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Penguins' Competitive Drive May Lead to Devastating Consequences in the Long Run
Photo credit: Bastille Post Global
The Penguins are not making the playoffs, and despite being sellers at the deadline, they just keep on winning, which is hurting their chase for a lottery pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a rebuild, spending most of the 2024-25 season trading players for draft picks and younger prospects.
It was never actually something that was ever an option for them to make a playoff run, but they've come on a fascinating streak of wins as of late.
Following Saturday's 7-3 victory against the New Jersey Devils, the Penguins have won four straight, three of them against teams that qualified for the playoffs (Vegas, Minnesota, and New Jersey) and a red-hot St. Louis club.
That has brought them within six points of an Eastern Conference wild card, leading fans of the team to think of a potential playoff push.
But all of this is just one giant illusion. The reality is the numbers simply do not work in their favor. With but a month left to play in the regular season, the deficit is too great to overcome. Josh Yohe recently weighed in on what has been happening lately.
"The Penguins are probably hurting their draft position right now. There's no other way to put it.
They appeared on track for a top-five pick and, while that remains entirely possible, it becomes less likely every time the Penguins win a game."
"Blame Kyle Dubas for this if you want. I suppose he didn't have to recall Jarry, knowing full well that Joel Blomqvist was in over his head at the NHL level. And I suppose he could have traded Rickard Rakell, which would have badly wounded the current team.
But don't blame Sullivan or the players. They're paid to coach and paid to win hockey games. You can't tell a team or a coach to tank. It doesn't work that way and, frankly, I find it pretty admirable that this team is playing as hard as it is."
- Josh Yohe
They appeared on track for a top-five pick and, while that remains entirely possible, it becomes less likely every time the Penguins win a game."
"Blame Kyle Dubas for this if you want. I suppose he didn't have to recall Jarry, knowing full well that Joel Blomqvist was in over his head at the NHL level. And I suppose he could have traded Rickard Rakell, which would have badly wounded the current team.
But don't blame Sullivan or the players. They're paid to coach and paid to win hockey games. You can't tell a team or a coach to tank. It doesn't work that way and, frankly, I find it pretty admirable that this team is playing as hard as it is."
- Josh Yohe
The Penguins have played more games than everyone else
It's not just their point shortfall, as it's also the crowded landscape of clubs in front of them. The Penguins have played 69 games, more than any team in wild-card contention.
Ottawa and the New York Rangers, current wild-card leaders, have three and two games in hand, respectively, and the Rangers, Canadiens, Bruins, and Islanders all have games in hand too.
Even with recent success, time and mathematics are not working in their favor, and at this point, they are better off just tanking and securing a better draft pick for the future.
| POLL | ||
MARS 16 | 265 ANSWERS Penguins' Competitive Drive May Lead to Devastating Consequences in the Long Run Should the Penguins start to tank to get a better draft pick? | ||
| Yes | 115 | 43.4 % |
| No | 150 | 56.6 % |
| List of polls | ||