3 Players Who Could Lift or Sink Penguins’ Season

Sidney Crosby is a Rolex. Dependable. Reliable. World class.

There is little question what the Pittsburgh Penguins will get from Crosby on a season-to-season basis. Even at 37 years old, Crosby remains the gold standard by which all others are judged. From there, that’s when the Penguins get interesting and surely unpredictable.

There are a few players who could make or break the Penguins’ 2024-25 season. They are the players who could rise to the top of their ranks and become integral difference-makers for good … or bad.

When all of the wins and losses are counted up in April and half of the league enters the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins have a solid chance to be part of that top half, but they have an equal if not slightly greater, chance to miss the postseason as they’ve done in each of the last two years.

For the Penguins, there are three pivot points on whose shoulders the team could rise or angrily curse the fates that befall them as they watch the playoffs on their iPads.

Of course, for betting sorts looking for an edge on public numbers, PHN welcomes new sponsor Oddschecker (OC+). For a monthly subscription, you get access to all of their Positive Value Bets, Public Betting Splits, and tools to provide value for sports bettors.

3 Penguins Difference Makers

1. Tristan Jarry

The Penguins goalie has been an All-Star twice. He’s been atop the league in save percentage and goals-against-average into the second half of seasons, and he earned a five-year, $26.88 million deal with the team last July 1.

He’s also had a couple of late-season meltdowns and one playoff crumble in 2021 that was too reminiscent of Marc-Andre Fleury’s 2013 struggles.

The Penguins are not Stanley Cup contenders on any analyst’s board, which means they will need to grind to wins and fight for points for the entire season. They can’t get sloppy goaltending and win–they no longer have the superior talent advantage that allowed them to protect goalies or outscore opponents.

They’re going to need good goaltending. Actually, at times, they may need great goaltending. Jarry, 28, is capable. His first-half performances, including last season, were at times spectacular. He stole points for the team and kept them within shouting distance of a playoff spot, even though the team deserved no such courtesy. However, Sullivan benched him for the final 15 games of the season.

Tandem/1A/backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is a competent NHL goalie, but he lacks Jarry’s high-end ability. The Penguins can surely do more than just get by with Nedeljkovic, but the team needs the best of Jarry to achieve its goals.

A bad year from Jarry could knock the Penguins out of it before it truly begins.

2. Kevin Hayes

Jesse Puljujarvi and Rutger McGroarty had eye-popping training camps and preseason performances. There’s little question about whether they earned their roster spots, but if either doesn’t perform up to standards in the regular season, coach Mike Sullivan will swap them out with others.

Hayes, 32, is a different story. He counts for more than $3.5 million against the Penguins salary cap in each of the next two seasons. He is also a playmaker, and if his preseason performances showed anything, they showed he has top-shelf ability in that regard.

Some are down on his skating. Others knocked his lack of physicality despite being 6-foot-5 and 216 pounds.

Yet he did more than offer brief flashes of his uncanny ability to slow the play and create offense for his linemates. He did it often in the preseason. The Penguins sorely need his offensive contributions for the bottom two lines. Last season, it seems the bottom six was for defensive purposes only, and they struggled in that role, too.

If Hayes can help the third- or fourth-line score goals, that will put tons of weight off Crosby’s and Evgeni Malkin’s shoulders. If Hayes doesn’t kick in offense, then his value to the lineup is in question because the Penguins have plenty of depth grinders, and the bottom six could well become another disappointment.

Last season, Hayes contributed just 29 points to the St. Louis Blues lineup, and he found himself in the press box occasionally as the Blues struggled to stay in the playoff race. The very same could happen to the Penguins without some help from Hayes.

3. Evgeni Malkin

“Geno” can still lift the Penguins on his 38-year-old shoulders. But if Malkin succumbs to age or injury, the Penguins lineup will be thrown into chaos. Who would provide the offensive support behind Crosby? Would Sullivan turn to Hayes or Lars Eller?

For all of the promise shown by the reinvigorated prospects pool, the top centers are Sam Poulin and Tristan Broz; neither would be ready or able to carry that large bucket of water left by Malkin.

For the first time ever, the Penguins’ top two centers have played all 82 games in consecutive seasons. It might seem too much to ask for that running tally to hit three, but the Penguins are built on and built around Malkin. Wingers Michael Bunting and Rickard Rakell provide all of the necessary complements to be successful; speed, grit, talent, and puck retrieval are beside Malkin.

Last season, he slumped to just 67 points as the power play sputtered, failing to provide any statistical bump. It was the lowest output per game in Malkin’s career. To reach their goals, the Penguins need Malkin to play smartly (limit turnovers) and continue scoring somewhere close to average for average second-line centers.

Without Malkin in the middle or a productive Malkin in the middle, the Penguins won’t stand a chance.

Honorable Mentions/Sidebar

Rickard Rakell: Didn’t make the list because if he falters, the Penguins have multiple options, perhaps including rookie Rutger McGroarty.

Erik Karlsson: If he doesn’t improve on last season, the Penguins will be no worse for wear. Karlsson is bonus territory.

Ryan Graves: While many fans would put him on the list, the Penguins have options if he doesn’t rebound from last season’s rough go. The first option is Ryan Shea, who took his spot over the final month of last season. Another option could soon be rookie Owen Pickering. Graves can only help the Penguins.