Are the Penguins actually Stanley Cup contenders?: Mailbag

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The NHL has never been more balanced than it is right now, with the best teams never this close to the worst. Do I think the Penguins are going to win the Stanley Cup? I do not. Do I think they’ll win a round in the playoffs? Yeah, I think they have a real chance to do that. There are two teams in the East — Tampa Bay and Carolina — that I wouldn’t particularly like their chances against. The Penguins have the elements needed to win a championship. They’ve scored the second-most goals in the NHL. They have a true star on the back end in Erik Karlsson, and the rest of their blue line is rounding into form, especially Kris Letang and Sam Girard, who seem to be figuring things out. I can’t say their goaltending is good enough to make a true run, but we can’t completely discount it — Stuart Skinner has reached the Cup Final before, albeit with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. There is a path: Win the first-round series while Carolina gets upset in the first round and Tampa Bay loses sometime in the first two rounds. Those are a lot of ifs, and they’re unlikely, but in that scenario, I could envision them making a run. If Crosby gets a sniff of a championship run in the playoffs, his game will go to a different place. Still, this team has defensive and goaltending flaws, and that’s not a great recipe for playoff success. So, I see them losing in the second round, most likely. But you’re allowed to dream, and let’s not act like this team isn’t pretty darn good, because it is. More likely to be on Team Canada in 2030, Crosby or Kindel? — @egorscores Count me as a huge Ben Kindel fan. He’s awfully good, but I don’t know if he’s Canadian Olympic team good. I’d say Crosby playing at 42 is more likely. Truth be told, I think that’s probably a long shot, but bet against him at your own peril. It will be interesting to see how much longer Crosby plays. I don’t know that anyone has that answer, perhaps even him. But I will say, he’s been in a particularly good mood lately. Sure, he’s always pleasant and polite by nature, but you can sense how much winning puts him in a happy place. The Penguins are winning, which is all he really wants at this stage of his career. I can’t imagine him walking away for a while longer. What do you think are genuine star targets for the Penguins this offseason? — @gopens_ftcaps I’ve written this before, and I’ll say it again: If Jason Robertson is made available this summer, I expect Penguins GM/president Kyle Dubas to be first in line. He wants to take big swings on young talent, and if Robinson becomes available, there likely won’t be a better or younger player out there within the next year. He’s a star. But will be a Star much longer? Tough to say. I think he wants to stay in Dallas, and I’m sure the Stars would love to keep him, but that won’t be easy because of how many players they already have locked up. I know Dubas loves Robertson’s game. The Penguins have all the trade pieces necessary, and they have the cap space to give him a massive deal. I would assume the Stars would rather trade him to the East. We’ll see. Dream Penguins Lineup using players from 2007 onwards? — @jgravityp Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust Chris Kunitz-Evgeni Malkin-Phil Kessel Pascal Dupuis-Jordan Staal-Patric Hornqvist Carl Hagelin-Matt Cullen-Bill Guerin I’ve tried to put together a team that blends star power with role players, and I think I’ve put together a team that would beat just about any other roster constructed from that era. I just love that third line, by the way. No one is scoring against those guys. If Evgeni Malkin retires before Sidney Crosby, which seems likely, would the Penguins retire No. 71 before No. 87, or would they wait until Sid’s goes up first? — @RobCodispot I think they’ll retire 71 immediately after he retires, and I’d say the same for 87. So, if Crosby plays for three years after Malkin retires, I don’t think they’d wait to retire No. 71. That wouldn’t be necessary. Sure, we link them in many ways, which is sensible, but they each deserve to have their own night. Maybe I should ask Aaron Portzline, but why did the Blue Jackets give up on Egor Chinakhov? — @JWolperPGH That’s a great question for Aaron, and you totally should ask, Jerry. He could provide more background. That said, I’m completely amused by how many Penguins openly discuss their own confusion about why Chinakhov was available. The Penguins think he’s going to become a star, and if you’ve seen him play, you understand why. If you were Dan Muse, how would you manage Letang the rest of this season? — @runningbeam  Oh, I wouldn’t reduce his ice time. I know that’s what many people want, and I get it. But historically speaking, Letang plays better when he receives more minutes. Letang and Girard are starting to play better. I’d keep rolling with them, getting them as many reps as possible before the playoffs. That said, if the game on April 14 in St. Louis means nothing, I’d sit Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Karlsson, Skinner and anyone else who’s banged up. Even if the games against Washington don’t mean anything — they probably will, for the chance at home-ice advantage in the first round — I’d let the stars play. These could be Alex Ovechkin’s final games. Nobody knows. The Penguins’ big names will want to play in those games, and they should be allowed to do so. Playing Ovi one last time isn’t bigger than the playoffs, but let’s not minimize it. You also don’t want guys going more than a week without playing before the playoffs. That’s a little too long. I thought Ilya Solovyov looked really good, even on his off side. The staff obviously feels differently. What are your thoughts? — @BenderHeel I agree! I’m a fan of his, especially in certain matchups. Against bigger, heavier teams, he’s an asset. However, I can’t say that I liked his game against Carolina at all. The Hurricanes made him look slow. But he’s a solid guy to have around, and I’ll note that he looked great with Girard in a game against Boston a few weeks back. Nice guy to have around. Do you have any interest in doing radio or TV play-by-play or color analysis for hockey? — @Imheathyy I’d be happy to give it a shot, though I don’t know if I’d be any good at it. I love doing radio work, but that’s a much, much harder job than people realize. It’s one of those jobs that everyone loves to critique, but until you’ve been in the booth and done it yourself, you probably have no idea how difficult it is. I wouldn’t be against radio or TV opportunities. Writing will always be my foundation, though. What is the worst arena in the league to do your job in, and what is the best, just in terms of the media experiences? — @cmupensfan  Media experience and fan experience are two different things. But in terms of media experience, Ottawa really stinks. It’s hard to get to the locker room after games, and it’s hard to find TVs when you’re on the locker room level, so that you know what’s going on in the final seconds of games. I could go on and on. It’s not a media-friendly place. Favorite building for media? PPG Paints Arena is excellent. Montreal just gets it — that’s always a comfortable place to cover a game. I love games in Columbus, too. Ever get a rumor before anyone else knew, from a regular fan, that turned out to be right? Bonus points if you can say what it was. — @Nuttinghatesus  Oh, for sure. It usually stems from people who have been in the hospital or who have friends/family who are nurses or doctors. They’ll tell you stuff. They’re usually right. But you have to be careful and verify everything through other means, or it’ll blow up in your face. Who you got at Augusta? — @LoopersProShop I am not a golf expert. Side note: It’s really great of the NHL to put what could be the final Sid-Ovi matchups head-to-head with the Masters on Saturday and Sunday. I’ll be prudent and go with Scottie Scheffler. My sources tell me he’s pretty good. Thanks for reading, everyone. Keep enjoying what has been a dream season for the Penguins. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Josh Yohe is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh joined The Athletic in 2017 after covering the Penguins for a decade, first for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and then for DKPittsburghSports.com. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshYohe_PGH