Love this!! 2014 was still a solid year for us! We had a good playoff run!

I for one am all about the penguins winning. Everyone hear me out.... As long as the pens still have CROSBY & GENO, we will be in the playoffs!! Pittsburgh currently holds the longest playoff streak to this day!

DON'T COUNT THESE GUYS OUT YET!!!

GO PENS GO!!!

2nd straight year? Am I missing something or were the penguins a 90% lock for the playoffs last year before covid?
Yeah they'll make the playoffs again.....the problem will be can they actually win.

I think this is the wrong way to look at this.
The penguins have a better top 6 than the Caps. Crosby, Malkin, Zucker, Jake is a really big 4. Rust and Kap can hold their own. Caps don't have that kind of firepower in their top 4.
As for the bottom 6, Hags is washed. Panik is causing them to panic because he didn't show up last year and for every McMichael we have a Poulin. The question is which one plays. Eller was their only real decent bottom 6 player last year. And Sprong isn't going anywhere, he's on his 3rd team in 2 years. He's about washed himself out the league.

Penguins have a decent shut down line, but they aren't going to net goals. Then they have a 3rd line that is just trash. McCann and no one if Poulin doesn't play.
So I don't see where you think their bottom 6 is any better than the penguins. Or maybe you forgot hags inability to score and that he's lost his legs.
Both of these teams need help on the bottom 6. They both have some in youth if they decide to play it. I would argue the penguins have more help in their youth if they play O'Connor and Maniscalco. Who are older players out the NCAA and who are both regarded as solid players at that level.
The thing holding the penguins back is the coaching and GM. They won cups trusting the youth. They need to do the same again if they want to win. They just need to find a 3C to go along with it.
As a bottom 6 of McCann 3C Poulin
OConnor Blueger Tanev looks really good and better when ZAR can come back and play.
The bottom pairing of
Matheson and Maniscalco looks better than Matheson and Ceci.

but you can't fix teams unwilling to take a risk of playing the youth. Even though it won them 2 cups.

That’s what I thought was gonna happen. When they signed maniscalco it thought that he would get a chance

I too am positive he will as well, because he wouldn't have signed here if he didn't think he'd get a chance to play. He was looking for ice time. He's definitely got all the tools to play at the NHL level.
It's not like it's some high hurdle to get there, leaping Ceci isn't exactly superman jumping over the empire state building.

Well obviously, I feel like if maniscalco is really good, then I can see Ceci being traded

who would take him though, unless there is injury. He's most likely in the AHL if he wins that spot.

2014-15 Pens:

Kunitz/Sid/Dupree
Perron/Geno/Hornqvist
B.Comeau/B.Sutter/B.Rust
C.Adams/N.Spalling/S.Downie

Ehrhoff/Letang
Scuderi/P.Martin
Maatta/B.Lovejoy

I.Cole and D.Pouliot were scratches but still average 17 and 15 minutes ice time respectively, in the games they played.

Defense is valuable in the NHL. Especially when injuries come around. You can never have enough Defenders. And his contract will be expiring. So a team at the deadline could take Ceci and Sceviour, if we take on a player with longer term. Not sure its a great move, but that’s the only way we are moving them. Or just bury them in the minors or healthy scratches and let their contracts expire with us.

Toronto hasn’t won a cup in over 50 years. And has been bounced in the play-off in the 1st round almost every year they made the play-offs. Good luck!! I’ll take our GM!! Atleast he makes moves and pulls the trigger and atleast try’s to get us over the top. We are a contender every year with Sid and Geno. They are 33 and 34this year, respectively. They arnt ancient.

And yes, the Pens did NOT make the play-offs last year. They were called “play-in rounds”. We could have gotten the 1st pick in the draft if we won the lottery, remember? Ply-off teams arnt in the lottery. The 15th pick that Toronto got was the last pick in the lottery. I suppose NYR made the play-offs too and got the 1st pick..lol??

Ya Malkin look real done with all the scoring he did this season....

and look how far that got them.

Not exactly a good argument though
Look how far McD and Draisaitl got EDM
Look how far Tavares and Matthew’s got TOR

Not Crosby and Malkins fault their 3rd pair gave up 9 goals and their Goalie let some softies in

and look at their ages compared to Crosby and Malkin. If McD and Draisailt were each 10 years older people would say the same about Edmonton. Some of those players are still getting better while Pittsburgh's have long since hit their peak and are going to be heading down the other side of that aging curve soon.

Yes but they would also be wrong if they still scored top in the league in points /60

The fact the Pens found it pertinent to lower Malkin's playing time significantly is just more evidence hes the decline already.

Declined sure. But Sid is still a top ten player, Geno still finishes top 5-10 in scoring each year.
Not done, unless that was hyperbole

The facts just the facts. The teams around them are getting better, the Pens are getting worse and they already havn't been near good enough for 2 seasons. They're done just like Chicago. At least Chicago has the balls to say as much.

Sure, but the core is still rather good. That’s the point.
Facts vs opinions.

Ur talking about the core, not the team

Still rather good hasn't been good enough for 2 years now, why would it be going forward when they only go downhill from here? Thats the point.

Ffs, I’m literally only talking about the core: Sid and Malkin, maybe Letang and Guentzel

Why are u talking about team success

Because thats what we are talking about. Can the core still carry the team to success? And if they havn't been able to for a few seasons now, why should we expect that to change?

I don’t expect it to, but “done” apparently means something different to you.

Still going to be great watching those two, regardless of playoffs.
Still think they have a decent chance of making the postseason honestly, though it’s gunna be hard