Last chance for the Penguins’ core under Kyle Dubas!

There is a lot on the line for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Adam Proteau of the Hockey News has been putting up great content when it comes to offseason outlooks and when it comes to the Penguins and new president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas, the stakes are high. Proteau believes that while it was obvious the former Toronto Maple Leafs GM was going to keep the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang together, it might be the last time if the 2023-24 is another fail.

It was shameful for the Penguins to miss out on the postseasons with star players like Crosby, Malkin and Letang on board. It cannot happen again.

Dubas pulled some moves to help out Sid and Geno up front, trading for longtime Vegas Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith, then signing Lars Eller, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto, Andreas Johnsson and Vinnie Hinostroza for some added depth and talent. He also got defenseman Ryan Graves for some punch on the blue line.

With all of this, Pittsburgh has no excuse to miss the postseason in 2024. But if the Penguins cannot clinch, Proteau believes it will be time for the core three to be dismantled:

“Dubas took the Penguins’ president of hockey operations job knowing he’d be bringing back the core, but that’s no assurance things will improve for them this time around. They do need good luck with the injury bug, but they also have to be significantly better in their own zone, and as we all ought to know by now, that’s much easier said than done.

"This could be a one-last-gasp kind of year, or worse – a no-more-gasps type of season. The stakes are high for Pittsburgh, and they need all hands on deck and functioning well if they’re going to rebound from the disappointment of 2022-23.”

When Letang signed his extension in Pittsburgh, he mentioned how he “Geno and Sid want to finish as Penguins.”

“We truly believe in ourselves, and think we have a lot to offer.”

Time to deliver, boys.

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