Through 14 games of action, the Pittsburgh Penguins are on a troubled path to a losing season. After 14 games, they have only captured 12 points, which is a complete opposite situation compared to where they sat in the standings last year around this time. Things are starting to unravel in a hurry, and that could point to the team making trades in the coming weeks if things don't change.
Perhaps general manager Kyle Dubas wanted this situation to occur.
He flooded the team with forwards and an unbalanced defensive unit to hopefully provide a spark. Now the organization is struggling to bring their young pieces to the NHL level as those logjammed forwards in front of them fail to find playing time themselves. It's been a disastrous start to a season it doesn't seem to have any signs of hope ahead.
Pittsburgh Penguins have far more losers than winners after a difficult start to the season
Winner: Arturs Silovs
He hasn't been elite this season, but Arturs Silovs has kept the Penguins in the fight for many of their games.
With Sergei Murashov getting a lot of hype before the schedule started, many assumed Silovs would lose his starting spot in net rather fast. Instead, the veteran is gaining more traction to hold onto the top job, and he might be in Pittsburgh for the long haul this season if everything continues the way they are.
Winner Kaden Korczak
He doesn't play a flashy game at all, but Kaden Korczak is flying under the radar to start the campaign. He has done a nice job since being traded over from Vegas this past offseason and has turned into one of the Penguins most reliable defenders. No one should expect him to supply much offense, but as a defensive defenseman, Korczak will hopefully become someone who can log big-time minutes.
Winner: Evgeni Malkin
Although the aging star is a little banged up now, Evgeni Malkin has been bypassing all expectations thus far. You have to imagine Father Time will eventually catch up to him, but he's been one of the steadiest offensive point getters for Pittsburgh thus far. Through 13 games of action this season, Malkin has produced six goals and five assists, tallying up to an impressive 11 points.
Loser: Egor Chinakhov
It might be time to put Egor Chinakhov's face on the back of a milk carton as he's seemingly gone missing this season.
He has been the most disappointing member of the Penguins this year. They were relying on his to carry over his breakout success from last year, but that's failed to happen thus far. Chinakhov finding his game is the only shot Pittsburgh has at having playoff aspirations this time around.
Loser: Rickard Rakell
Speaking of wingers who have gone missing, Rickard Rakell has been a puzzling problem for the Penguins. Thus far during his time in Pittsburgh, he's been a fairly strong point getter for the most part. Sadly, for him and the team, that trend has sunk to unfathomable lows. Rakell is a hot name on the trade market right now, but with little production, he is someone who will lose trade value.
Loser: Declan Carlile
One of Kyle Dubas' biggest bets this offseason was signing Declan Carlile to a reasonable contract to hopefully witness him break out and become a top pair defender. It's been nice to see Carlile sink in some goals early in the season, but that's not why Pittsburgh is paying his wages. His defensive game has been the worst of the unit, and that's saying something as that group has been terrible overall.
Loser: Sergei Murashov
Although it's nice to see Silovs play fairly well to begin the campaign, it's come at the cost of Sergei Murashov not living up to the hype. There are many reasons beyond Murashov's control as to why the young netminder is struggling, but he's not doing himself any favors. It's too early in his career to worry about him being a bust, but everyone should start becoming concerned if this trend continues.
Loser: Any of the young players
Perhaps the biggest failure by Kyle Dubas and the Penguins this season has been their struggle to find spots for their young players to jump into the lineup.
Players like Avery Hayes, Rutger McGroarty, Bill Zonnon, Elmer Soderblom, and a handful of others are begging for playing time in Pittsburgh. Dubas made a logjam, especially at forward, and it's holding back their younger players in the system from showing what they can do in the NHL.
Loser: Dan Muse
It's a mess of a team in Pittsburgh right now, and Dan Muse doesn't seem to be catching the attention of his team at the moment. For one reason or another that locker room isn't buying into his system like they did last season. That's a massive problem, and when you mix that with an aging group of players, things only get worse. Muse won't be fired, but his job continues to get more challenging.
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