Skating on the Edge: Are the Penguins’ 2024-25 Struggles a Sign It’s Time to Rebuild?
The Pittsburgh Penguins, perennial Stanley Cup contenders ever since drafting team captain Sidney Crosby in 2005, now find themselves at a crossroads nearly 20 years later. Coming into this season, after missing the playoffs for the past two years, the Penguins were hoping for one last Stanley Cup run, with Crosby leading the way, a factor that played a large role in the two sides agreeing to a two-year contract extension this past September. However, through the first month and a half, things have continued to go awry, as the Penguins sit in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 7-12-4 record and 18 points. With an aging but still dependable core and additional concerns, such as struggling goaltending and offensive scoring issues, the question has started to arise, should the Penguins shift their focus toward rebuilding for the future instead?
Over nearly 20 years as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, with Crosby on the team, the Penguins have been well-known for having potent scoring threats on their roster, including Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel, Phil Kessel, and more. They consistently ranked in the top half of the league in goals per game, which played a large part in their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2016 and 2017. However, over the past three seasons, the Penguins' offensive output has continued to decline, ranking 18th in the NHL in 2022-23, 23rd last season, and now, sitting near the bottom of the league at 26th, averaging 2.52 goals per game. Despite Crosby leading the team with eight goals and Malkin leading in assists with 15, with Crosby close behind at 13, the Penguins' offensive struggles are compounded by their middle-of-the-pack special teams play. While the power play unit has performed slightly better than their even-strength scoring, ranking 15th in the league at 20.6%, the lack of a premier power play unit, unlike in seasons past, has made it harder for the Penguins to find consistent offensive success. Additionally, their penalty kill has been similarly mediocre, ranking 17th in the league at 78.6%. As a result, their tendency to give up goals while a man down, combined with insufficient scoring on the man advantage, has left Pittsburgh continuing to search for answers to their offensive struggles.
To make matters worse, the Penguins have had to deal with one of the league’s worst goaltending struggles so far this season. Since becoming the Penguins' starting goalie in 2019-20, Tristan Jarry has largely been a reliable piece for Pittsburgh, recording a goals-against average under three in every season since then. However, after struggling in his first three starts this season, giving up 12 goals for a 5.47 goals-against average, the Penguins decided to demote Jarry to their AHL affiliate at the end of October on a two-week conditioning loan, hoping he would resolve his issues. During those two weeks, Jarry showed signs of improvement, going 4-1 with an impressive 2.16 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. As a result, Jarry was recalled by the Penguins on Nov. 9th, with both sides hoping his AHL success would translate to the NHL. However, since then, Jarry’s struggles have continued in his three starts since rejoining the team, recording three straight losses and giving up 11 goals for a 3.63 goals-against average. If the Penguins hope to fix their goaltending issues, they must rely on Jarry to somehow flip the switch and rediscover the dominant form he showed over the past five seasons.
With the Penguins' notable struggles on both the offensive and defensive ends, the question now is whether they should begin rebuilding for the future. Their struggles this season, lacking scoring depth, goaltending issues, and facing the prospect of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year, raise serious concerns. While Crosby and Malkin have been productive, despite Malkin’s seven-game scoring drought, the Penguins cannot rely solely on their two aging stars to carry the load for the rest of the season. They will need other players, such as Rickard Rakell, Anthony Beauvillier, and Bryan Rust, to step up and generate more consistent production over the final five months of the regular season. Additionally, the Penguins must address their goaltending issues if they hope to remain competitive against the top-tier teams in the Eastern Conference. If not, general manager Kyle Dubas may face the tough decision of whether to blow it up and start fresh next season.
