The 2024 Pittsburgh Penguins have had one of their worst starts in a very long time. At present, the Pens are 11-12-4, which is third to last in the Metropolitan Division only ahead of the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets, who have been particularly bad the past few seasons. The Penguins 26 points puts them 19th in the league standings and 21st (from ESPN) in the league’s power rankings. ESPN also recently came out with power rankings for NHL team futures, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are ranked 32, dead last in the NHL.
With such a grim projected future and eye-opening problems with their old stars, the Penguins need to make a change before they become the laughing stock of the NHL.
The team recently re-signed their captain star center and future NHL Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby for two years at $8.7 million per year. With Crosby committed to the Penguins through the 2026-2027 season, the team should get a young, up-and-coming center and let Crosby mentor and develop them, hopefully into another star and future captain after Crosby leaves.
The Penguins’ goaltending has been a main target of criticism for the Penguins. The goaltending this year has been unexpectedly horrendous for the Penguins. The team currently has a goal differential of -27, the worst in the NHL.
NHL teams are not able to compete for titles without great goaltending. When the Penguins won in 2016 and 2017, they had Marc Andre Fleury and Matt Murray, who were both in the primes of their careers. Without competitive goaltending, the Penguins will not be able to compete for a playoff spot, let alone fight for a respectable spot in the Metropolitan.
The defensive side of the puck for the Penguins has also been lackluster this year, which certainly does not help the goalies. Given the presence of stars Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, the Penguins defense should be better since both of those players have proven themselves to be the best defensemen in the NHL in the past.
While the Penguins offense is not top tier, it is certainly not their most pressing problem. If their goaltending and defense improves, the offense will be just fine, and the Pens’ playoff chances will improve. With two Hall of Famers at the center position, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the team absolutely has the talent to win.
If the Penguins want to be good now and in the future, there are moves that need to be made. The first move is figuring out the goaltending situation, whether that’s keeping Jarry or Nedeljkovic and developing them or restarting completely and acquiring a new goalie.
The Penguins also need to get some young talent that can develop under the leadership of the veteran players.
If the Penguins do not make some changes in the near future, they may fall to the worst team in the league, especially when their older veteran players leave. Most of the Penguins team is older and could leave or retire soon.
The Pens have a tough challenge in their next game this evening against the New York Rangers, who are 13-10-1. Should Pittsburgh prevail, the team will leapfrog the Rangers, putting the Pens at 28 points, which is currently enough for a Wild Card spot. Yet the season is not nearly over, so the best that fans can hope for is steady improvement. And with the Pens currently enjoying a four-game win streak, that improvement may well be on its way.
