Categories: PenguinPoop

Are the Penguins a Playoff Team?

Now that the initial wave of trades and free-agent signings has passed, a question’s been banging around in my noggin for the past couple of days.

As presently constructed, are the Penguins playoff bound?

Yeah, I know it’s early. And president of hockey ops Kyle Dubas may still have a trick or two (Erik Karlsson) up his sleeve. But what the heck.

Back to my question. A tricky one with no easy answers. On the plus side of the ledger, Dubas imported a spate of new players to man the bottom six and provide organizational depth. He significantly improved our ‘d’ as well by signing Ryan Graves. Changes that should bring new energy and vigor to what was a decidedly stale mix last season.

Still, questions remain. Will Tristan Jarry stay healthy and emerge as a true No. 1 goalie? Will the recast bottom six be able to score? What role, if any, will dual albatrosses Mikael Granlund and Jeff Carter fill? Perhaps the most chilling…who steps up if there are injuries to our top six, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in particular?

Then there’s the not-so-small matter of our competition. Some foes improved, some regressed while others are treading water. Here’s a glance at the significant moves of our Eastern Conference brethren.

THE METRO

Carolina

Adds: Bunting (lw), Lemieux (lw), Orlov (ld) Subtracts: de Haan (ld), Pacioretty (lw) Re-ups: Andersen (g), Raanta (g), Coghlan (rd) Unsigned: Puljujarvi (rw), Stastny (c), Stepan (c)

Skinny: Bunting and Orlov are solid additions. ‘Canes should once again battle for Metro crown.

New Jersey

Adds: Toffoli (rw), C. Miller (rd), Kallgren (g) Subtracts: Blackwood (g), Graves (ld), Sharangovich (c), Wood (lw) Re-ups: Bastian (rw), McLeod (c) Unsigned: Bahl (ld), Tatar (lw)

Skinny: Toffoli makes a dangerous young team more deadly. Will push and perhaps surpass ‘Canes in battle for Metro supremacy.

New York Rangers

Adds: Belzile (c), Bonino (c), E. Gustafsson (ld), Nash (c), T. Pitlick (c), Quick (g), Wheeler (rw) Subtracts: Carpenter (c), Mikkola (ld) Re-ups: K. Miller (ld) Unsigned: Halak (g), P. Kane (rw), Lafrenière (lw), Tarasenko (rw)

Skinny: Turning into a Penguin-esque home for the aged, but still playoff bound.

New York Islanders

Adds: Gauthier (rw) Subtracts: Bailey (c) Re-ups: Engvall (c), Mayfield (rd), Varlamov (g) Unsigned: Parise (lw), Wahlstrom (rw)

Skinny: Heavy Isles struggling to tread water. On the bubble.

Washington

Adds: Edmundson (ld), Pacioretty (lw) Subtracts: C. Brown (rw), Irwin (ld), Sheary (lw), C. Smith (c) Re-ups: Fehérváry (ld) Unsigned: Hagelin (lw)

Skinny: Caps banking on kids and healthy seasons from Pacioretty and Nicklas Backstrom. Lotsa luck. Bubble team.

Columbus

Adds: Provorov (ld), Severson (rd) Subtracts: Bayreuther (ld), Pederson (c) Unsigned: Berni (ld), Hutchinson (g)

Skinny: Blue Jackets bolstered ‘d’ with pre-draft deals. Third overall pick Adam Fantilli was a huge get. A step away from playoff contention.

Philadelphia

Adds: Hathaway (rw), Petersen (g), Poehling (c), M. Staal (ld), Walker (rd) Subtracts: Hayes (rw), Lemieux (lw), J. van Riemsdyk (lw) Re-ups: N. Cates (lw), York (ld) Unsigned: Bellows (lw), Braun (rd), Frost (c)

Skinny: Philly added depth pieces and cut loose some vets. Heading in the right direction but still a long way to go.

THE ATLANTIC

Boston

Adds: J. Boqvist (c), P. Brown (c), M. Geekie (c), Lucic (lw), Mitchell (rd), Regula (rd), Richard (c), Shattenkirk (rd), J. van Riemsdyk (lw) Subtracts: Bertuzzi (lw), Clifton (rd), N. Foligno (lw), Hall (lw), Hathaway (rw), Orlov (ld), Reilly (ld) Re-ups: Lauko (c) Unsigned: Bergeron (c), Frederic (c), Krejci (c), Nosek (c), Swayman (g)

Skinny: Holy turnover, Batman! Recent additions make the B’s older and slower. Season (and playoff berth) could hinge on Bergeron and Krejci returning.

