The Pittsburgh Penguins were once a dominating team in the NHL, but now they find themselves in a rut. After the last few seasons of inconsistent performances and disappointing losses, fans are questioning whether the team that’s brought home five Stanley Cups is washed up. The Penguins were known for their high-energy gameplay and resilience. Fans are left asking whether they will rebound and reclaim the former domination or if they’ve reached the end of an era.
In 2023 for the first time in fifteen years, the Pittsburgh Penguins were unable to clench a playoff spot. “Seeing them miss the playoffs for the first time was hard to watch considering it had never happened in my life up to that point,” said senior Michael Veto.
The fans who thought it was just an unlucky season were shocked to find out that they would receive the same outcome in 2024.
This season isn’t any different, currently the Pens are seventh in the Metropolitan Division with only one team behind them being the Philadelphia Flyers. Fans are left confused and wondering what has changed within the last three seasons to cause this. “It was so hard not to see them play in the playoffs especially when I’ve watched them every year for most of my life with my parents and grandparents,” said junior Haylee Bonenberger.
Theories have been circulating over the past years from fans everywhere about what they think is wrong with the Pens. One of the main concerns is the age of the players. The Penguins have been seen to give up the game or lose stamina in the third period and this could be a sign of older players. “I feel like our team’s performance is impacted by the older age of the players. When you watch them they aren’t as vigorous or fast as other teams in the league who have more younger players on their team,” said Veto.
The ages on the team range from 23 to 38 with an average age of 29.95 years old. Captain Sidney Crosby (37), alternate captain Evgeni Malkin (38), Erik Karlsson (34), and Kris Letang (37) who are future Hall of Famers are only a few years away from turning 40 years old. “They’re tremendous leaders, but they don’t have the gas to be tremendous athletes anymore and that’s not Mike Sullivan’s fault,” said Veto. The team’s success relies heavily on these aging players. As they get older their performance may naturally decline.
With the star players getting older, the Penguins seem to be filtering in some younger players. They are stuck in a delicate process of transitioning from veteran leadership to the new generation of players. Finding the perfect balance between experience and youth can take a long time. “A lot of our younger players aren’t the leading scorers so it’s harder to come by the intense games like we saw years ago,” said Haylee.
Multiple trades have been announced already with Pittsburgh receiving the Ranger’s 2025 1st-round draft pick (conditional), Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, Melvin Fernstorm, and Mathias Laferriere. Although the team will be losing strong players like Marcus Peterson and Drew O’Conner, fans are hoping this will help give the Penguins a fresh start.
Another struggle that Pittsburgh was seeing was with goalie Tristan Jarry. The former first-string goalie who was signed in 2013 to play for Pittsburgh had a very inconsistent first half of the 2024/2025 season. Jarry’s stats consisted of eight wins, eight losses (four overtime losses), and zero shutouts. This inconsistency in the net can prevent the team from finding stability. As fans started to see Jarry sit out of games more and more often, they watched the backup goalies Alex Nedelijkovic and Joel Blomqvist step up and fill his space. On January 15, 2025 goaltender Tristan Jarry was placed on waivers and assigned to the AHL (minor league). Jarry has been with the Pens through thick and thin so this was bittersweet, but fans are looking into the future with optimism.
Although the past seasons have been rocky with change, there’s one thing that the fans don’t seem to question, and that’s head coach Mike Sulivan. Mike Sullivan joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as a coach in December of 2015. He then led the team to winning back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2016 and 2017. Sullivan has a remarkable background in hockey, he played in the NHL for twelve seasons and coached for numerous teams. Sulivan was given the honor to coach Team USA in the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off Tournament. “I think Mike Sulivan is a terrific head coach. He’s done a good job with the team that he has been given. Although we’ve missed the playoffs, you can’t forget about the two Stanley Cups he’s brought to the city,” said Veto.
Having a coach like Mike Sullivan and living legend players makes it harder for people to understand why the Penguins can’t seem to show any consistency or make it to playoffs. Many changes have been made this season with many more to come. The question still remains if they will ever become the once-dominating team they were again.
