The addition of Phil Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins top-six - a top-six that was already among the best in the NHL - was presumably expected by the franchise to be a cure-all of sorts that would push a talented, but head-scratchingly mediocre Penguins squad back into the deep portion of the postseason and the conversation regarding the league's truly elite teams this season. Through five games, Kessel, playing alongside All World center Sidney Crosby, has aided the surprisingly 2-3 Penguins to the tune of just one goal and one assist. It's not the output anyone was hoping for, but it's early and Kessel is new to the team and Crosby's wing - head coach Mike Johnston also hasn't yet found the right combination to unlock the points the Penguins know are there, actually going so far as to put Crosby, Kessel and Evgeni Malkin on the top unit together of late for stretches - so it's not surprising that it would take a little time for chemistry to develop. What has been surprising however is the complete lack of output the team has seen from Crosby, a player now in his 11th NHL season who many expected would have more than just one Stanley Cup to his name to this point in his professional career.
While Crosby's early-season struggles are likely little for the Penguins franchise or fanbase to worry themselves over, it seems there could be deeper issues at play here. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, appearing on Calgary's Sportsnet 960 on Monday, revealed that he believes the entire Pittsburgh organization has become "paranoid" and is now placing undue pressure on their captain - pressure which is now "caving in" on a clearly unsettled Crosby.
"And you know what. Some of it I think is the organization. At the very top of that organization I think they create a very tense environment and it goes down from there," Friedman said, via TodaysSlapShot.com.
Reading Crosby's body language over the first two weeks of the season, it's easy to see that he's certainly not at ease. Whether the reason for that emanates from his burning desire to succeed or from higher up in a Penguins organization desperate for another Cup run and beyond disappointed that they've only won one NHL championship during Crosby's decade-plus career, is anyone's guess. But Friedman believes that issues behind Pittsburgh's doors have existed long before the current season. In fact, they date back to before Brooks Orpik left the team two seasons ago.
"But I just remember two years ago, when Brooks Orpik left the Penguins and he went to Washington, one of the things he said was it had stopped being fun playing there," Friedman said.
"And I just remember he said that, and I asked a couple of his teammates about it. They wouldn't go on the record and they hemmed and hawed a bit, but they said, 'He's not wrong.'"
It was reported this offseason that Pittsburgh's No. 1B center, Malkin, may not be particularly unhappy with a move to a new NHL home, but nothing ultimately came of it. Friedman, who reported on Malkin's possible unhappiness, saw a lot of negative feedback for his reporting. Friedman believes much of that came from a "paranoid" Penguins organization that currently has their sights set both on another Cup run and a potential sale of the franchise.
In June, Friedman reported that Malkin's unhappiness and/or availability could be tied to the sale of the franchise that Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle are exploring/pursuing through Morgan Stanley. The rebukes were swift and strongly-worded and the organization even felt the need to come out and state that they weren't making any major offseason changes - or, dismissals, as it were - including a potential trade of Malkin and/or Crosby.
Malkin, of course, remains and the Penguins are working to round into form and find the right place for Kessel in their lineup. With a top -six that now boasts Crosby, Kessel, Malkin and David Perron, and a top line that most recently consists of Crosby centering Malkin and Kessel, there's no chance that their currently limited output will continue.
Crosby will eventually get untracked and the Penguins will start to find the back of the net on a more regular basis, of this there is no doubt. But what can be questioned at this point is whether Kessel was really the right kind of addition for the team at this juncture or whether he represents a final desperation more for an ownership that knows it isn't long for Pittsburgh.
Will the Penguins continue to suffer from the lack of secondary scoring that plagued them in recent years and, even with Daniel Sprong's rapid development, remain unable to roll lines against the league's best teams, especially if Malkin, Crosby and Kessel continue on together? Will the chemistry that eventually develops between Crosby and Kessel be of the firework-including variety, for which the team was clearly hoping when they traded for the former Leaf this offseason? And will Johnston be able to keep a star-studded locker room happy if the team's early struggles continue into Nov. and Dec.?
There's no doubting the overall talent on the ice in Pittsburgh, but for some reason the total has not been equal to the sum of the parts for some time. Whether that's a product of paranoia or a desperate organization pushing their stars too hard, now seems to be the question.
