Anderson Op Ed: Making Playoffs Next Season Should Be Crucial

Perhaps Kyle Dubas was using some psychology. Yeah, that’s probably it. The Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager only intimated that missing the playoffs next season might be an acceptable part of the team’s plan to return to contending status so players would be motivated to prove him wrong.

Right?

Because upon a considerable amount of thought since Dubas put forth such an idea in late April – after the Penguins missed the playoffs for the third straight spring – there are valid reasons that the team does indeed badly need to get back to the postseason next year, even if it’s barely clinching a wildcard spot.

You probably remember when Dubas said of his plan:

“It’s not trying to find a way just to sneak into the playoffs. It’s trying to find a way to arrive back there and then remain back there. We continue to be committed to our plan and program to return there as urgently as possible.

“When I say as urgently as possible, I try not to put a timeline on it because I don’t want to be a perpetual and evergreen conference when we come in and say ‘Aw, we’re a year or two or so away.’ We’re pushing. That’s what the organization is used to and what the fans want. We just have to stick to a very concise plan and execute our butts off. That’s for sure.”

Most of that sounds good, sounds promising. Except the part about the playoffs. That just can’t be a tolerable sacrifice next season.

There needs to be more urgency to get back to the postseason right away. Sneaking in is still being in, although even that will take a strong offseason of work from Dubas and a strong first season by whoever Dubas hires as the next Penguins coach.

Mark it down: Missing the playoffs again next year will put a significant dent in the Penguins’ plan to regain the status as a Stanley Cup contender that they held for many years before the recent backslide.

Invaluable experience

Even if it is just sneaking into the playoffs, and even if the Penguins make it in only to be ousted in the first round, being a part of those games, that atmosphere is a key part of building a contender.

Besides, once a team is in, who knows what can happen? The top teams in each conference did not make it to their conference final this year.

While winning a series next year might be a stretch, playing any postseason games at the NHL level can change the learning curve for becoming a competitive playoff team.

Look at the Penguins from the 2000s. In Sidney Crosby’s rookie season, 2005-06, the Penguins finished with 58 points, second-to-last in the league. The next season, they topped 100 points, made the playoffs and lost in the first round. The next season, they won their division and advanced to the Stanley Cup final. And the next season, 2008-09, they won the Cup. While there were upgrades to the roster along the way, many of the players were young up-and-comers who learned with each playoff appearance.

See how getting a taste can work? That needs to happen for the Penguins in 2025-26.

Do it for Sidney Crosby

If you know much about team captain and all-time great Sidney Crosby, if you saw the way he chose to go play in the IIHF World Championship this month and then played his behind off, then you know this is true:

In every bone in his body, the man needs to get back to the playoffs, and to do that next season.

Even at nearly 38, Crosby lives hockey, breathes it and has proven he can still play it at a high level. He has many times said he believes making the playoffs is hard and can’t be taken for granted, even though his immense talent and intensity were on display in the postseason for 15 of his first 16 NHL seasons (he missed one for medical reasons).

He has 71 goals, 201 points in 180 career playoff games, with three Stanley Cups and two Conn Smythe trophies. You think he would play inspired hockey in the postseason in 2026?

He is under contract for two more years, with his plans beyond that TBD. The Penguins owe it to him to get back into the playoffs next year, and would benefit greatly from it.

Youth Will Be Served

For different reasons, the handful of young players who are expected to be on the Penguins’ roster next season need to get at least a chance to experience the NHL playoffs, the sooner, the better

Many got shortchanged this past season. The Penguins were hoping their crop of young pros would get the valuable experience of making a run in the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had a strong regular season. Instead, WBS got bounced in, count them, two games.

But what if those players get not only the experience of a full or close to full regular season in the NHL in 2025-26, but also a chance to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs?

Do you think being under the tutelage of Crosby and watching – or playing with – him in that setting might accelerate their career path and the timeline for the Penguins’ plan?