Is Developing Young Talent a Priority for the Penguins?

Seems like a trick question, doesn’t it? Before you can develop young talent, you need to have young talent to develop.

Kind of like the chicken or egg paradox that has baffled scholars for ages.

The reason I bring it up? Despite coach Mike Sullivan’s tendency to mete out ice time to kids with an eye-dropper, three relatively young players have gained a foothold this season. Indeed, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph and forwards Drew O’Connor and Ryan Poehling are emerging as legit NHL talents, although it appears POJ will cede his spot to recently acquired veteran Dmitry Kulikov.

Such is the way of things for our prospects these days.

Once upon a time (back when Sidney Crosby went by “the Kid”) the Penguins were built on a youthful foundation, the result of several down years, some astute drafting and plain ol’ good fortune. The 2006-07 team that started our present 16-year postseason run boasted 19 players age 28 or under. Thirteen aged 25 or under, including teenagers Jordan Staal (18), Crosby and Kris Letang (19), and early 20-somethings Evgeni Malkin (20), and Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot (22).

Lord, how promising we were back then. Promise largely fulfilled with four trips to the Final and three Stanley Cups. Not to mention our present postseason streak.

Contrast that with the current batch of black-and-golders. No fewer than 15 of the 32 players who’ve dressed this season are on the north side of 30. Five are age 35 and older, including our core of Sid, Geno and Tanger and fellow AARPers Jeff Carter and Jeff Petry.

The oldest bunch in the league, and not just by a little. The years of shedding draft picks in search of finding that last piece or two of the Stanley Cup puzzle have caught up to us.

The last time the Pens were truly kid friendly? The dawn of the Sullivan era. Shortly after Sully was hired to replace Mike Johnston he promoted a passel of hopefuls from the Baby Pens. Remember?

Call-ups Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Tom Kuhnhackl provided speed, grit and enthusiasm while filling key supporting roles. Rookie Brian Dumoulin and 21-year-old Olli Maatta were regulars on defense. Sullivan boldly rode rookie netminder Matt Murray all the way to a Cup. Two in fact.

Scott Wilson, Derrick Pouliot, Oskar Sundqvist and a young Josh Archibald also saw considerable ice time, followed in short order by the crème of the Sully crop, Jake Guentzel.

Then…pfft. The pipeline from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton slowed to a trickle. Zach Aston-Reese, Sam Lafferty, Dominik Simon and the recently departed Teddy Blueger all carved out spots for a time. But none had a lasting impact.

What changed?

Why did Sully morph from kid-friendly to kid averse, seemingly overnight?

Following the back-to-back Cups, we went through an organizational shift in philosophy. Trying to maximize our window to win another Cup became paramount, with all other considerations secondary. Including, drafting and player development.

Understandable in a way. When you have a chance to grab for the brass ring, you go for it.

Former GM Jim Rutherford certainly wasn’t shy in that regard. Indeed, during his six-plus seasons at the helm, JR dealt six first-round picks. In two drafts (2015 & ’18) we only had four selections. Small wonder our prospect pool has dried up.

When Ron Hextall assumed the managerial reins, he was given a two-pronged mandate. Maximize our Cup opportunities with our venerable core, while at the same time restocking a prospect cupboard that was practically bare. Tricky business, to say the least.

I pointed out in a previous article that trying to serve two masters generally doesn’t work. At least it hasn’t in this case. We’ve continued to peddle high draft picks under Hextall, although he has refrained from dealing our first-round picks.

As for keeping us on a short list of Cup contenders? It seems we’ll be fortunate just to make the playoffs as a wild card, let alone win a series against the likes of Eastern powers Boston, Carolina or New Jersey.

The days of wine and roses are certainly nearing an end.

As for the kids? Are there any promotable prospects down on the farm?

Truth be told, the pickins are pretty slim.

Left wing Alex Nylander has 25 goals and 50 points in 54 games, but has issues away from the puck. Pictured above, right wing Valtteri Puustinen’s tallied 20 goals for the second straight season (21 and counting). However, we seem reluctant to call him up.

Filip Hallander and Jonathan Gruden may have bottom-six potential. Defenseman Ty Smith showed well in a nine-game cameo. Goalie Taylor Gauthier (7-2-3, .914 save percentage) has displayed some promise.

Even if any or all of these kids were ready, their paths are blocked by a veteran-laden lineup and a coach who seems reluctant to play them. Which doubles back to my point about serving two masters.

Instead of striving to make the playoffs each year, perhaps it would’ve been wiser at some point to pull back and do a Rangers-style retool on the fly in order to replenish our prospect coffers. But at this stage, it’s water well under the bridge and downstream.

The die has long been cast.

Granlund Grumble

Six days down the road, I’m still not on board with the Mikael Granlund acquisition. The Pens needed size, speed, jam and finishing ability, in no particular order. They got none of the above.

Maybe (hopefully) Granlund will produce and make me eat my words. But to my eye, tying up $5 million a year for the next two seasons on a smallish, playmaking forward whose speed is on the wane and whose defensive deficiencies are well documented seems like a colossal mistake.