I was pouring my morning cup of java when a question popped into my head. A loaded one at that. Can the Penguins’ win another Cup with our aging core?
As incredible as it seems, our forever-young core ain’t so young any more. Evgeni Malkin’s 32…and perhaps starting to play like it (minus-19). Sidney Crosby…our beloved “Kid”…is 31. While shining as always, this is his 14th NHL season. Phil Kessel and resurgent Kris Letang are 31 as well.
Among the supporting cast, Patric Hornqvist and Jack Johnson are 32. Both are signed to long-term deals. Although no longer a Penguin, Marc-Andre Fleury is 34 (just had to mention that).
My goodness, where has the time gone? It seems only yesterday these guys were all fuzzy-cheeked 20-somethings full of promise and potential. Now they’re well into the back nines of their respective careers. The proverbial clock is most definitely ticking. Along with it, the window for this magnificent group to capture another Cup is shrinking.
Thinking it might make for an interesting post, I decided to find some examples of teams that won Stanley Cups with seasoned cores. I was heartened to an extent.
The most prominent of the graybeard champions were the Toronto Maple Leafs of the 1960s. Fueled largely by veteran talent, the Leafs won four Cups over a six-season span. The ’67 team boasted such ready-for-the-rocking-chair forwards as ex-Pens coach Red Kelly (39) and team captain George Armstrong (36), along with defensive stalwarts Tim Horton (37), Marcel Pronovost (36) and Allan Stanley (40). They were backstopped in goal by the ageless tandem of Johnny Bower (42) and Terry Sawchuk (37).
Each is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the likely destination for at least a few members of the Pens’ Cup-winning squads.
True, it was a different game back then, predicated more on team play and sound positioning than pure speed and skill. But encouraging nonetheless.
Seeking a more modern example, the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings came to mind. Talk about an over-the-hill gang on skates! The team’s top eight point scorers…including Hall-of-Famers Sergei Federov, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman were all 32 years of age and older. Chris Chelios and Igor Larionov…over 40.
Can you say, “Pass the Geritol?”
The 2007-08 Red Wings won the Cup with a club that consisted of no fewer than 14 players aged 30 or older, although it featured a comparatively youthful core.
Still, it points to the fact that aging teams can…and have…won Stanley Cups. The key obviously, is the supporting cast. For example, our back-to-back Cup winners boasted vital players in secondary roles such as Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen and Chris Kunitz, not to mention veteran defensemen Trevor Daley and Ron Hainsey. Relegated to a backup role, Fleury may have been the superest sub of ‘em all.
Following their departures, Pens GM Jim Rutherford has tried, mostly in vain, to acquire quality depth to buttress Sid & Company. Last season he pulled off the deal of the deadline when he imported Derick Brassard from Ottawa to anchor what everyone and their grandmother anticipated would be an uber-productive third line. A trade that backfired mightily in terms of cost (character guys Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves) and lackluster returns from Brassard (11 goals, 22 points and minus-6 in 53 regular-season games with the locals).
More recently, JR landed a potential top-six scorer in Tanner Pearson while shedding one in Daniel Sprong. Although the former has shown occasional flashes so has Sprong, who appears to have more of an offensive upside.
Not that it’s all about scoring, a concept our brass at times seems slow to grasp. All sorts of intangibles factor in…grit, speed, enthusiasm, shot-blocking, attention to detail, leadership. It takes a great deal of skill on the part of a GM…and more than a bit of luck…to assemble the right supporting cast.
Nail it and it’s a thing of beauty…a well-oiled machine that fires on all cylinders. Miss the optimal blend…even a bit…and you wind up breaking out the golf clubs in April or May.
To my eye, the Pens’ current mix is a little off. They need a second-line left wing to slot next to Malkin…or for Pearson to emerge. They desperately need a third-line center who displays chemistry with anybody but especially Kessel. Too, the black and gold could use more speed and jam up front.
Hopefully, the defense sorts itself out when Justin Schultz returns. Goaltending could still be a worry before all is said and done.
Back to my original question. Can the Penguins’ win another Cup with our aging core?
A tall order…but not impossible…provided JR finds the right pieces. A challenge in the salary-cap era.
I’m not super-optimistic about his chances.
Yes
Also Penguins powerplay is weak with Kris Letang. Always will be. They pass to much with better Malkin and Letang. Wash . Rinse. Repeat. They never give another defenseman a chance after first two brutal powerplay. They have options. Määttä/Riikola seems ok to facilitate it .
Crosby barely see the puck. To predictable and never seems to capitalize with him. Malkin needs to not be the puck at times. Shultz is truly needed. I know that probably won’t give Shultz the permanent spot because Letang throws temper tantrums and wants to be’that guy’ on the team.
Rutherford needs to be bold. Trade Brassard, Letang, Johnson. You can add Rust too. Replace him Adam Johnson OR Angello . Throw Simon and Zaemr in a trade deal.
Hello TOR &Rick
I will try to keep it short and sweet. I’m tired of seeing a team that isn’t there to compete and to battle through speed against other teams attacks. I can’t stress it enough I hate so many players on this team.
Penguins are not a aging core. Malkin, Crosby, Kessel seems to be pretty good. Mike Sullivan is one of the Penguins biggest problem on this team. They are a team that lacks a great supporting cast that help them, bad defensive schemes and poor coaching from Mike Sullivan.
Penguins are wasting Crosby’s season..
Penguins are pretty bad. Break didn’t change nothing. They are the same time from two seasons ago. Coaching Staff is the biggest problem. (Except Martin)
Because they have to many replacement level players that do not bring nothing to the table. Defense is pretty abysmal and mediocre. Penguins Signing Jack Johnson is hurting them. Rikkola and Patterson are bottom pairing guys ..
