The Christmas season is one that is usually filled with joy and cheer and smiles and lots of gifts. But some can hit the naughty list and get coal in their stocking. And for the Penguins there are some that deserve to be on the nice list and get good gifts, but some are not off the hook and should be on the naughty list and get some coal.
The Penguins should not be where they are in the standings and should be much higher. A lot of performances on the ice as of late have not been acceptable. And Santa holds people accountable that deserve it and some Penguins need that accountability.
These players can range from the forward group to the defense to the goaltenders. There are only a select few that are safe from needing coal under their tree. It says a lot that that needs to be said about this club.
1. Defenseman Kris Letang
Letang has been a story for years now on how his play has declined and how he needs to just hang up his skates and retire. Fans have been saying for a long time now with each passing year, he has gotten worse and worse.
He has become such a hard watch on a daily basis now as he constantly turns the puck over and always lets defenders blow right by him. He also gets way out of position and a lot of goals that happen on the opposing side, are usually his fault.
Letang is one of those players that has earned coal this year. He has not deserved to get anything nice from Santa this year, his play has been awful and needs to improve soon.
2. Defenseman Erik Karlsson
Karlsson's performance as of late has been really hard to watch on a nightly basis. He like Letang, is getting caught out of position or letting defenders go by him or is the direct cause of goals against.
In the recent loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, his offensive zone turnover helped lead William Nylander for a breakway and he beat Stuart Skinner clean. Karlsson on the defensive side is not good at all and he picks and chooses when he wants to defend.
That has not been a good thing for years since Karlsson was acquired in a trade. Even with the coaching change over the offseason, he still looks like he does not want to defend.
And as a result, he deserves coal under his Christmas Tree. Karlsson is good offensively, but ask him to play defense and he is not good at it. Santa is not putting him on the nice list this year.
3. Goaltender Arturs Silovs
Silovs started out so well in the beginning of the year and looked like a goalie that was poised to take the starting job and run with it. But as of late, he has really fallen off and cannot seem to stop a beach ball and fans have begged for general manager Kyle Dubas to send him to Wilkes-Barre.
Silovs is only 24 years old, but he has had a lot of run this season and has not proven that he is ready to be a starting caliber NHL goalie. Yes fans can keep saying that he needs more work in the NHL, but that might not be a true statement.
He is young, but has been awful in goal as of late and has allowed a lot of easy goals to go past him. He needs to fix it and soon or the Penguins will miss the playoffs for the 4th year in a row.
For his recent performance, he needs coal under his tree. Until he figures it out, he will be on Santa's naughty list.