3 Optimistic Takeaways Kyle Dubas Must Leverage for the Penguins to Thrive Again

The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd straight year, meaning that this is now the longest stretch of time in franchise icon Sidney Crosby's career without appearing in a postseason game.

There were multiple things that helped seal Pittsburgh's fate this year, including downright bad goaltending from Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist.

The good news is that there are a few things that the Penguins can look back upon during the summer to build on for next year.

In the 1st place, the play of captain and franchise icon Sidney Crosby continues to impress even well into his 30s. Not only does he lead the team in points with 86 (30G, 56A) but he's also in the midst of a 12-game point streak. He's under contract for another 2 years at his customary AAV (average annual value) of $8.7 million.

While he's not "Sid the Kid" anymore, the Penguins do have some intriguing youth that could potentially play a larger role next year. They've re-called forwards Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen from the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and both have started to get their feet wet at the NHL level.

Speaking of young players, something else Dubas can feel optimistic about is the potential of goaltender Sergei Murashov; he's impressed in the AHL this year with an 11-2 record and has been called by some the franchise's goaltender of the future.

He's also set the WBS Penguins' franchise record for most consecutive wins by a rookie goalie with 10.

Whether or not the 3 aforementioned young players will be able to have the same kind of effect on the franchise that franchise icons like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Lelang and ex-Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had remain to be seen.

While this year has mostly been a disappointment in Pittsburgh, it wouldn't be accurate to say that there's nothing for fans or the current players to look forward to.

You can bet that Dubas will do what he can in order to maximize the time that Crosby, Malkin and Letang have left in their professional careers.