Should the Penguins take the chance at one more playoff run with Crosby and Malkin?

For all the talk about Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin potentially wanting to join a winning team in the final years of their storied NHL careers, one possibility has always seemingly been ruled out – the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

That is, until this season, where Crosby and Malkin have been scoring at an elite pace, and the Penguins find themselves sitting second in the Metropolitan Division with 21 points after 16 games. 

With Crosby’s 11 goals and 20 points, could general manager Kyle Dubas consider taking another swing at the Stanley Cup, while still leaning on the 38-year-old’s offensive production?

On the latest episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton dove into what the plans could be in Pittsburgh, given the surprising start. 

Yaremchuk: The Penguins are in a unique spot where they could tank and have a good shot at Gavin McKenna…but I also think if you’re in the shoes of Kyle Dubas… you’re sitting there going thinking, ‘what if we have a chance to take one more run at it with Crosby and Malkin?’ This might be your last chance to do it.

Hutton: I think you get a free pass as the GM or ownership because of the storied history that this team has and the dynasty they were, and they still are. If there is a bit of blowback on picks that you give away to try to build to have some sort of playoff run, I feel like it is all okay because of the guys we’re talking about, right? 

I think this is a different factor when we look at where the Seattle Kraken are, and even the Calgary Flames this year. If Calgary just holds onto a bunch of players, and then a few years from now, you’re like, ‘why did we push when we don’t have anything here.’ It’s a little different with Pittsburgh,  when you have one of the best players of all time still producing, still humming along.

I do worry about goaltending. I just don’t know if Arturs Silovs is ready to carry the mail without Tristan Jarry and vice versa…just don’t know if it’s actually sustainable, but time will tell with this older squad.

You can catch the rest of the Penguins breakdown and the full episode here…