It’s the offseason, it’s Friday, you know what that means. Or maybe you forgot, if so fear not the Friday Polls are back. We start today by looking back at the Penguins’ 2024-25 season. It may feel like a forever ago that many or most accepted that the Pens were not a very good team, but there was still a lot of optimism as little as seven months ago about the team’s prospects.
Despite loud voices to the contrary, most people tend to be outwardly optimistic or not expect worst case scenarios given how the last 20 years of Penguin hockey has conditioned us all.
Looking back, it’s a bit wild over 60% of folks here thought or at least voted with their hearts to expect the playoffs. Pittsburgh didn’t upgrade at all over the off-season, using most of their cap space to take on unwanted players like Kevin Hayes and Cody Glass and/or make short-term bets on players like Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Grzelcyk. Some of those guys play well and were traded for a second or third round picks, some of them, well not so much.
Only 3% were brave enough (and likely at least half were simply trolls) to be right about ending up as a bottom-10 team. I suppose that goes to show expectation and hope will always spring eternal on the eve of a season. Nothing wrong with that, why invest so much time, energy, effort and often times money in a team going nowhere fast.
It’ll be interesting to see how the answers sway today. Unlike the past few years, the Pens at least had a token outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs up until the very few games of the season in 2023 and 2024. This year they were all but out of the playoff race easily before 4 Nations in February. That’s a lot more time to process the acceptance of the situation. Last year at this time, over half (52%) of respondents were level 4 or 5 angry over missing the playoffs. (Then again, that pre-season a whopping 95% of our responses indicated they thought/expected Kyle Dubas to return Pittsburgh to the playoffs in his first season on the job, which gives good reason to also be miffed about the end result from last year).
But that was then, this is now. You’ve had more time to deal with the fact the Pens weren’t a playoff team from pretty much opening night’s 6-0 loss. We’re not asking this question mere hours or days after the team fell short, it’s been a result months in the making.
Poll
How upset are you about the 2024-25 Pens season as a whole?
5%
5- Bitterly disappointed, still as mad about the results as ever, perhaps even angrier about repeat years of failure
(23 votes)
13%
4- Generally, actively upset about not even coming close to being in the playoff hunt
(54 votes)
25%
3- Mid-level mad but not as acutely angry as past years
(106 votes)
44%
2- Better would have been nice, but generally speaking it’s a long process and not too bent out of shape
(186 votes)
10%
1- Barely phased, making the playoffs isn’t a touchpoint to draw an angry reaction at this point
(45 votes)
414 votes total
Poll
I wish Kyle Dubas would:
21%
Show more urgency to make the Penguins better while Sidney Crosby is around (might not be a championship contender, but make short-term decisions to improve where team could make playoffs)
(89 votes)
62%
Stick to his current plan/actions to set the team up for the future while at least setting Crosby with individual success (keeping Rust, Rakell, etc)
(260 votes)
16%
Tear more of the team down and pay little/no mind that the Penguins will be bad in 2025-26
(69 votes)
418 votes total
Poll
What was the best development of the season?
36%
Growth and improvement of Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen
(151 votes)
6%
Rickard Rakell going from 15 goals last season to 35 this year
(28 votes)
31%
The power play going from 30th last season to 6th this year
(133 votes)
25%
Sidney Crosby becoming first player 35+ year old player in NHL history with three 90+ point seasons
(105 votes)
417 votes total
Poll
What’s the biggest factor to explain why the Penguins are where they are right now?
74%
Management decisions (Hextall, Dubas)
(310 votes)
7%
Coaching inputs
(30 votes)
18%
Players not performing up to level they should be able to
(77 votes)
417 votes total
Poll
If the Penguins had one magic amnesty clause to painlessly get out of one player/contract (which, they don’t) but if they did which player would it be best used on:
16%
Erik Karlsson ($10m cap hit, 2 years)
(72 votes)
16%
Tristan Jarry ($5.375m cap hit, 3 years)
(68 votes)
65%
Ryan Graves ($4.5m cap hit, 4 years)
(277 votes)
1%
Kris Letang ($6.1m cap hit, 3 years)
(8 votes)
425 votes total