Did the Penguins Have the Worst Off-Season in the NHL?
It is never too early about the upcoming NHL season. But we have to take a look back on the offseason and at who some of the underwhelming teams were during free agency. A team that comes to mind is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins did not do much this offseason under President and General Manager Kyle Dubas. Pittsburgh is looking to run it back as they continue to build around Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
TSN Overdrive Host Bryan Hayes joined SportsCenter to prepare for the 2024-25 NHL season. Hayes was asked who was the worst team to upgrade during NHL Free Agency and named the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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** NHLRumors.com transcription
Host: “Now, Hayes. We saw a ton of moves on free agent frenzy. But which team failed to get better?”
Bryan Hayes: “I’m going to say the Pittsburgh Penguins, right? They haven’t been good enough the last couple of years. They didn’t make the playoffs. They were old and slow. The one move they made this year, the preeminent move, preeminent move anyway, was acquiring Kevin Hayes. He’s not young; he’s not fast, right? They’re committed.
We haven’t we haven’t seen Sid sign yet. I’m assuming that extension will come at some point, but he still has a year left. Sidney Crosby is still one of the 10 or 12 best players in the league right now. He’s coming back, and it’s not gotten better.
They’re coming back with the same goaltending tandem. Their defense doesn’t have much depth. They brought in Karlsson last year. They signed a bunch of guys last year, and it didn’t work out. And effectively, it feels like to me, they’re just going to let this ride out.
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They’re just hoping Sid can find a way to drag them to the playoffs. Malkin stays healthy and drags them to the playoffs. Erik Karlsson finds another miraculous 100-point season as he had a couple of years ago, and the goal is to stay healthy, and they stand on their head. They didn’t even change the head coach, and I’m not surprised by that.
Mike Sullivan‘s won cups there, and he’s got a lot of power. He’s got a long-term contract, but it feels stale. It didn’t get fresh over the off-season. Sid is still there, and he’s still rocking. I don’t think we’re a playoff team. I’m going to say it’s Pittsburgh.”
