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Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Penguins Need to Find Their Identity Before the Season Ends

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jeremy Schouppe | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 3:25 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Penguins lack an identity, which is an insane statement considering the organization’s star power. However, this team is on the verge of missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, primarily because they do not have a specific aspect of their game they can rely on. Offensively, they are far too reliant on Sidney Crosby‘s line; their defensive core lacks one key thing — defence; and their goaltending ranks in the bottom five in the NHL this season.

Why the Penguins Lack Identity

When the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2015-16 and 2016-17, nobody wanted to play them, not just because they had Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and a hall-of-fame goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury. It was more because they were tough to play against because they got contributions from guys throughout their lineup and were committed to playing a 200-foot game — so much so they had the best expected goal percentage in the NHL over those two seasons.

Now, the Penguins’ roster is entirely flawed. There are the goaltending issues with them having to send their former all-star goaltender Tristan Jarry to the American Hockey League (AHL) twice this season (who the Penguins just recalled.) Five of the seven Penguins defensemen have a negative net rating. Crosby, Malkin, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust are the only forwards on the Penguins with a positive net rating. (via Hockey Stat Cards).

This Penguins team is so disjointed that it ranks among the bottom three teams in the NHL in shots off the rush and among the bottom 10 in shots while cycling or off the forecheck. It also ranks among the bottom three in zone entry differential and botched puck retrievals per 60 minutes. These are all signs of a disconnected hockey team. (via All Three Zones).

When teams look lost on the ice, as the Penguins have for much of this season, most teams will first look to make a coaching change. However, the Penguins have one of the most head decorated coaches in Mike Sullivan. He is closing in on 500-career wins as head coach, which would put him into the top 30 all-time, and he has two Stanley Cups to his name.

Sullivan is in his 10th season coaching the Penguins, and with the team struggling, some may argue the team is no longer buying into his message and that it might be time for a new voice in the room. However, with Sullivan being the bench boss for the USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off and seeing how well and inspired that team played, it became evident that Sullivan’s messaging and coaching were not the issue.

The problem with the Penguins is their roster. They need way more players committed to playing a 200-foot game and dedicated to limiting chances on the defensive end like they had in the back-to-back Stanley Cup seasons. Regardless of the Penguins’ team save percentage ranking among the bottom five in the NHL, their defensive struggles can be attributed solely to their inability to suppress scoring chances. They rank in the bottom 10 in scoring chances allowed, expected goals allowed, and high-danger goals allowed per 60 minutes.

What Direction Should the Penguins Go?

A Penguins fire sale was a hot topic of conversation for a while before general manager Kyle Dubas refuted the rumours, and Crosby and Malkin reiterated to the media that they wanted to stay in Pittsburgh. While every Penguins fan wants to hear this, it leaves the Penguins’ management in an awkward situation.

With Crosby and Malkin closing in on 40 years old over the next couple of seasons, the Penguins’ management has every right to consider the future. But with these two still playing at an extremely high level, the Penguins owe them the chance at one more playoff run by icing a much more competitive roster than they have over the past two seasons.

The good news is that the Penguins have six contracts scheduled to expire after this season and will retain the rights to two restricted free agents. Then, the following season, the Penguins will have eight more contracts expiring. These contracts coming off the books will allow Dubas to retool this roster completely.

Dubas has gained a reputation for aggressively signing players for the wrong reasons. You can point to numerous deals where people argue that Dubas overpaid. None more prevalent with the Penguins than Jarry and Ryan Graves (from ‘What I’m hearing about a potential Penguins Erik Karlsson trade’ – The Athletic, 2-25-2025)

With the 2025 Trade Deadline closing in, the Penguins must start considering their offseason. Dubas needs to be better at being aggressive and going after players who will fit the roles the team needs, rather than getting stuck on the high-profile players who are typically being overpaid as they are highly sought after.

From this trade deadline on, Dubas, along with the rest of his management, needs to decide on the direction of this team. At this time, a direction or identity is unclear; the team is so disjointed you can’t tell what style of hockey they are trying to play. The bright side is, with all of the upcoming moves at the trade deadline and in the offseason, the Penguins have tons of flexibility to start retooling their roster and building a more unified group that can give their aging core a couple more cracks in the playoffs.