With the 2019-20 NHL season on hold we are going to take a look at where each NHL team stands at this moment with a series of posts examining their season. Have they met expectations? Exceeded expectations? Who has been the surprise? All of that and more. Today we look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 40-23-6 (69 games), third in the Metropolitan Division, fifth in the Eastern Conference
Leading Scorer: Evgeni Malkin - 74 points (25 goals and 49 assists)
In-Season Roster Moves:
• Acquired Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 seventh-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Erik Gudbranson.
• Traded Joseph Cramarosssa to the Chicago Blackhawks for Graham Knott.
• Acquired Kevin Roy from the Florida Panthers for Ryan Haggerty.
• Traded Oula Palve to the Dallas Stars for John Nyberg.
• Acquired Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild for a 2020 conditional first-round pick, Alex Galchenyuk and Calen Addison.
• Traded Joseph Blandisi and Jake Lucchini to the Montreal Canadiens for Riley Barber and Phil Varone.
• Acquired Patrick Marleau from the San Jose Sharks for a 2021 conditional third-round pick.
• Traded Dominik Kahun to the Buffalo Sabres for Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues.
Season Overview:
As you can tell from the list of trades above, general manager Jim Rutherford was aggressive in his pursuit of another championship for the Penguins. He tweaked the roster early on in the season and made moves right through the trade deadline.
The Pens were in a battle for top spot in the Metropolitan Division for most of the year. They spent a good chunk of the year in second place behind Washington, but things were starting to fall apart.
After winning three games in a row Feb. 14 and 18, they dropped a 4-0 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs. They went on to lose six games in a row. To make matters worse, the Philadelphia Flyers starting heating up while the Pens were floundering. Pittsburgh managed to win three of the last five games before the pause, but they now find themselves three points behind the Flyers and four points behind the Capitals.
Did Rutherford make too many moves? Some of those trades involved minor leaguers, but he still made more NHL moves than most of his other colleagues.
To Pittsburgh’s credit, they managed to survive injuries to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel and others. Not many teams could hold on to a playoff spot with their stars on the shelf for that long. But head coach Mike Sullivan seems to be able to get the most out of his team.
Whether the season resumes or not, the Penguins have an interesting decision to make with their goaltenders. Matt Murray is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, but he’s been wildly inconsistent since then. Murray had some positive moments in 2019-20 and at other times he was ice cold.
Tristan Jarry had some great moments, too. He went through a stretch where he won 12 of 14 games, but his play faded down the stretch and Murray took over in goal again. Interestingly enough, both goalies won 20 games this season and both are set to become restricted free agents at the end of the season. Will they keep both? What can they get in return for one of them on the trade market?
The Pens have the star power to continue being threats in the East. How many more titles will the Crosby and Malkin duo win?
Highlight of the Season:
On Nov. 27, the Penguins found themselves down 4-2 in the third period against the Vancouver Canucks. Crosby was out of the lineup with a core muscle injury and Malkin took over in the third frame (he finished with five points).
The Pens won the game, 8-6.
MORE Penguins:
• Pittsburgh Penguins biggest surprises and disappointments so far
• Examining the Penguins long-term outlook
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.