Generational players are always a draw for fans, not just those of the team they play for. When Pittsburgh Penguins legend Sidney Crosby is in the playoffs, everyone is paying attention to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that's a situation the league always wants to find itself in.
This is no different from the Wayne Gretzky era, when even non-hockey fans knew the postseason was worth tuning into because Gretzky was playing, be it for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, or New York Rangers.
Right now, the Penguins are a far cry from the playoffs. But the lineup isn't barren. Crosby, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell still make up one of the NHL's better first lines. They combined for 216 points last season, and 99 goals.
Starting on the second line, there are problems. Ville Koivunen has limited NHL experience, while Evgeni Malkin's play isn't what it was. Anthony Mantha is the projected right-winger, and he's coming off a major injury, even if he can still produce. As for the third and fourth lines? There is nobody worth talking about.
So, getting to the playoffs for 2026 isn't going to be easy with most of the forward lines in disarray. And it could even get harder if general manager Kyle Dubas trades Rakell and Rust.
How can the Penguins get Sidney Crosby back to the NHL Playoffs?
For 2026, the Penguins need to make the most of their limited talent beyond the first line and their spotty defensive unit, where the aging Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang are the two top players. They need to find themselves somewhere near the wild card by the trade deadline to make it happen, but even then, it's still a toss-up since there's still a chance Dubas sells.
Crosby's contract runs through 2027, so the 2026 offseason is the real make-it-or-break-it. To maximize the chances of making it, Rakell and Rust need to stay throughout the duration of Crosby's contract.
Letang and Karlsson also need to stick around, and so should Malkin. Even if they're all past their primes, they're still solid contributors who could play well in supporting roles. But the Penguins still need at least two top-six forwards and two top-four defensemen. Experienced players, too, not just guys coming up through the prospects pipeline.
Pittsburgh Penguins can still pick players off of teams
For as long as Sidney Crosby wants to play hockey, he'll always draw players his way. And the Penguins could have some money going into the 2026 offseason, with over $53 million in projected cap space.
This could set the stage for them to keep the aging veterans together, bring up some NHL-ready youngsters, and spend money in free agency if some stars go unsigned. Of course, there could be dreams of teaming Crosby up with Connor McDavid, but the Penguins don't need someone like McDavid to reach the playoffs in what could be Crosby's last season.
If they brought in someone like Patrik Laine, Jason Robertson, Kyle Connor, or Martin Necas, they'd be set. No, they don't need all four of them, and that wouldn't be feasible. But if they picked up someone like Robertson, then he just transformed the forward group.
Bring in one supplemental forward beyond someone like Robertson or even Alex Tuch, and add quality to the blue line with someone like Rasmus Andersson, and you're going into 2026-27 as a projected playoff team.
It would be hard to envision any of the players I mentioned above leaving their team, but for the chance to play alongside Crosby and be a driving force for this next generation of Penguins? Yeah, there are plenty of incentives to make the Steel City their next home.
What the Penguins can't do if they want to get Sidney Crosby back to the playoffs
What's the fast track for keeping Crosby out of the playoffs over the last two seasons of his contract? If Kyle Dubas hosted a fire sale and traded away Rakell, Rust, and Karlsson, let Malkin ride off into the sunset, and kept filling the void with patchwork players in Anthony Mantha's mold, then fans can forget about seeing Crosby return to the playoffs in a Penguins uniform.
This would also signal a 'changing of the guard' in Pittsburgh, with high-end prospects like Rutger McGroarty becoming full-time players, and that would mean growing pains, assuming Crosby stuck around to lead the new guard for the remainder of his contract.
But, with an aging core still proven to play well, plus assets like Rakell and Rust, Dubas has enough talent in black and gold jerseys right now to make a few moves either at the 2026 trade deadline if the Penguins are playing good hockey or in the summer of 2026 to acquire enough talent for another playoff run or two.
If the Penguins make this happen, the NHL will be a much better place when the playoffs begin. Crosby in the twilight of his career, making another attempt to hoist the Stanley Cup with great players of the Penguins past, present, and future. That would make for a fantastic ending to a legendary career.