The Penguins Next Step

The Penguins Next Step

Written By: Chad Revak

So what do the Penguins do now?  They lost out on the two top free agents in this year’s free agent class after making substantial offers to both of them.  Is there a plan B?  Does Shero have some magic up his sleeves to acquire another top tier winger in the likes of Rick Nash or Bobby Ryan?  Either one of those two would demand a huge return, that kind of return where I don’t know if it would be worth it to even consider it an offer.  But, knowing Shero’s past there is no doubt that he would listen or make an offer if he felt it was right.  I mean this was the guy who brought in Marian Hossa for next to nothing.  Even though the Penguins have had a tough off season so far, you could argue that they actually haven’t done that bad.  We lost Jordan Staal in a trade that brought back a very nice return, we lost out on the two big name free agents, and we lost Sullivan and Michalek.  Well first things first, Staal is a huge loss for the Penguins, but you have to look at it from a management situation.  Staal was going to walk after this season anyway.  So why not get a great return now instead of getting nothing at the end of the season.  Secondly, it hurt not to get Parise or Suter.  But, it’s not the end of the world, because the Penguins have two guys on their team that have won Hart trophies, MVP’s, and most importantly, Stanley Cups.  With Crosby and Malkin there should be no panic in any Pens fan because when you have these caliber players on your roster, you have a chance to win every year.  Sure Crosby doesn’t have that Parise type winger.  But, Dupuis, last year put up career numbers, and that was without Sid for most of the season. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; Crosby makes every player around him ten times better. He brings out the best in players, and makes it easy for guys to score.  Free agency hasn’t been a complete loss.  The Tanner Glass addition makes up for the loss of Asham.  Virtually the same players, Glass may actually have more skill than most think.  We also apparently are stacking the WBS Pens by signing so many players to minor league contracts.  Who knows, maybe one of those guys will eventually get called up and contribute more than fans think. Where does Shero go from here?  Is he satisfied with the team right now, or is there that missing piece he is searching for?  I think, for starters, he should save the cap space for the trade deadline and next year’s free agency.  He could target players like Jerome Iginla or even bring back Ryan Malone at the deadline for a strong net front presence.  I really think we should wait until next summer, where again there will be some big fish in the free agent class.  Shea Weber and Corey Perry are a few names that come to mind that would be attractive to Shero and could address the needs of a physical d-man or that scoring winger for Crosby.  Either way, in Shero we trust, and whatever moves he does or doesn’t make, this team is still a contender for the Stanley Cup.