Penguins Playoff Update: A Word from Captain Obvious

Question.

What do Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Vladimir Tarasenko, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and David Pastrnak have in common?

In addition to being supremely gifted hockey players, all are presently watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs from their respective living rooms. Or they’re out on the links trying to lower their handicap. Depending on which way the puck bounces in tonight’s Game 6 between the Golden Knights and Oilers, they could be joined in short order by supernovas Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and fellow 100-point man Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

That’s an incredible amount of talent to be packing up their gear during what’s supposed to be the NHL’s showcase season.

Okay, so here comes my Cap’n Obvious statement. Wait for it…

…the NHL regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs are different animals. Entirely.

(Pretty insightful, huh?)

With precious few exceptions, pretty doesn’t rule in the playoffs. Never has. Part of the reason why only eight of 37 Presidents’ Trophy winners have gone on to win the Cup.

Sure, every once in a while you’ll see a goal scored off the rush. But for the most part the postseason is all about Ugly Betty hockey. Dump the puck in. Skate like hell to retrieve it. Crash and bang. Drive to the net. Get your stick (and nose) into the shooting lanes. The better to score on deflections, rebounds and second-chance opportunities. Knock over the opposing goalie if you have to.

Anything to get ‘er done.

The second-year Seattle Kraken embrace the playoff style with gusto. That’s why they’ve pushed the more talented Dallas Stars to a winner-take-all Game 7. During their thoroughly impressive 6-3 Game 6 triumph over the Stars last night, they tallied one goal off the rush and another into an empty net. The other four came on plays from around the blue paint.

It’s been duly noted the Kraken, composed almost exclusively of castoffs from other clubs (including five former Pens) have “four second lines.” During the regular season they boasted 13 players who tallied 30 points or better. By comparison, our Pens had eight…six of them among our top-six forwards.

In other words, while the Kraken are deep and balanced, we were as top-heavy as top-heavy gets. A mix that absolutely doesn’t fly come the postseason.

Another poster-child for playoff-style hockey? The Hurricanes and forward Jordan Martinook in particular. Known more for his grit, hustle and attention to detail than his hands, the 30-year-old winger…who notched a modest 34 points during the regular season…is second on the ‘Canes in scoring with 10 postseason points.

To digress, both the Kraken and ‘Canes were built to a large degree in Ron Francis’ image. The former ‘Canes and current Kraken GM willed himself into a Hall-of-Fame career through the sheer dint of hard work and exemplary character. A quality his teams possess in abundance.

Don’t get me wrong. Most teams that win the Cup have a star or two (or three), like last season’s Avs and the Lightning before them. Not to mention our back-to-back Cup winners.

Enter Cap’n Obvious again…

As presently composed, our Pens are decidedly not built for the rigors of postseason play. If anything, we’re the anti-playoff team. Talented but aging core. Virtually no supporting cast. Lots of passengers. Little real toughness. And a coach who’s loathe to alter his approach.

We’re built to entertain, not win Cups.

I’ve written this before, but I don’t envy our next GM.

Let’s Make a Deal

Last week I wrote an article pretty much affixing blame for the Pens’ collapse on recently deposed general manager Ron Hextall. And it’s true Hextall’s decisions had a great deal to do with steering us into choppy waters, culminating in the Mikael Granlund trade-deadline fiasco. The last act of a desperate GM.

However, were there developments going on behind the scenes that contributed to our present dilemma…including Hextall’s hiring in the first place?

Before I begin, I need to state this is all me surmising (and writing) out loud. At the risk of entering into the realm of tabloid journalism, I have no hard evidence to back up what I’m about to write.

A couple of weeks ago I read what I thought were some very astute observations by a commenter on another Penguins site. I’m basically paraphrasing what he wrote.

At the time of Jim Rutherford’s shocking resignation back in January 2021, it was heavily rumored that the fallout was over an attempt by GMJR to trade one of our “Big Three”…most often thought to be Kris Letang. And that principal owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, working behind the scenes to sell the team and not wanting to part with any valued assets that might affect the sale price, nixed the trade.

There certainly may have been some sentiment involved as well. Mario had gone on record as saying he wanted Crosby, Malkin and Letang to finish their careers as Penguins. Perhaps partly in response to a hurtful parting of ways with all-time black-and-gold great Jaromir Jagr back in 2001.

The commenter then opined that Lemieux and Burkle were seeking a replacement for Rutherford who wouldn’t rock the boat during negotiations. Enter Hextall, known more for his methodical, patient, build-through-the-draft approach, following what I thought at the time seemed like a whirlwind courtship.

Again, I don’t know if any this is true. But when you start to connect the dots?

Hextall and Brian Burke were hired on February 9, 2021.

The team was sold to Fenway Sports Group on December 9, 2021.

Long-time CEO David Morehouse resigned on April 27, 2022.

To digress, Mario and Burkle owe the city of Pittsburgh, the Penguins and us fans in particular absolutely nothing that they haven’t already given…in spades. My goodness, Mario almost singlehandedly saved the franchise on at least three separate occasions. If it wasn’t for his tireless efforts and regal presence, we’d have won our last three Stanley Cups in Kansas City.

Still, given his personality and modus operandi, it seems Hextall was placed in a position to fail. An unfortunate outcome for all involved.