The Penguins entered the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the past three seasons with basically the same core of talent, and didn't make it out of Round 1 in any of them.
In fact, their cumulative record in those three series is 3-11, a mark befitting a team going after a No. 1 overall draft choice, not a championship.
Precisely what Ron Hextall plans to do to try to get the Penguins back into serious contention for a Cup isn't clear yet, but odds are that he won't just tinker around the margins of the roster.
His challenge, then, is to identify the Penguins' most pressing need(s), figure out who he might be able to acquire to address it/them and decide what asset(s) he is willing to give up to get the deal(s) done.
Because the Penguins aren't just a complementary player away from a real Cup run, Hextall likely will have to determine who he'd be willing to send away in a trade, even though the guy currently fills a significant role for the Penguins.
For purposes of this exercise, let's say that's anyone from the top three lines or the top three defense pairings.
Because Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have no-movement clauses, they're off-limits. Same with Cody Ceci and Frederick Gaudreau, since they're unrestricted free agents.
That means the candidates are Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Mike Matheson, Marcus Pettersson, John Marino, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Jason Zucker, Kasperi Kapanen, Jared McCann and Jeff Carter.
To keep it interesting, anyone you'd be willing (maybe even eager) to lose in the expansion draft shouldn't be presented as a trade candidate, either.
All things considered, this gives one an appreciation of what Hextall is facing in trying to plug one or more holes on his roster without opening another.
YOUR TURN: What do you think is the Penguins' most pressing personnel need and which prominent player(s), if any, would you be willing to give up to address it?
