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Grading the Penguins’ Big Three: Crosby, Malkin & Letang
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- Grading the Penguins’ Big Three: Crosby, Malkin & Letang
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
At different points in their careers, the Pittsburgh Penguins core three with Sidney Crosby , Evgeni Malkin , and Kris Letang was a coach's dream, a coach's nightmare, their opponents' nightmare, and now they find themselves at possibly the end of the greatest run by any trio in the history of North American Sports.
No trio has been together longer, and this season marked two decades that the trio has been joined at the hip. They have defined an era, winning three Stanley Cups together, which is more than 25 other NHL teams have won in the 59 years of the modern era beginning in 1967.
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And no trio in North American sports history has been greater.
All things must end, and this season was supposed to be a victory lap of sorts before the Penguins' rebuild took hold. The organization even went out of its way to honor them with numerous tributes and even with bobblehead giveaways, that when combined, form one core-three bobblehead.
Indeed, this season was supposed to be the last, as Malkin's four-year contract is expiring. Everyone, including Malkin, assumed for a couple of years that he would retire at the end of the deal, but then a funny thing happened. After a season in which he generated ample offense and posted more than a point per game, Malkin decided he's not done and now awaits the organization's decision on a new contract.
It's amusing to think back to the hours after Malkin signed his deal in 2022–most people would have bet that the then-35-year-old Malkin wouldn't finish his four years. Now, here we are, four years later, the Penguins organization again going through an ownership transfer just as they were in 2022, and the core three still standing, still wanting another chance at the Stanley Cup.
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The season ended on a sour note, but the months preceding their fifth consecutive playoff series loss captivated fans, even as Letang was on a performance roller coaster that reached the high and low end of his spectrum.
As we grade the Penguins' season and the players, the grading scale is not a fixed constant but a sliding scale based on expectations and potential, and the player's meeting of those marks.
Big Three Report Card
Sidney Crosby : A
The ageless wonder remains a legitimate top center and helped linemates Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell to maintain their post-30 career explosions. There were times when his age was obvious, and he's not the defensive hammer that he once was, but he remains the very best player in the league below the dots and in the corners; no one generates offensive from the dirty areas quite like or as well as Crosby.
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This season, Crosby posted his 21st consecutive point-per-game season while scoring 29 goals with 45 assists in 68 games. Unlike last season, when Crosby finished at minus-20, this season he was a flat even, plus-0. The Penguins' pillar overcame a torn MCL in the Olympics, missed over three weeks once the NHL season resumed in late February, and was visibly hampered even after his return, but was also visibly improving in the final days of the season and into the playoffs.
Perhaps accounting for age but also making room for others, Penguins coach Dan Muse took some burden off Crosby this season by regularly rolling all four lines in a way greater than most coaches would dream. Crosby played a career low 19:14 per game, which was 1:08 lower than last season and 1:22 lower than his career average. Crosby's shot total (160) and total shots attempted (289) were markedly down from recent norms, but his shooting percentage was higher, all due in part to the Penguins' lethal rush game.
Crosby remains the bedrock of the Penguins organization and continues to meet his unreasonably lofty expectations.
Evgeni Malkin A
Malkin, 39, posted his best points-per-game season in six years, shedding the offensive decline that had marked his last two seasons. Malkin played through a significant shoulder injury that limited his game, finally underwent the big position shift from center to wing, and posted a robust 61 points in 56 games.
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He far exceeded expectations.
As the Penguins' rush game flourished like it hasn't in years, Malkin was at the front of the pack. Unfortunately, injuries again took a sizable chunk of his season, and Muse also delivered Malkin the lowest average ice time of his career (17:36), but it was only 10 seconds off last year's previous career low.
Malkin's goal at the start of the season was, "I just want to be happy." And by the end, it had fully morphed into a public push for a new contract. If the Penguins were still chasing a Stanley Cup without the spectre of a rebuild shadowing every decision, re-signing Malkin would be imperative.
Malkin showed chemistry with trade acquisition, and fellow Russian, Egor Chinakhov . He also helped Justin Brazeau 's quest to establish himself in the NHL and the Penguins lineup, and Anthony Mantha 's quest to re-establish himself in the NHL. Malkin with Brazeau and Mantha filled the net until Malkin suffered a shoulder injury (during a three point game) on Dec. 4 in Tampa Bay. And Malkin elevated Tommy Novak 's game, helping Novak re-establish the production of his early career in Nashville .
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His game had growing flaws later in the season, especially on the power play, but the overall body of work far exceeded expectations. Malkin was a rising tide for several players, and his name was consistently on the scoresheet. He earned his A, and changed the minds of many Penguins fans who were ready to say goodbye.
Kris Letang C
Like a Shakespearean drama, Letang's season was a five act play. The first act was an extended slog for the first two months of the season as he played with Ryan Shea . The pair was statistically fine, and Shea played some of his very best hockey, but Letang clearly did not; he lacked the high points to offset the low moments.
In November, Letang registered only four points (1-3-4) and was a minus in seven of 12 games, and only a plus in two of them. He finished the month a minus-6.
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However, the second act was an upswing when the Penguins acquired Brett Kulak with Stuart Skinner (and a 2029 second-round pick) for Tristan Jarry on Dec. 12. Muse paired Kulak with Letang, and it was as if the heavens sang once again.
Letang had an immediate revival playing beside the reliable and simple game Kulak brought. In December, Letang had nine points (0-9-9) and was a minus-1. He was visibly more effective and involved in the game; not coincidentally, his turnovers skyrocketed from nine in November to 25 in December.
The third act was not the climax of the story but a return of tension. Letang struggled mightily after the Olympic break when the Penguins acquired defenseman Sam Girard in a trade that sent Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche .
To write that Letang and Girard merely did not work well together for the first several weeks would be to waste so many of the colorful negative adjectives in the English language. Awful. Ghastly. Horrendous. They were singularly a jarring soft spot in the Penguins' lineup as they passed pucks to the other team and tangled on defensive zone assignments.
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The fourth act of the story featured Girard and Letang getting to a solid place. They stabilized in the last weeks of the season, and Letang was a plus-6 in his final six games of the season. All appeared to be well.
But the fifth act of the Shakespearean drama that reads more like a tragedy, they again fell below the line in the first few games of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers , but then rebounded with brilliance in the last few games before the dastardly Flyers vanquished the Penguins.
Letang's season was an extreme dichotomy pending his D-pairing, and it's impossible to judge him individually without relying on the pairing results. The wild ride was far too deep into the red to offset the somewhat muted high points. Overall, it was, at best, a wash and perhaps not even that.
Severe injuries and health issues have taken a toll on Letang, who hinted at playing through injuries this season when he spoke to the media on clean out day.
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He will be 39 next season, but has two more years remaining on his 35+ contract. His battle with age looks like a heavyweight fight that he sometimes wins and sometimes loses, putting his grade at a flat C.
The post Grading the Penguins' Big Three: Crosby, Malkin & Letang appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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