Toronto

Adds: Bertuzzi (lw), Domi (c), Gambrell (c), Klingberg (rd), Reaves (rw) Subtracts: Acciari (c), Bunting (lw), E. Gustafsson (ld), Holl (rd), Kallgren (g), Kerfoot (c), O’Reilly (c), L. Schenn (rd) Unsigned: Aston-Reese (rw), Simmonds (rw)

Skinny: Like the Bruins, the Leafs experienced significant turnover. Thanks to their talented core and high-profile adds, pencil them into the postseason picture.

Tampa Bay

Adds: Archibald (rw), de Haan (ld), Glendening (c), Sheary (lw) Subtracts: Bellemare (c), Cole (ld), Colton (c), Killorn (c), Maroon (lw), Perry (rw) Unsigned: Elliott (g), Jeannot (lw)

Skinny: Turnover seems to be the theme for the division. Lightning bled off grit, leadership and strength down the middle. Like the Bruins, could be significantly diminished.

Florida

Adds: Asplund (lw), Ekman-Larsson (ld), Kulikov (ld), Lorentz (lw), Mikkola (ld), Reilly (ld), Rodrigues (c), Stolarz (g) Subtracts: Duclair (lw), Gudas (rd), Hornqvist (rw), Lyon (g), G. Smith (rw), M. Staal (ld) Re-ups: Denisenko (lw) Unsigned: E. Staal (c), White (c)

Skinny: Again, turnover city, albeit mostly around the edges. The Cats should be in the thick of the playoff prowl.

Buffalo

Adds: Clifton (rd), E. Johnson (rd), Tokarski (g) Subtracts: Hinostroza (c) Re-ups: Jost (c), Clague (ld) Unsigned: Anderson (g)

Skinny: Despite potential Achilles heel in goal, the Sabres are young and uber-talented. Guaranteed to snap 12-season playoff drought.

Detroit

Adds: Compher (lw), DeBrincat (rw), Fischer (rw), Gostisbehere (ld), Holl (rd), Kostin (lw), Lyon (g), Reimer (g) Subtracts: Hagg (ld), Hellberg (g), Kubalik (lw), Nedeljkovic (g), Oesterle (ld), Zadina (rw) Re-ups: Lindstrom (rd), Luff (rw) Unsigned: Chiasson (rw), Erne (lw), Suter (c), Veleno (c)

Skinny: Addressed a lot of needs. In year five of the Yzerplan, the Wings may finally break through and land a playoff berth.

Ottawa

Adds: Korpisalo (g), Kubalik (lw), MacEwen (rw) Subtracts: P. Brown (c), DeBrincat (rw), Gambrell (c), Gauthier (rw), Talbot (g) Re-ups: Brannstrom (ld), Hamonic (rd) Unsigned: Brassard (c), Holden (ld), Watson (lw)

Skinny: Boasting a talented young core and a new goalie, the Sens should be in the hunt. Depth issues may hold them back.

Montreal

Adds: Newhook (c) Subtracts: Belzile (c), Drouin (c), Richard (c) Re-ups: Harvey-Pinard (lw) Unsigned: Dadonov (rw), Tierney (c), Ylonen (rw)

Skinny: Another season in the cellar for les Habs. But a bright future lies just around the bend.

THE VERDICT

According to my very subjective opinion, three teams from the Metro (Carolina, New Jersey and the Rangers) are a lock to make the postseason. Ditto Toronto and Buffalo from the Atlantic. Maybe Florida, too.

Although improving, I think Columbus, Philadelphia, Ottawa and Montreal fall into the also-ran category.

That leaves no fewer than six teams to slug it out for the two wild card spots, including three recent Stanley Cup champions and last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winner.

If, and it’s a sizeable IF, the Pens can stay reasonably healthy, I think we’ll finish fourth in the Metro ahead of the Islanders and Caps.

It’s the competition from the Atlantic that has me concerned. Although both teams appear to be significantly diminished at this stage, former heavyweights Boston and Tampa Bay should still be in the wild-card chase. And this could very well be the year the Red Wings emerge from the pig pile to snag a wild-card berth or even a slot in the top three Atlantic finishers.

So what are our chances? I think we were extremely lucky to get a virtually injury-free season from our top six last year. I wouldn’t bank on that happening this time around. The lack of a third-line center who can step up and provide offense in the wake of injuries (Dubas’ one major oversight) may ultimately prove to be our undoing.

As much as I hate to write it, when all is said and done and the final regular-season puck is dropped, I think the Pens will once again be on the outside looking in.

Rick Buker