Well Penguins fans, it’s been a fun ride. Since the 2005 NHL Entry Draft when the Penguins won the lottery and the rights to select a truly generational talent in Sidney Crosby, we’ve all known that everything this franchise would do and has done has been all about providing him the opportunity to build a legendary legacy with multiple Stanley Cup championships. And they’ve largely succeeded in that.
But being a true contender for almost two decades now comes at a cost. The Penguins have used only 3 of their last 10 first round draft picks. They have said goodbye to great players in the prime of their careers who were home grown talents like Marc Andre Fleury and Jake Guentzel. They have also had their share of rentals and short-term veterans join the fold like Bill Guerin and Marian Hossa. They have also kept a few players and made them part of their long-term core like Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, and even Erik Karlsson via trade from San Jose a few years ago after he came off a Norris winning season.
Last week, reports started to surface that the Pittsburgh Penguins would not be offering Malkin a contract extension after his current contract ends after this year. To me, that means he is all but gone by the trade deadline. I can see Florida or Vegas targeting him as a middle six winger as they load up for what should be deep playoff runs. If a franchise legend like Malkin in on the block as this team transitions into full on rebuild mode, that means that Letang and Karlsson shouldn’t be around for too much longer either.
Letang is going to be tough to move. I can see him retiring before waiving the rights to his no-trade clause. He has had a history of legitimate and career threatening health issues including heart surgery and neck surgery, let alone his two strokes. While he is the ultimate warrior and beloved by his teammates, I doubt he’ll want to stick through three seasons of being sellers before letting his contract expire at the age of 41.
Karlsson is another player that would be hard to move. He’s younger, yes, but has a higher cap hit than Letang and has his own history of serious injuries like the lacerated Achilles tendon he had earlier in his career. But I can see another GM taking a shot at him if the Penguins retain some of his salary in hopes that he still has one more shot at reclaiming the high-end form he’s ad throughout most of his career so far.
With three-quarters of the Penguins current core being off the roster as soon as next off season, where would that leave Sidney Crosby? While Sid has been incredibly loyal to the only franchise he has ever known and recently resigned for 3 more years, it seems like he would want an opportunity to add one more cup to his Hall of Fame resume before his time to retire comes. And unfortunately that just isn’t with the current cast that is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
We all heard the chatter and day dreams of Crosby going to Colorado to team up with hometown friend and fellow superstar Nathan Mackinnon this past spring, and if the Penguins truly do dive head first into an aggressive rebuild (as they should, at this point), I doubt Crosby will want to stay at the helm of a sinking ship.
If Pittsburgh does enter full-on rebuild territory and focus solely on the future of the franchise 3-5 years from now, the return for one of modern hockey’s biggest superstars would really help accelerate that rebuild. Colorado was definitely interested and a variety of other teams could enter into a bidding war for his service. The main question for the Penguins is “what would the return be?” Depending on when, the return could be as high as a first round pick, a high end prospect, AND some additional pieces via the draft or depth players.
It’s tough to hear, but once one domino falls, it tends to fall into another and another, gaining momentum until the biggest and final piece falls – and that would be our beloved captain.