The Penguins cleaned out their lockers and did their season-ending media availability on Friday (April 18) at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
After missing the postseason for the third year in a row, it was difficult for Sidney Crosby to assess the 2024-25 campaign in just one quote.
“But I feel like if I just had to summarize, there were a lot of games walking out of the rink at the end of the night where I felt like we could have won,” the captain said. “I felt pretty good about our game, but either made costly mistakes at bad times or, some nights, didn’t find a way to finish. We had a lot of shots, a lot of chances. It was different things. It’s tough...
“You’re just thinking how fun it is to play in the playoffs and how important that is and how much work everyone puts into trying to make that happen. That’s not a fun feeling when other teams are playing and you’re going home.”
There’s obviously a lot that has to be cleaned up. The word ‘consistency’ was used around the dressing room, with Erik Karlsson calling it their No. 1 issue. "When we were good, we were really good, and I think when we were bad, we were really bad. And I think we had too many bad stretches," Bryan Rust added.
Pittsburgh’s defensive zone play was also discussed, with Rust noting that they gave up too many goals and opportunities in their own zone, particularly off the rush, and in all aspects, really. “I think that starts with a certain attitude, a certain commitment, a level of detail and consistency with that shift-in and shift-out, game-in and game-out,” Mike Sullivan said. “I think we showed moments throughout the course of the season where we were very capable, but we lacked consistency in that regard.
“We all have to take responsibility for that. I’ve got to do a better job as their head coach on selling that commitment message to them and coaching the details around that.”
That all being said, the players and their head coach outlined reasons for optimism. As Rust put it, “I think the people around this organization, they care so much, and they are so invested... I have no doubt that this thing's going to be turned around quickly.”
Sullivan pointed to the work Kyle Dubas and his staff have done to implement a process and strategy to reshape the Penguins in the most expeditious fashion.
“Obviously, we would like return this team to contention when that window still exists, when we have, in particular, our captain, still playing at such an elite level,” Sullivan said. “I know those are Kyle's intentions. Those are certainly his aspirations. And our hope is that we're on that road.”
Sullivan said it has ramped up over the last year-plus in particular, starting with the Jake Guentzel trade. The Penguins acquired Ville Koivunen as part of that, and his name, along with fellow rookie Rutger McGroarty’s, came up often when guys were asked what gave them faith moving forward.
“I think the younger guys that came up late, you see how they’re doing and their commitment and their game. That’s definitely promising,” Crosby said. “That’s something that takes time and patience. But I think that’s encouraging to see the way they played. They bring a lot of energy. They’re eager. They really want to learn and they’re excited for the opportunity that they have. It creates competition. When you have young guys coming in that are hungry for a spot and for a role, I think it pushes everyone. Ultimately, just that energy, that kind of environment, is important to having success.”
There are also elements of Pittsburgh’s game the team can build on, with special teams being listed. The penalty kill had some terrific stretches, and assistant coach David Quinn played an instrumental role in the power play’s turnaround after it finished near the bottom last season.
“I just think we needed a little jolt of something, and we got it and we got off to a good start, and never looked back, which was awesome to see,” Karlsson said. “With Quinny and all the guys that were on both units, I think, did a tremendous job in that aspect. It sucks that we fixed one of the problems we had last year, and, you know, we lacked in some others.”
The Penguins have a few months to figure out how to improve across the board before the puck drops on the 2025-26 season. In the meantime, the players are going to do everything they can to be ready, while also enjoying some much-needed rest and for some, family time. A number of players will be welcoming children, including Rust, Rakell and Jarry.
“I’m excited,” Rust said. “Being a dad's one thing that brings me, I'd say, my most happiness – just being able to spend as much time with my family as I can and watch my kids grow. They obviously love watching me play hockey and stuff. I always see them at warmups, they’re super pumped up. But I think when they have me home, it's fun.”
Here’s a key quote from each of the players we spoke with today, along with their full interviews.
Sidney Crosby
On being teammates with Malkin and Letang for 19 seasons: “It means a lot. It’s super rare. When you go through that amount of time together, obviously there’s highs and there’s lows. But also there’s some amazing experiences and things you can’t replace. Having the opportunity to do that for as long as we have - being there for each other too, there’s been a lot of different points where we’ve had to lean on each other in different circumstances – it’s pretty nice and quite a luxury to have an opportunity to play with guys that long and basically grow up with them in the league and on the team.”
