The Pittsburgh Penguins boast two of the best players in the NHL in captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. When both are healthy - Malkin has played in three games now after missing 10 due to a knee injury - the Penguins are formidable down the middle in a way that few other teams can really even dream of.
Despite the talent in place though, with Crosby, Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury the headliners, the Penguins have long struggled to create a consistent winner thanks to a lack of organizational depth. So much money tied up in the aforementioned players has left GM Jim Rutherford with little in the way of cap space to upgrade the backend of the roster, meaning that if Crosby or Malkin suffer an injury or get knocked off their game, the entire Pittsburgh lineup seems to fall into an ineffective funk.
So what does a GM like Rutherford do when his roster starts to seem a little top-heavy? Apparently he adds to that by acquiring a big piece like uber-talented man-child Phil Kessel in exchange for a bevy of picks and prospects/players. And while you might think that Rutherford had learned his lesson about that whole depth vs. top talent thing since Kessel, you know, hasn't really changed much, it seems he hasn't. Talk after the 2016 NHL trade deadline passed has it that Rutherford was interested in acquiring former Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd.
Think about that for a second - the man who traded Nick Spaling, forward Kasperi Kapanen, defenseman Scott Harrington, plus first and third-round picks in the 2016 draft for Kessel, a guy who has been fantastically underwhelming thus far during his time in Pittsburgh, was willing to go back to the big add well again and pick up a guy like Ladd.
Really? Does Rutherford really think his team is close enough to a Stanley Cup that picking up Ladd would have been worth it? Obviously he wasn't willing to touch the price the Chicago Blackhawks wound up paying for Ladd - Marko Dano, a first-round pick in 2016 and a conditional pick in 2018 - but if he was at least willing to seriously entertain the notion, then he was willing to consider parting ways with some kind of significant asset or assets for the big winger.
It's understandable that with the sale of the franchise looming and Crosby inching closer to the end of his career than the beginning, there's some urgency to see another Cup come to Pittsburgh. But at some point, someone in the Steel City has to accept that it's not going to happen with the way things are currently constructed. As of this moment, the Penguins are in possession of a wild card playoff spot. But a postseason berth isn't assured, especially with the Flyers and Hurricanes breathing down their necks.
Would Ladd have improved the Pens' chances at the playoffs? Yes. Would he have made them a Cup contender? Probably not.
Even with Malkin's return and Crosby's uptick in play since Mike Sullivan took over for Mike Johnston, there are flaws that can't be overlooked in Pittsburgh. Flaws that won't be fixed by one big acquisition.
Getting Justin Schultz from the Oilers was a good, if ultimately uninspiring move. But what the Pens really need to do more than anything is look in the mirror. Because until they really assess what's wrong with the team and get themselves away from this model of kicking the can of responsibility down the road, they'll continue to wind up disappointed, in the spring and come draft time.
