Penguins Perspectives: When the time comes you got to run and don't look back
Welcome to Penguins Perspectives, a weekly column by KDKA-TV Digital Producer Patrick Damp. Each Friday, Patrick will talk about the week that was, the week to come, what to watch for, and more.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The funny thing about plans is that they change. They evolve.
That includes the best-laid ones.
For the Pittsburgh Penguins and their recently-hired President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, the plan was to once again get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, if not once again contend for the Stanley Cup itself.
Make a plan and the Hockey Gods laugh.
Just ask the Dutch van der Linde of the fabled Van Der Linde Gang in the Old West: getting to your desired destination is fraught with problems, loss, and so much more.
Right now, for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the plan has to change.
Unlike last season, a plan is clearly in place, but this time around, that plan is not going at all according to plan.
Ryan Graves, in his first of a six-year contract, has been nothing short of disastrous on the blue line. Matt Nieto has been unable to stay healthy and even in 22 games has produced four points. The same can be said for Noel Acciari. Jansen Harkins has played 34 games and has four points to show for it.
Despite a white-hot start, Reilly Smith has been invisible for most of the season.
All of six players on the Penguins roster have more than 30 or more points, and it's all the usual suspects: Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, and Kris Letang.
The next closest to Letang's 30 is the aforementioned Reilly Smith with 21.
Rickard Rakell has nine goals in 44 games.
Simply put, once again, the Penguins have a supporting cast that cannot carry the load.
I understand the compulsion to say that this Penguins core of players are spent and their best days are behind them. While not untrue, they are once again producing at a level equal to their compensation.
Sure, Evgeni Malkin may no longer be a second-line center, but a top-six winger? Now, we could work with that.
No, Erik Karlsson was not going to be the 100-point scorer he was last year, as a matter of fact, that was an outlier. The Swede is once again on his usual career pace and has actually improved his defensive acumen now that he's in Pittsburgh.
The problem is, outside of him, Letang, and Pettersson, there isn't much help on the blue line.
So, to again reference the Van Der Linde Gang's most famous member Arthur Morgan, "What're we doing next, Dutch?"
The focus now needs to shift to next season. Maybe they can still make a run at the playoffs, maybe they can't, but Dubas and his lieutenants must now set their sights on gearing this team up to rebound in the 2024-25 season.
As I have said, this NHL season has been one of competitive balance, boy oh boy does Gary Bettman's NHL love parity, so there are only a handful of teams truly out of the playoff race, meaning next month's trade deadline will be a seller's market with prices through the roof.
Dubas can make himself a player by trying to move productive players such as Lars Eller, Drew O'Connor, and Alex Nedeljkovic at the deadline to teams in need of depth or goaltending.
This has to be in an effort to stockpile draft capital, depth pieces, and maybe productive players he can parlay into bigger moves around the NHL Draft and free agency this summer.
While we're looking at another summer when most of the unrestricted free agency class will be underwhelming, there will be teams that are looking to move on from certain pieces, either for a lack of fit or salary cap issues.
As frustrating as this season may be, there is still some very good talent on this roster. Yes, Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson are no longer in their 20s, but they are still productive and mostly affordable.
Now, the true challenge for Kyle Dubas is to make sure the pieces surrounding them can pick up the slack when needed.
Plans have a habit of going off track. That's life, that's hockey.
Now, a new plan must emerge and the Penguins must stick to it.
Otherwise, we'll be right back in this same place next year.