Penguins One-Timers: Put Crosby to Bed; Overlooked Weakness

The cool breeze of the first September nights and a few falling leaves are as exciting for hockey fans as they are disappointing for schoolchildren. The Pittsburgh Penguins 2024-25 season is nearly upon us, and we can begin to answer questions or make final projections with some degree of knowledge of how the organization addressed issues and questions.

There are just a few weeks left before the response to “Is that your final answer?” gets locked in.

The team has answered some of the bigger questions.

Will the Penguins get younger? Yes, somewhat. According to the calculator at Elite Prospects, the Penguins are now only the third-oldest team in the league. Their average age has dropped to 29.38, and it could drop further, pending how coaches and management finalize the 23-player roster.

Will president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas add youth? It looked like a disappointing “Nope” until Dubas swung the Penguins’ trade for Rutger McGroarty. In fairness, Dubas gave away youth in the process by dealing Brayden Yager, but he most likely upgraded the team’s youth for this season and the long term.

1. Sidney Crosby

However, the biggest question curiously remains unanswered: Sidney Crosby’s next contract.

For those of you just rejoining us after summer vacation, Pittsburgh Hockey Now sourced reports on the Crosby contract story multiple times over the summer. From the denial of an imminent contract to its impact on other free agent deals to both sides tightening the screws to prevent any information–good or bad–from being public.

Yeah, it’s weird. Leon Draisaitl signing an eight-year mega-deal with Edmonton on Tuesday only stoked the Crosby embers.

A simple positive statement would quell wonders and unspoken worries. For every bristle and denial by fans that the situation could end in a separation, another day elapses increasing that very possibility. At this point, anyone who says it’s 100% or guaranteed that Crosby will return is “whistling past the graveyard.”

We just don’t know.

The two sides are into September, and TSN was the first outlet to revisit the What-If scenario on Tuesday by examining what a Crosby trade might look like.

People don’t keep good news quiet. With training camp starting soon and the Penguins’ first road trip going through Toronto and Montreal, you can be sure the issue will be brought up every single day, especially on that road trip. And it will continue to be brought up until there is some reassurance.

2. Overlooked Penguins Weakness

Perhaps overlooking the Penguins’ blue liners is a localized phenomenon. Like most others, PHN has focused on the stars, the goalies, and even the Penguins’ roster glut, but perhaps we should pay more attention to the defense.

Matt Grzelcyk, 30, replaced P.O Joseph who was not tendered a qualifying offer and departed via free agency. That’s just about the extent of the expected changes.

Ryan Graves will presumably remain among the top six unless he proves incapable of the role. Sebastian Aho may take the seventh defenseman role that Chad Ruhwedel steadily occupied before the Penguins traded him to the New York Rangers at the 2024 NHL trade deadline.

The overriding question remains ever-present: Did Dubas do enough to solve that problem for a team that mightily struggled to hold leads, large or small?

Much will depend on Graves’s rebound from a disastrous first season with the Penguins. His biggest problem last season was D-zone awareness. In short, he drifted from his stay-at-home position often into dead zones, leaving the net front unguarded or puck carriers too much space.

Nearly as much will depend on Grzelcyk’s ability to adapt quickly and provide stability. It only stands to reason that Grzelcyk should get the same grace period afforded to Erik Karlsson and Graves last season when they were new to the system. However, the overflowing number of teams in the middle of the Eastern Conference, which are potentially playoff teams, leaves little runway for adjustment and settling into new surroundings.

It will be go-time for both Graves and Grzelcyk.

Their success will be team success, but the inverse is also true.

3. Eager to See Murashov

Count me as eager to see goalie Sergie Murashov in the Prospects Challenge. He played like a man amongst boys in the Penguins Development Camp. Since Taylor Gauthier has played for two professional seasons, there’s little question about what he can do. Murashov will probably play at least two of the three games in the tournament.

Read More: Penguins Rookie Camp Gets Intense; Standouts & Surprises (+)

Side note: It’s good the Penguins are back in the tournament. We understood why former GM Ron Hextall didn’t like participating (the team didn’t have enough prospects to field a competent team). Still, the benefit of competing against other teams and the camaraderie it builds are tangible.

It will be a less-than-perfect situation for all Penguins goalies this season. Gauthier probably deserves a promotion to the AHL after excelling with Wheeling in the ECHL. Joel Blomqvist is close to an NHL promotion but blocked, and he’ll share the net with Murashov in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Murashov should probably get more than tandem starts this season, too.

Six goalies and three nets.

Murashov might well be cut from special cloth. A poor performance at the tournament won’t submarine his progression, but another stellar performance will add fuel to the buzz.

It will be enjoyable to see him, McGroarty, Tanner Howe, and Harrison Brunicke.

I assume Tristan Broz will center McGroarty, but the Penguins system is currently light on centers with offensive talent.