The Penguins earlier in the season had moments to hang their hat on where they competed well with some of the NHL’s elite. Talent wise this month, though, has showed the obvious the Penguins don’t have the horses to compete with ‘Edmonton’s star power, New York Rangers run and gun style, Dallas Stars heavy game or the Colorado’s of the NHL who beat you with a combination of speed/skill/strength. Each of those four games over the last 14 days has given the Penguins another reality check that they probably aren’t a few personnel moves and luck from putting together a 180’ and being 15-18 points better next season.

However, three wins in their last 14 games and netting just eight out of a possible 28 points over that span hasn’t changed and a continued spiral won’t change managements’ plan that they owe it to the franchise and Sidney Crosby, to while keeping one-eye on the future, but do everything possible to try to contend next season. The Penguins internally believe the NHL is the one sport that allows a quicker rebound than any sport when your willing to spend to the cap like Pittsburgh does and Kyle Dubas when negotiating his contract is said to have demanded/received approval for pretty much unlimited funds on a year-to-year basis to work the signing bonus To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Who knows maybe Dubas has the summer of his career and hits on 2-3 second/third tier level moves that slightly move the needle (he’s probably due for some good luck after year one);…………. The metrics meet the results and Erik Karlsson is a major game changer offensively in year two, something that won’t shock key decision makers in the organization…………. and while unlikely, maybe Pittsburgh gets some type of influx of young impact talent in the lineup next season, namely top forward prospect Brayden Yager, and Villie Koivunen who is dominating the Finish League playoffs, in addition to Sam Poulin who some scouts are coming around on that can be an impactful third line level player not a couple years down the road but as possibly early as next season. You can add Vasily Ponomarev to that group, though, less higher upside than the top-2. One thing the Penguins are intrigued about is Yager and Koivunen are tracking on the same schedule as being NHL ready much sooner the outside would have ever through six months ago………..But do they have the right coaching staff, support system in place to toe the line of developing and competing? Pittsburgh is getting a reputation among agents of being a place young forwards go to die as one prominent agent said to me, and it’s something the Penguins brass is getting feedback on in their pursuit of top college free agents, namely To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Those scenarios above and probably a little more need to happen for the Penguins to make a major jump. Still, talent issues aside with the roster right now, there’s no bigger hole that has to be addressed than how mentally fragile this team is on a game-by-game basis. For all the wrong reasons it was on display in a big way again in the Colorado loss. The season was over before the Colorado debacle, It was just fitting how it highlighted so much that is wrong this club in how they don’t have what it takes to put complete games together. How much is on the players and coaching? Is it the system that’s opening the team up constantly to giving up an onslaught of goals against just after scoring or late in periods? It’s not like this group is Crosby, Malkin, Letang + a bunch of inexperienced players. Dubas brought in a number of players with Stanley Cup experience this summer to add to the group; Lars Eller and Reilly Smith have won a Cup, Noel Acciari played in a Stanley Cup Final in 2019, yet, this team on a nightly basis makes mental mistakes that resembles a young roster that’s just learning how to win. The Penguins have too many passengers and it might even include some of the old guard where it’s valid to question whether they have the drive anymore to truly do what it takes to win once now that the skill has started to recede a bit because the tape doesn’t lie……..

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Penguins will desperately need a Coaching Bump in 2024?

The Penguins are playing at an 82 point-pace and will likely miss the playoffs by at least 9-10 points in a year of mediocrity. And that is with getting top-5 goaltending up until the start of the March before the wheels started falling off. How likely are they to receive top-5 goaltending again next season? Pretty unlikely. In a normal year they’d likely miss the playoffs by 15-18 points. It’s a daunting hill for the Penguins to climb when your best players are in their mid to upper 30’s and will be another year older.

Pittsburgh next season is going to have to rely on a significant coaching bump more than ever to make up points, similar to how the Washington Capitals have done it this season, and how in the world are they going to get it by running it back? Pittsburgh is in need of fully overhauling an outdated system/philosophies and can a coaching staff that has run its course but is adored by the core, really have much hope of changing the mindset of a hockey club that doesn’t playing winning hockey when it comes to the little things and attention to details that separate true contenders from pretenders?

“We competed hard. You know, that’s one of the most explosive offenses in the league that we played against. We knew they were going to push back. We competed hard,” Mike Sullivan said who has echoed a similar theme of late.

One source close to the coaching staff says the staff, particularly Sullivan, is still frustrated with the Jake To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Points Percentage Watch

12 Games to go, there’s going to be a lot of points percentage watch for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team enters Monday 24th in the NHL in points percentage, 9th worst in the NHL. Realistically not much has changed from two weeks ago where the Penguins look primed to end the season anywhere between 8th-12th. That’s where they still look headed.

With the Penguins believing they will be better next season, there continues to be a sense around the organization To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

San Jose .286%

Chicago .317%

Anaheim .366%

Columbus .408%

Arizona .444%

Montreal .457%

Ottawa .457%

Seattle .493%

Pittsburgh .500%

Calgary .507%

Buffalo .507%

New Jersey .514%