Where it Went Wrong: 2019-20 Penguins Season Review

At the onset of the 2019-20 season, there were high expectations for GM Gurtowski and company. The defense had gotten better while the offense and goaltending remained in good standing. The Penguins were expected to qualify for a playoff spot with little to no doubt, and for stretches of the season it appeared as though that would be the case. But here we are now; it's day two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Penguins are currently at home watching the games on television. How did we get here?

Sub-par goaltending: Prior to this season, Devan Dubnyk had a knack for stealing games. In his three seasons with Pittsburgh before this year, he put up save percentages of .901, .924. and .913. Now while that may not seem like too big of a drop from his save percentage this year (.911), what stands out his his shutouts. 9, 6, and 7 in the three previous years respectively while this year only putting up three. Your goalie shouldn't be counted on to bail you out every single night, but every once in awhile would have been nice for this Penguins team. Dubnyk started in 62 games this year, and in the third period of over half of them he either allowed multiple goals or a late deciding goal. The backup position was also tough for the Penguins to sort out, as Scott Wedgewood (claimed from and lost to the Blues on waivers), Michael Hutchinson (sent down to the AHL Pens), and Jonathan Bernier all had a sub-900 save percentage as backups, forcing the Penguins to rely on Dubnyk despite proving to be unreliable at times this year. It should also be noted that Bernier started the final four games of the season and put up a 2.50 GAA and a .914 save percentage while going 2-2. Bernier, a pending unrestricted free agent, has expressed interest in coming back and I believe the feeling from GM Gurtowski is mutual, however it remains to be seen if a deal can get done. As for Dubnyk, who is also a pending UFA and franchise tagged, I believe his future with the team is a bit murkier than Bernier's. However, the draft and free agency is still months away, so time will tell us what GM Gurtowski chooses to do in net.

A mediocre fourth line: While many of the contending teams in the Metropolitan Division had their lineups set in stone for a majority of the year, the Penguins found themselves unable to field a consistent fourth line, with Brandon Sutter, Nic Dowd, Matt Read, Tobias Rieder, Mark Pysyk, Trevor Moore, Christoffer Ehn, Andrew Agozzino, Alan Quine, Mark Letestu, Pat Maroon, Kyle Rau, and Paul Thompson all taking regular skates on that line at some point during the season. Your fourth line isn't going to single-handedly win games for you on even a semi-consistent basis, but a crucial point of contending in this league is having a fourth line that can provide something for your team, and no matter what Coach Julien rolled out, that never happened. The previously listed players (sans Mark Pysyk, who played most of the year at defense) combined for 66 points this year, which averages to 5.5 points per player, while also being a combined -74, which is an average of -6. Most of these players also played on other lines, so those numbers may even be a bit inflated, but the point remains that the fourth line, whatever it is, needs to be better as a whole, and GM Gurtowski has already hinted at a bottom six overhaul. As with the goaltending however, time will tell.

Underperforming forwards: The offense of the Pittsburgh Penguins this year was easily the brightest spot on the team, with seven players scoring forty or more points. Where the issue arises is the lack of offensive help from the bottom six, but also the struggles of specific players in general. Jason Zucker who put up 71 points last year and signed a four year extension only had 47 points while also failing to hit 20 goals for the first time since 2016-17. It should also be said that most of his points came post all star break, which could mean he began to get his groove. However this plummeting in stats is a concern since he spent most of the season with Benn and Horvat or Stastny and Saad, the Penguins two high offense forward pairings. A bounce back year for Zucker is critical if the Penguins want a chance to compete in their division, which was ultra competitive this year and stands to be as, if not more competitive, next year. Colin White who was brought in to be some secondary scoring for the team, only put up 16 points in 41 games with the team, however the argument can be made that he bounced around the lineup too much as well as went back and forth between center and wing. Jordan Eberle was brought in to be top 6 firepower and only mustered 7 goals in 35 games. Kyle Rau was hopeful to be a bottom six contributor, however only had 1 assist in 6 games before getting sent to the AHL Penguins. The Penguins will need their top guys to continue to step up while also probably getting an entirely new bottom six altogether, as the one they fielded this year was fringe NHL guys at best.

To wrap up this article, I will very quickly assign a letter grade to every player who suited up for the NHL Penguins this year based on output as well as expectations.

A: Bo Horvat, Jamie Benn, Paul Stastny, Brandon Saad, Ryan Suter
B: Brian Gibbons, Alexander Edler, Mike Matheson, Travis Hamonic
C: Jason Zucker, Colin White, Jordan Eberle, Brandon Sutter, Nic Dowd, Mark Pysyk, Braydon Coburn, Trevor Moore, Thomas Hickey, Christoffer Ehn, Devan Dubnyk, Jonathan Bernier
D: Matt Read, Xavier Ouellett, Kris Russell, Alan Quine, Mark Letestu, Matt Irwin, Michael Hutchinson
F: Tobias Rieder, Andrew Agozzino, Pat Maroon, Kyle Rau, Paul Thompson, Scott Wedgewood

The offseason is upon us for the Penguins, and they will begin to look forward to the draft and free agency, where they will have a handful of picks as well as cap space. GM Gurtowski has also hinted at potentially moving a big name or two. Whatever may or may not happen, this Penguins team will for sure look different at the start of the 2020-2021 season.