After some uncertainty after the end of the 21/22 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are running it back for another season led by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Can they lead the Penguins on one more Stanley Cup run?
2021-2022 Season Performance
Regular Season
The Penguins put together a strong regular season in 21/22, underpinned by a sound 5v5 game. They created offense at a high level, while also being on of the better teams at limiting chances against. Goaltending, finishing, and special teams were all decent and the Penguins comfortably made the postseason.
Playoffs
The Penguins met the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. It was a battle of contrasting teams, as Pittsburgh ran roughshod over the Rangers at 5v5. They had a difficult time converting their chances, however, as they faced one of the top goaltenders in the league in Igor Shesterkin. Special teams were a non-factor in the series and the Penguins dropped a tight seven game series.
Looking Ahead to 2022-2023
Offseason Moves
It looked for some time this spring that the Penguins would say goodbye to one of their longtime core pieces this summer. In the end, however, they were able to re-sign both Evgeni Malkinand Kris Letang to 4 and 6 year deals respectively. There is certainly a possibility that both deals will age poorly, however they return to lead the Penguins alongside Sidney Crosby until his deal is up in 3 years. They both still bring elite impact for next season as well, with Malkin’s projection a top line forward and Letang’s a top pair defenseman.
The biggest changes for the Penguins came via the trade market this offseason. They revamped their defense corps by sending John Marino to New Jersey for Ty Smith and a 3rd round pick and sending Mike Matheson to Montreal for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling. Both moves look questionable based on the model projections for next season as Marino and Matheson both had strong projected impacts. In contrast, Smith looks like a below replacement level defenseman while Petry looks like a second pair defenseman.
According to CapFriendly, the Penguins are less than $1M over the cap with a full 23 player roster. Without any cap space available, it likely we won’t see any significant moves ahead of the regular season.
22/23 Roster
The Penguins are projected to be a below average team going into the 22/23 season. Their forward group is one of the best in the NHL and their goaltending is projected to be above average. It’s the defense corps that raises some concerns. With Kris Letang the only defenseman projected to have an above average impact, the Penguins need another defenseman or two to step up with a strong season.
Metropolitan Division Landscape
The Metropolitan Division is projected to be incredibly tight. The Penguins fall in the middle of the projected standings, so there is room to move in either direction. Some strong individual seasons could push them near the top of the division, while individual struggles or some bad injury luck could see them fall off the pace.
Long Term Outlook
The 22/23 season is the start of the last hurrah for the Crosby/Malkin/Letang Penguins. They are all under contract for at least 3 more seasons but age is going to become a factor in the near future. The core around the three aforementioned players is also on the wrong side of the age curve and the Penguins may be headed straight into a rebuild when the current core can no longer compete.
Want to check out more projections for the 22/23 season? Sign up for an annual membership to get access to all 22/23 team and player projection plots and peruse the full set of free agent player cards. Plots will be updated through the offseason as the 22/23 rosters take shape and updated to track progress through the season.
Historical player data from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
