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The Pittsburgh Penguins have been unusually absent from each of the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs — the first time that's happened in Sidney Crosby's career — and the roster is getting older and older every season.
But general manager Kyle Dubas still believes that this squad can compete for a Stanley Cup before No. 87 retires.
“The on-ice direction of the franchise is, simply, we're not looking to simply squeak into the playoffs,” Dubas told NHL.com's Wes Crosby recently. “It's to return the team to become a contender as soon as possible. Can we do that this season? Can we do that next season? It's hard to put a timeframe on it.”
The executive added: “But this is obviously not a strip it down to the studs situation here. The people in the [locker] room are too good for that. It's trying to use every method we can to acquire future assets that we can then bring into the organization, through the draft, or younger guys through free agency that we can bring in here, or via trade or via waivers, that can come in and support the core group that’s here.”
Crosby has led the Penguins to three Stanley Cups in his career, beating the Detroit Red Wings in a thrilling Game 7 in 2009 before dispatching the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017.
But after making 16 straight postseason appearances from 2007-22, there's obviously concern that this team doesn't have the mettle after consecutive misses. They do still boast one of the best players in the game, though.
Sidney Crosby is 37-years-old and still a superstar
Crosby continues to drive the bus in Pennsylvania, although the captain remains without a contract after the 2024-25 campaign. Maybe the greatest player of his generation amassed 42 goals and 94 points over a full 82-game slate in his 19th NHL season.
He also helped the Penguins finish 8-2-2 at the end of the year, although it wasn't quite enough to vault over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for the final wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.
“I thought everyone really came together,” Crosby said of the late-season heater. “I've said it a number of times, every single guy contributed to us having a chance down the stretch. I think that that's something you can definitely build on, and hopefully that little momentum that we got we can take into next year.”
Crosby has one year remaining on the 12-year, $104.4 million contract he signed in July of 2012, and he's already eligible to ink a new deal. One Penguins insider has called the fact that Crosby still doesn't have his next contract ‘worrisome.'
Still, that business should still get done before the new campaign, and the Pens will be hoping that the core of Erik Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang can help bring this club back into Stanley Cup contention.
The supporting cast is not what it once was, but Crosby, Malkin and Letang all know what it takes to win. It'll be intriguing to see if they can drag this roster back into the dance come April.
