Madden Monday: 'Last 2 Pens general managers have been goalies, and the goaltending is in shambles'

As the Pittsburgh Penguins hit their break before the NHL All-Star Game, they have done so by losing three of four games. Their most recent defeat was a 6-4 decision at home against the hapless San Jose Sharks, who have just 15 wins on the season.

But during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X said maybe that result is a good thing. Perhaps now the Penguins have to realize how poorly they have been playing of late after fooling themselves into thinking things are better than they really are.

“I’m actually glad they lost because their awful play has been hiding from them in plain sight because of a bunch of loser points,” Madden said. “That’s a bad loss to take into the break. It’s all they are going to think about. It’s all the fans and media are going to talk about. They are off until a week from (Tuesday). It’s just a bad situation.”

Reinforcing Madden’s reference to the “loser points,” the Penguins have nine losses in overtime or the shootout. So that has masked their record. On paper, the Pens are 24-16-9. That doesn’t look so bad. But combining all losses together, they are actually 24-25. So Mike Sullivan’s crew is actually under .500, and they are currently just one point (57) in front of the Buffalo Sabres for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

A big reason why is goaltending. Tristan Jarry is hurt again, and backup Casey DeSmith hasn’t been good. In terms of goals against per game, the Penguins are allowing 3.10. That’s in the middle of the league, 16th overall.

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But in the 16 games since Christmas, the Pens are 5-7-4 (so, actually, 5-11), and they are yielding 3.62 goals against per game. Only six teams in the NHL have a season-long rate worse than that.

Those defensive deficiencies aren’t exclusively about goaltending, but it has been a factor. Madden thinks that general manager Ron Hextall’s decision to retain DeSmith is part of the problem.

“They needed to get a better backup in the off-season. (DeSmith) was up for a contract, and they signed him to a two-year deal,” Madden said. “He’s a nice guy. Doesn’t matter. … He’s been on the Penguins for five years. The Penguins have been a playoff team every year. His record is 50-53 (50-38-15). How did Ron Hextall see it fit to bring him back on a two-year deal? That is absolutely absurd. But now it is too late to do anything.”

What Madden finds particularly bothersome is that the Penguins have been led in recent years by general managers who should have a more polished eye for stabilizing a goaltending depth chart.

“The last two general managers (Hextall, Jim Rutherford) have been goalies. And the goaltending is in shambles,” Madden said. “It went from Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray as a duo to Tristan ‘always hurt’ Jarry as the No. 1 — when he can be bothered to stay on his skates. Then last year, the whole thing fell apart because of the goaltending. And they left the situation roughly the same, with the only difference being (Dustin) Tokarski succeeding (Louis) Domingue within the organization. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.”

Also, in this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Madden and I break down the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the officiating, the Super Bowl, Art Rooney II’s statements last week and Andrew McCutchen’s first week back in Pittsburgh.