fell apart.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. I suppose the easiest answer is to say: everything. The offensive depth was gone. Crosby, Letang, Iginla and Evgeni Malkin disappeared; all were pointless during the four game sweep at the hands of the Bruins. The defense was sloppy, the faceoffs were horrible, they couldn't get anything done on special teams, and they were out muscled all over the ice. Really, it was quite stunning to watch a team so full of talent, depth and confidence simply fall apart in game one and never recover. When Malkin is fighting and Crosby is trying to push around massive Zdeno Chara, you know it's a team that is unfocused and frustrated.

 Despite a solid effort from Vokoun (who seemed to be the only Penguin that actually showed up), nothing went right against Boston and now the Penguins face an offseason of questions and potentially big changes.

First and foremost they're going to have to consider their free agents and how to fit them under the salary cap. They've got about nine million to spend, with many key players such as rentals Iginla, Morrow and Murray, as well as core players such as Tyler Kennedy, Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis and Mark Eaton all needing new contracts. Not to mention the back-up goaltender position, where Vokoun or someone else will need to come in behind Fleury.

But wait a minute, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Do they even want to keep Fleury? He's only 28 years old and making 5 million against the cap for two more years, but when your starting goaltender can barely get into the crease in the playoffs, what's the point? Isn't he the one supposed to lead the Pens, not ride the pine?

Then there's the problem of Evgeni Malkin. I mentioned this in a post earlier this week, but the situation bears looking at again. There is no doubt in my, or anyone's, mind that Malkin is a world class talent. But this embarrassing sweep is further proof that the central core of the Penguins needs to change. Malkin's contract runs out next summer, and I just don't see how they can get the depth they need if Malkin and Crosby are making a combined 18+ million. If the team truly wants to change, Malkin is the key piece to do it, as he could easily demand an all-star defenseman in return, such as a Shea Weber or Keith Yandle.

Whatever the case, status quo or minor tinkering or major organizational shift, Ray Shero has his work cut out for him. It's so hard to tell exactly what is needed...this core won it all in 2009, yet looks like they can't get it done anymore. Whichever way they go, Shero is going to have to prove that GM of the year nomination wasn't a fluke if the Pens want to stay at the top of the East next year.