Penguins players brace for changes after latest playoff flameout

Bryan Rust’s future came into focus this week.

He became a father.

With his wife, Kelsey, welcoming son Hunter to the world, the Pittsburgh Penguins winger was succinct on what Sunday was like.

“It’s the best day of my life.”

As for life at the rink? That’s another matter for Rust and his teammates.

For the third consecutive year, the Penguins have failed to win a playoff series. And for the third consecutive year, they face the real possibility of significant changes in the upcoming offseason.

The biggest difference between this premature ending to their season and the previous two campaigns is who will be making those changes.

Former general manager Jim Rutherford certainly made considerable maneuvers in the early summer of 2019 as well as the late summer/early fall of 2020 to retool the team with additions such as forward Brandon Tanev and defenseman Mike Matheson. But even with those alterations, the Penguins largely got the same results.

Now? Current general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke are overseeing the franchise, and there would appear to be few, if any, changes to the organization they would not consider after such a run of futility.

“Anytime you don’t reach the ultimate goal of winning a (Stanley Cup championship), I think there’s always a thought of what didn’t go right, what needs to be better, what changes can be made to make this team a winner,” Rust said via video conference Friday. “That goes through everyone’s mind. Obviously, I love it here. I’ve been here my whole career. Wouldn’t want to go anywhere. I want to win here. I just want to win here. This is my home for me.”

Many of Rust’s teammates who spoke Friday echoed similar sentiments. They enjoy being members of the Penguins. But they also acknowledged the realities facing the organization after another far-too-short postseason run.

Additionally, with the NHL likely having a flat salary cap for the second consecutive season and the expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken looming, some change will happen.

“You know the game is a business,” said Jake Guentzel, Rust’s linemate for most of this past season. “You never know what’s going to happen. You never want to be an early exit, and the last three years have been that case. We’ve just to be better overall in the playoffs.

“It’s out of our control. That’s management. We’ve just to make sure we’re better next year.”

Who exactly management views as part of “we” for next season is still a matter of speculation considering the Penguins are barely removed from being eliminated in the first round of this postseason.

That includes the “core,” commonly identified as franchise pillars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

The 33-year-old Crosby certainly appears to be the closest thing to a lock as far as being a member of the organization until he decides to quit the sport. As for Malkin and Letang, each 34, their futures are a little less clear considering they are entering the final years of their contracts.

Per league rules, the Penguins can sign players entering the final year of their current contracts to extensions — should they choose to do so — beyond the 2021-22 season.

“This is a business. It’s not up to me to decide those things,” Letang said. “Me, (Malkin) and Sid want to finish as Penguins. We truly believe in ourselves. We think we have a lot to offer.

“That’s what we want, but it’s not up to us.”

Even beyond those on the ice, the fate of coach Mike Sullivan and his staff is far from certain. While he has two years remaining on his contract, Sullivan has not directed this team to a playoff series win since the first round of the 2018 postseason.

“Ultimately, you get judged on your success,” Sullivan said. “Our performance in the regular season, I would have to think it would be acceptable that we won our division. But having said that, we have higher expectations in Pittsburgh. We have higher expectations inside our room. And we didn’t ultimately live up to that, and we have to take ownership.”

Regardless of who is playing for this team or coaching it, do the Penguins need to operate differently? Does their long-standing belief in being faster and more talented than stronger, larger opposition need to be adjusted for the NHL of 2021?

“Speed and skill, that’s kind of what we’ve established here in Pittsburgh,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “That’s kind of our mantra. That’s how we want to play as a team. … For our team systems, that’s what we base it upon and that’s what we try to bring. It’s given us some success. Obviously, sometimes we have to execute better, but that’s what we hang our hat on. That’s what gives us the best chance to win is that.

“Everyone wants to be faster. Everyone wants to be more skilled. That’s kind of what we have to try to continue to get better in.”

The Penguins will be different next season. The realities they are facing this offseason — some of which are out of their control — will dictate that.

But how different will their future be?

“There’s questions to be answered,” Letang said. “I’m not in charge of those. But at the end of the day, I thought we had a great team, a great core. I still strongly believe in this core of players, that we can do great things.”

Follow the Penguins all season long.