End of an Era?

“This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend
The end of our elaborate plans
The end of ev’rything that stands”
The end
(Jim Morrison)

I hope I am wrong. I hope I am just being a reactionary here. However, I can’t block out the haunting strains of Robbie Krieger’s Guitar and Ray Manzarek’s Keyboard leading into Morrison’s voice intoning that dirge.

Our favorite flightless fowl are now 1 game away from being unceremoniously dumped not from the playoffs, but from QUALIFYING for the playoffs. What is worse is that the team that is on the verge of sending our Penguins winging home really was all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs before the regular season was halted. Losing to the Montreal Canadiens this August will effectively be at least as bad if not worse than being swept by the New York Islanders last season.

If you are like me, worrying that the fat lady is warming up her pipes to ring down the curtain on this era of Penguins hockey, you really can’t be blamed. Struggling against a team, let alone getting beat by a team that finished the regular season 24th in the league and barely playing 500 hockey (whether or not the faithful want to admit it or not) surely is evidence that there are copious holes in this roster and coaching staff. Yes, this team still has 2 Centers that could be Number 1 on most teams in the league in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but they are no longer the Crosby and Malkin of old. Yes, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust are top 6 Wingers and maybe even Patric Hornqvist still has some mojo, but this may be where the story ends. The players filling in elsewhere are failing. Maybe the Crosby and Malkin of yore could pick them up and make them look better, but Crosby and Malkin are themselves in need of a little assistance but none is coming.

On Defense, only the Rookie, John Marino, and Brian Dumoulin really look like they are legitimate all-around NHL defensemen. (Marcus Pettersson is too young to give up on but he isn’t getting the job done and Juuso Riikola isn’t getting ice time).

People may argue when the dissolution of this team began, but it has been building for some time now. I say it began during the final Cup run when GM Jim Rutherford appeared to be simply sitting back and watching the Cup run and not lining the team up for the next season, botching free agent signings/resigning that year, bad off-season trades (paying Vegas to take Marc-Andres Fleury rather than daring them to pluck someone else?) with the worst deal trading Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves at the trade deadline for Derick Brassard. (I was on record at that time praying Rutherford to make no trade at all, but if he must to get Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

I guess it really doesn’t matter when the team started down this path. The only thing that matters is that they are now just 1 loss away from total embarrassment again.

If this truly is the end of the Crosby – Malkin era as Penguins superstars there is a 12.5% chance of hope; well, actually less. There may be a 12.5% chance that, should Montreal bounce our seafaring sphenisciformes, they get the number 1 overall pick and get Alexis Lafrenière, there is no guarantee he will not turn into another Jack Hughes rather than another Sidney Crosby.

Personally, I would still rather be wrong. I would rather see this team stand up and make one final run and our friend Phil get the chance to make me eat crow. Unfortunately, Morrison’s voice keeps nudging its way into my mind.

“The end of laughter and soft lies”