PENGUINS BAD SUPPORTING CAST / Mediocre D breakouts and Transition IS AGING AND WEAK .
It’s to many holes that’s not being replaced to support this core.
All I can say is Tor and I already stated several times about Penguins problems.
Penguins needs to remove the baggage and be different on the ice.
Mike Sullivan can call out all for identity, physicality and others bs stuff on this team. It starts with him and not Rutherford inabilities to strengthen key areas to help this team.
Having Muzzin over Johnson would’ve been great. Someone else. Jamie Oleskiak would’ve been a better Bottom D for this team.
Penguins do have 4 million to do something significant to strengthen this team. We shall see.
Hell yeah they can
By the way…
Oleksiak back to Stars for a 4th round pick. Ugh!
Hey 55,
It amazes me that the Pens couldn’t get more, but that is what they paid for him. Apparently his value didn’t go up. I also would have to assume that defensemen are not going for a premium like they were a few years ago.
I think with Oleksiak gone for a pick & Shultz’s LTIR money that the Pens have somewhere around 7.5 mil free for the upcoming trade deadline.
Hi Phil,
Oleksiak came here, proved he could play valuable minutes — a chance he wasn’t originally given in Dallas — so why wouldn’t they take him back for a 4th rounder? It’s like Dallas sent him here just like they’d have sent him to the AHL to tighten up his game. Then recalled him.
Oleksiak was my guess to be the odd (d-)man out. But, I didn’t want to see an actual physical-type player go away from a team that has trouble playing physically. Sullivan’s been preaching physical play lately, so it’s a bit of a head-scratcher. He wasn’t the worst d-man on the roster. They could have gotten a 4th for Ruhwedel too, (or Johnson, even ;-))
That’s a nice, round number, but doesn’t Schultz’s cap hit go back on the books when he returns? Is it prorated for the time he was on LTIR? He’ll probably return before the deadline, unless they know something we don’t.
Oh, well. Who’s next? (Yes, the urine on the concrete pylon is what I think of this deal, so you can make the connection if you’d like.)
— 55
yeah, i messed up on the pro-ration with Shultz’s number. Depending on when he comes back probably around 5.5 – 6mil in the coffers. Plus next year the cap is expected to go up 4mil.
The thing I like about Rutherford is that he doesn’t give away anything for rental players like Shero did the whole time he was here. When Rutherford makes a trade, he is looking for someone for the long run (even if that’s only a year or two.)
Hey 55,
Always good to hear from you. I’m with you on the Oleksiak trade. First, I didn’t want to see him go. Second, I would like to think Rutherford could’ve squeezed at least a third-round pick out of the Stars.
Water under the bridge at this point.
I continue to be concerned over our lack of physicality, at least in old-school hockey terms. I felt like we got borderline run out of the playoffs last spring by the Capitals, and that was with Oleksiak in the lineup.
I shudder to think what’ll happen if we meet up with them again this spring. Or the Blue Jackets, or the Bruins…
Can you say first-round exit?
Rick
PS–We did win back-to-back Cups without being overly physical. But those teams had plenty of hop and speed and energy, not to mention tons of character guys.
I’m just not seeing that with our current mix…
Hey Rick,
Great stuff as always! Just remember though our beards are grayer.
But to your point, that is why I have beat the drums now for a couple of years to give legitimate shots to our kids and trade off some of the aging talent to teams that think that is the last piece of the puzzle they need, while grabbing draft picks to try and restock an empty cupboard. Unfortunately Sullivan doesn’t listen to me.
As for Malkin, let’s not forget he started off the season like gang busters and was player of the month in October. I don’t think he is ready for the rocking chair. I do think that he has taken his Sullivan colored glasses off and is fed up with the ineptness of just one more Pittsburgh coach that doesn’t know how to handle a locker room.
Maybe the Steelers and the Penguins could hire someone to teach their coaches people skill, more importantly teach their coaches how to effectively manage them. One appears to be to soft the other, just does seem to know how to get along with many of his players.
Maybe, just maybe could this team make a serious run at the Cup.
Honestly, I find it hard to picture a team with Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, and Murray not making the playoffs, but unless Sullivan patches up his differences with Malkin and Kessel particularly and gets over his disdain for Oleksiak this team could find itself on the outside looking in.
To make a serious run at the Cup, the team needs to find 2 top 6 forwards and after Schultz’s comes back 2 – 3 defensemen.
More importantly Sullivan has to get over the kids he coached in WBS and start looking at bringing in new kids. He has to stop demanding that rookies need to walk on water on their first shift like Guentzel did just to get a chance. He has to also get over his Johnstonesque tendency to look to used up marginal veterans to fill roles that belong to kids coming up from the farm team.
Failing that, this team is doomed to a short Spring and therefore trading off Letang at the trade dead line or off season should be priority 1. Letang’s stock will never get better. He could land the team the max return and shed $7 mil in Cap space to go after a real top 6 forward. I would trade him ASAP and not risk a slump or injury.
And I am serious, I would also either invest in some counseling for the coach or look to a new coach.
Hi Rick,
Good question.
It’s possible, but a lot has to go right. I’m not going to repeat the litany except for one: Not without Malkin. Then add in what you will for third lines, wingers, and goaltending. It’s a tall order. It would be that even for a team that manages to find consistency more than a few games at a time.
I still believe they’ll make the playoffs, but a cup? I don’t yet see that. I am, however, scanning the horizon, binoculars in hand.
It’s going to be an interesting trade deadline, with a lot riding on it.
— 55