Mark Madden: Despite little impact at trade deadline, expect Penguins to reach the playoffs

The NHL trade deadline has come and gone. But refreshing Penguins notes last forever. Just like the salary cap problems created by GM Ron Hextall.

• The Penguins locker room can’t be happy with what Hextall has done (and mostly hasn’t) at the trade deadline. But this group won’t shrink. It’s more likely to adopt the posture of a cornered animal and fight bitterly. That was evident in Thursday’s 5-4 overtime victory at Tampa Bay. That’s mostly Sidney Crosby’s leadership. Coach Mike Sullivan has his finger on the pulse, too. The Penguins will make the playoffs.

• Crosby is the heart of the Penguins. But Jason Zucker provides the adrenaline. When healthy, he’s a maniac.

• Hextall should be fired. He has mangled the Penguins since the day he took over. He might be the most incompetent GM in franchise history. Hextall did retain Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang at reasonable prices. But then Hextall assembled a team both (and Crosby) might like to escape. Hextall procrastinates. He hides. He’s never bold. He got a tough mandate from Fenway Sports Group, who want to contend and rebuild simultaneously. But Hextall damaged the cause of both.

• FSG’s three sports franchises have all declined and looked disorganized since they bought the Penguins. That includes the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC. Perhaps FSG bit off more than it can chew.

Related

• Report: Penguins to bring back forward Nick Bonino in trade with Sharks
• Tim Benz: As most eyes were on Mikael Granlund's debut, other Penguins stole the show in Tampa
• Ron Hextall's history of trade deadline deals with Flyers, Penguins

• Hextall seems to have gone into the trade deadline determined to not trade a first-round pick no matter what. But dealing a second-round choice for forward Mikael Granlund isn’t inconsequential in what’s said to be a deep draft. Swapping a first-round pick and two second-round selections for defenseman Jakob Chychrun (as Ottawa did) would have helped the Penguins much more now and for the next two years. That’s the term of Chychrun’s contract. Crosby’s, too. First-round picks retained won’t help Crosby.

• Hextall also seemed determined to not make a move that dropped Jeff Carter down the depth chart. Sullivan is guilty there, too. Carter is out of gas. He is often the Penguins’ worst player. Yet Carter won’t drop below the third line, won’t be scratched, will get his usual minutes, will play special teams and was on the ice in the waning moments at Nashville on Tuesday protecting a 2-1 lead. Sullivan has few weaknesses as a coach. Indulging veteran respect for washed-up bums is one. (See Marleau, Patrick.)

• Speaking of Carter, lots of bad trickles down from Hextall inexplicably giving Carter a contract extension that’s too long and for too much in the middle of last season, and from protecting Carter in the 2021 expansion draft when Seattle never would have taken him. Winger Brandon Tanev was plucked by Seattle instead, and forward Jared McCann got traded because of that decision. Tanev and McCann are immeasurably better than Carter. McCann has 29 goals for Seattle. But … #BuddySystem

• Shrewd PR move by Hextall to get center Nick Bonino from San Jose on Friday. The citizens and locker room will rally around the return of a popular player from the 2016 and ’17 championship teams. Bonino hasn’t done great on faceoffs this season but has that rep. He kills penalties. Still blocks lots of shots. Bonino is definitely better than what they got in that bottom six.

• Granlund adds little. The Penguins are already too old; he’s 31. The Penguins are undersized; he’s 5-foot-10. He’s got only nine goals and has cracked 20 just twice in 11 seasons. Acquiring Granlund fixes nothing. Granlund shouldn’t be blamed because the Penguins needed better. He’s not terrible. He’s just meh and more of the same.

• Dmitry Kulikov is to defense what Granlund is to forward: Mid. Kulikov is big, he hits, is decent defensively but not slick with the puck. He won’t help when he activates. It might be OK if Kulikov supplants P.O Joseph. Joseph looks worn out. But he also might be too frail physically to ever make a legit impact in the NHL. Kulikov is a free agent at season’s end. His biggest contribution might be getting Brock McGinn’s contract off the books.

• Here’s a desperate idea: Create depth artificially by spreading your legit talent out over three lines. Granlund and Zucker had success skating on the same line with Minnesota. Put Bryan Rust with them. That’s the third line. Pair Crosby with Jake Guentzel. Put Malkin with Rickard Rakell. After that, throw excrement at the wall. Would it work? Probably not. Would Crosby and Malkin approve? That’s unlikely. But do you have a better idea? (This is what the Penguins did in ’16 by putting Kessel on the third line. But Sullivan had better excrement to throw at the wall then.)

• Goalie Tristan Jarry needs to stay healthy to get the contract he wants from the Penguins this coming offseason. But he needs to play better, too. Jarry hasn’t been great since returning from his latest injury two weeks ago. His goals-against average since is 3.40. He allowed four goals on 31 shots at Tampa Bay. That’s not good enough.

• Tempest in a teapot department: The locker room got upset because Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman got waived and Teddy Blueger got traded in the middle of the annual dads trip. Their fathers were there, so it was awkward. But those games were picked by the players because Nashville and Tampa Bay are fun spots and without regard for the trade deadline. Hextall can be blamed for a lot, but not that. (For example, Hextall can be blamed for not being on the trip to deliver bad news personally. That’s the GM’s job.)