Same Team, Different Direction

By: Mike Rifkin

Two of the three longest playoff streaks in the NHL belonged to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. Both teams have missed the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06. Pittsburgh won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, and Washington won the Cup in 2018. Since winning these Cups, neither team has won a playoff series. Both front offices believe they are obligated to their star players, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, to remain competitive as long as they are still playing. Both players are still playing at a superstar level. Alex Ovechkin has another 40-goal season, giving him 822 for his career. Sidney Crosby has a 33-goal and 91-point season. 

The Penguins had a decision over this past summer when Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, both of whom are franchise icons in their own right, were free agents. The Penguins were able to bring back both, along with Bryan Rust. The Capitals made a splash over the summer when they signed goalie Darcy Kuemper, who won a Stanley Cup last year with the Avalanche. Kuemper has had a solid season with a 2.83 GAA and a .910 save percentage and was tied for second with five shutouts. 

As I said, both front offices must keep their franchise superstars in contention. The Trade deadline was when we saw things shake up for both teams. The Penguins went into a buying mode but weren’t pushing all in. They brought in Mikael Granlund and Dimitry Kulikov. The Capitals went into sell mode, trading Dimitry Orlov and Garnett Hathaway to the Bruins. They traded Marcus Johansson to the Wild, Lars Eller to the Avalanche, and Erik Gustafsson to the Maple Leafs. In return, the Caps received many draft picks in 2024 and 2025, and defenseman Rasmus Sandin is 23 years old. It will be interesting to see how the Capitals utilize the draft compensation, whether they keep it all or move them for a player who could have a significant impact.

This offseason will be interesting to see what both these teams do. Both teams can use an infusion of speed and youth onto their teams. The Caps added that when Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano signed on this past summer. Strome, a former third overall pick, put up a career-high 23 goals and 64 points. Milano put up 11 goals and 32 points. The front office did sign both multi-year extensions. 

That’s where both teams went in different directions. The Caps recognized they weren’t good enough to win the Cup this year, and the Penguins still tried to push for it. We will see what is left to be had this summer. Both teams will have significant competition in a very competitive Metropolitan division and Eastern Conference.