Pittsburgh Penguins: Top Five Offseason Mistakes to Avoid This Summer

Apr 24, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers center

(28) and right wing

(19) celebrate the game winning goal scored by left wing

(62) (not pictured) on Pittsburgh Penguins goalie

(29) during overtime in game five of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers defeated the Penguins 2 – 1 in overtime to advance to the next round. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

It happens year after year, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are just as guilty as any other team in the NHL. There are common mistakes that teams make every summer based off of small sample sizes, big names, or simply incorrect analysis of team needs.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a unique situation this summer. They’re a team haunted by bad veteran contracts, but yet they’ll have cap room to retool with very good players due to Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff coming off the books, as well as multiple $1 million contracts signed this past season.

They’re also in a position to reap the rewards of drafting so many defensemen over the past five years, as they’ll have a very good, very young, and very cheap blue line. General Manager Jim Rutherford will have to deal with Rob Scuderi and either find someone willing to take on his contract in a trade or buy him out. But, otherwise, this defensive corps is in pretty great shape.

The scary thing about this summer is the void of talent within the upcoming free agent class. Two of the top five free agents will be the aforementioned Martin and Ehrhoff, with little offensive talent to choose from. For a team looking to get younger and faster on offense this is obviously a huge obstacle.

So, what mistakes do the Pittsburgh Penguins need to avoid?