Penguins Blog: Stories I Didn’t Publish

There are a dozen different issues with the Pittsburgh Penguins, not the least of which is the collision of perceptions and results between the first 68 games and the last 14. The Penguins stunk. And then they didn’t as they began to win the battles not only against their opponents but themselves.

It was two entirely different teams contained within one season.

And there begins the Penguins offseason, but it’s also time to clear the cache of things I didn’t report, didn’t write, or wanted to write. It’s worth looking at the darkest two weeks of the franchise in recent memory. Perhaps not since the last days of coach Mike Johnston, which preceded coach Mike Sullivan’s arrival, or the bitter turmoil following the 2012 playoff loss to the Philadephia Flyers had things been so uncertain and off the rails.

Early March certainly had more chaos and upheaval than I’ve ever witnessed with any Penguins team. Sullivan admitted more than he’s ever said before, though in classic muted tones. He only conceded, “They’re human.”

I wrote three articles that I didn’t publish over a six-day span. In the fury of the moment, what felt true in one minute did not in the next. Also, I know you pretty well. One story just wasn’t worth the public scorn, though it proved to be legitimate.

Before closing the book on the 2023-24 season, it is worth remembering how bad things were and indirectly providing context for the late rebound.

Penguins Trade?

The story included the following paragraphs:

“Should the Pittsburgh Penguins claim Kuznetsov off waivers? No, and hell no. The worst-case scenario is a summer buyout which would cost the Penguins a $4 million on the 2024-25 salary cap and another $2 million on the 2025-26 cap.

The Penguins have enough deadweight on their books. However, there is a condition under which the Penguins could add Kuznetsov and add secondary benefits: A trade.”

A few days later, the Carolina Hurricanes gave up a third-round pick, but the Capitals ate 50% of Kuznetsov’s salary. Carolina gambled and won, but good teams can do that. It seems like players find their stride on good teams far more often than they find them on struggling teams. Call it the aura or contagious positivity.

Quite frankly, everyone was so disgusted with the Penguins and so angry over their blown lead against the Calgary Flames, which became the death knell in Jake Guentzel’s Penguins career, that I pulled the story. It would have been…