PITTSBURGH — The Penguins have officially missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
On Wednesday night, the New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, which eliminated the Penguins from Stanley Cup contention. The Penguins relinquished control of their postseason hopes with Tuesday’s stunning loss to Chicago.
That defeat perfectly summed up this wasted season. After catching a break when the Islanders lost on Monday, the Penguins blew their big opportunity by giving up two quick goals in the third period to fall to another inferior opponent.
Pittsburgh will play out the string Thursday in the season finale in Columbus.
It had been a remarkable run for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, who had made the playoffs a league-leading 16 years in a row. The last time they were spectators, George W. Bush was the President, Twitter had not yet been founded and Jerome Bettis and the Steelers had just won Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
The Penguins now get a painfully long offseason to try to find a way to successfully rebuild around the core trio of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Critical decisions loom down the depth chart, in the crease and behind the bench. But before those get sorted out, Fenway Sports Group must decide if general manager Ron Hextall is fit to make them or if they need to hire a new lead decision-maker.
That hovers above all other questions awaiting the Penguins this offseason.
1. What will happen with Hextall?
Fenway Sports Group saw that Hextall failed to upgrade the goaltending situation and supporting cast, two of the most glaring concerns entering last offseason. And FSG heard those “Fire Hextall!” chants at several recent home games, including when the Penguins fell behind late against the Blackhawks.
The new ownership group was essentially in evaluation mode this season, their first full campaign running the Penguins. FSG purchased the team midway through last season and had to funnel much of their communication through former Penguins CEO David Morehouse, who left the organization in August.
Despite criticism that FSG was an absentee ownership group, they had a presence at every home game this season and on most road trips. Often, it was exec David Beeston. John Henry and Tom Werner popped in from time to time.
FSG was in constant contact with Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke in the days leading up to the trade deadline and gave them the latitude to make a flurry of moves, which did not change the team’s trajectory.
Now FSG must decide whether Hextall and Burke deserve another chance.
It has not been all bad for the front-office duo, who replaced Jim Rutherford early in the 2020-21 season. The deadline deals for Jeff Carter and Rickard Rakell were savvy, especially considering their cost. Malkin, Letang, Rakell and Bryan Rust all inked team-friendly deals. Their prospect pool is a bit better.
But Hextall has made several crippling mistakes. The Seattle expansion draft was a disaster, with Jared McCann scoring 40 goals this season. Contracts for Carter, Brock McGinn and Kasperi Kapanen hamstrung them. Hextall made their blue line worse last offseason. Mikael Granlund made no difference.
Given all that, it would be a shock if Hextall returns as general manager. And if he goes, so could Burke and some of Hextall’s other front-office lieutenants.
2. What about Mike Sullivan’s future?
FSG thinks highly of Sullivan. Even though Pittsburgh has not won a playoff series since 2018, they believe he is still one of the NHL’s best coaches. They feel he is a fine spokesman for the organization, too. His Boston ties can’t hurt.
Plus, there is the matter of his contract, the one Sullivan signed just eight months ago. That extension pays him handsomely through the 2026-27 season.
So unless there is a new general manager who really wants to get rid of a two-time Cup-winning coach, Sullivan is expected back behind Pittsburgh’s bench.
But barring an incredible roster overhaul this summer that somehow makes them significantly deeper, younger and faster, Sullivan must show a willingness to make schematic changes to adapt to his personnel. He must also figure out why a team with so many veterans had such a stunning lack of composure.
3. Will Malkin and Letang be traded?
No. Stop asking. The Penguins made major commitments to both players a year ago and gave them no-trade clauses. They are not going anywhere.
4. Is Tristan Jarry going to be back?
A new general manager could potentially make that decision. But it would be difficult to rationalize committing to Jarry as their No. 1 goalie going forward.
Jarry’s season was ruined by recurring health issues. He was up and down all year and once again let the Penguins down when they needed him most. That makes it four seasons in a row in which goaltending was a fatal flaw.
Jarry is a two-time All-Star who, despite his inconsistency and frustrating lapses, still went 24-13-6 with a .909 save percentage. So somebody will likely sign him to a significant contract in free agency. It should not be the Penguins.
One problem for the Penguins, though, is that the other options in free agency are a bit underwhelming. Notable unrestricted free agents include Freddie Andersen, Mackenzie Blackwood, Joonas Korpisalo, Ilya Samsonov and Semyon Varlamov. Jeremy Swayman is a restricted free agent worth considering.
5. Who else will be a free agent?
Brian Dumoulin and Jason Zucker are the biggest names. Josh Archibald, Danton Heinen and Dmitry Kulikov are also unrestricted. Their RFAs include Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Alexander Nylander, Drew O’Connor and Ryan Poehling.
Dumoulin may have played his last game in Pittsburgh. Zucker is probably a goner, too, unless the Penguins create more salary cap space. They are projected to have $20.2 million in space, per Capfriendly, with several holes to plug.
6. Can they dump a big contract?
That will be tough to do unless they incentivize someone with a premium pick.
The Penguins just gave up their second-round pick to get Granlund, a favorite of assistant general manager Chris Pryor, and they may have to give up another one to unload his $5 million salary. Jeff Petry might appeal to some teams but he has a partial no-trade clause. They would also have to replace him.
And then there is Carter. He has a full no-trade clause and, because he is signed to a 35-plus contract, there is no cap relief if he retires or is bought out.
If he does want to hang up his skates, something he has not stated publicly, maybe they can send his contract to Arizona, where all bad contracts go to die. But short of something like that, his $3.1 million salary will stay on their books.
7. What else is on the horizon?
We should get clarity on Hextall’s status in the next few days. If he is indeed let go, Fenway Sports Group will start an extensive GM search immediately.
The NHL draft lottery is May 8, but don’t run out and buy that Connor Bedard jersey. The Penguins can only jump up 10 spots in the draft order. However, there are a few blue-chip prospects in this class. So the lottery is a must-watch.
The draft itself is June 28-29 in Nashville. NHL free agency will begin July 1.
The top unrestricted free agents this offseason include forwards Michael Bunting, Patrick Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Staal and Vladimir Tarasenko and defensemen Matt Dumba, Erik Johnson, John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov.
