Now that the trade deadline has passed for the 2023 Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s clear that Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson are not skating through that door.

There isn’t going to be a Marian Hossa or Bill Guerin kind of arrival either.

There won’t even be a Derick Brassard or Jarome Iginla type of footnote that we look back on with disappointment.

Because in order to end up with disappointment, one must have initially had anticipation. And based on the lack of enthusiasm from the fan base and much of the hockey media for the Penguins trade deadline deals this year, anticipation is hardly a word that I would use to describe the vibe circling the Pittsburgh hockey landscape.

In fact, if anything is circling Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, it might be vultures.

No, Hextall did not land season-altering talent at the trade deadline. Then again, I’m not sure why so many in Pittsburgh seemed to think that such an outcome was possible.

Maybe we talked ourselves into thinking Jakob Chychrun was en route from Arizona. The young defenseman was never going to single-handedly turn this group of Penguins into Stanley Cup contenders again, but he may have solidified their status as at least wild-card hopefuls. He also could’ve become a useful component for the next few years on the blueline.

Similarly, as we always see before the deadline, fans get enamored of players that may not have been attainable in the first place — like J.T. Miller from Vancouver. Or players who were never going to be as impactful as we envisioned them to be — like Miller’s teammate Brock Boeser.

Instead of landing a few Ferraris, Hextall is trying to sell the public on the notion that the mileage on a few mid-sized economy options may not be so bad. That’s why Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino and Dmitry Kulikov are pulling into the garage at PPG Paints Arena as we speak.

“I like our team,” Hextall said Friday evening. “We wanted to enhance our chances and get better. And I feel like we did.”

I’ll agree with that last part. I do think the Penguins are better than they were before these deals were made. If you gave me a choice between Granlund, Bonino and more ice time for Drew O’Connor (and maybe, eventually, Ryan Poehling), I prefer that over 21 more games of Brock McGinn, Kasperi Kapanen and Teddy Blueger.

Renting Kulikov as a piece on the blueline by way of shedding McGinn’s contract responsibility is a more useful expenditure of cap space, too.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “I’m still not impressed.”

Well, you shouldn’t be. In fact, I’m not even sure how impressed Hextall is with himself.

During Friday’s press conference, the GM was directly asked if this tweaked version of his team could contend for a Stanley Cup. It sounded like Hextall had to talk himself into thinking “yes” before he said so to any of us.

“I think that we made our team better. And I think there are a lot of teams that are capable of winning the Cup,” Hextall said. “And, yes. I’d say we are one of them.”

Well! I’m sure sold. Aren’t you?

In a strange way, I feel as if I’m having as hard of a time ginning up anger about the Penguins’ lack of punch at the deadline as Hextall is at having to sell hope.

To the earlier point, it’s hard to get disappointed if you weren’t expecting much in the first place. Given Hextall’s lack of cap space and prospects — and his desire to retain as many future first-round picks as possible — I never anticipated a seismic move.

Let alone any roster upgrades that would put the Penguins in a position to finally win a first-round series, especially since their likely opponent will be either the 101-point Boston Bruins or the Carolina Hurricanes, who have beaten the Pens three times in three tries this season.

I don’t view this trade deadline as a failure to upgrade the roster so much as I view it as evidence of how flawed the roster construction was at the start of the season. Hextall tied his own hands for March way back in July.

This summer’s decision to not only keep core players Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin but also support pieces such as Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Casey DeSmith, Danton Heinen and Kapanen locked up whatever Hextall was going to be able to do midseason.

To say nothing of acquiring Jan Rutta and Jeff Petry for $9 million in cap space or deciding to extend Jeff Carter’s deal in January 2022.

The Penguins are stuck in a purgatory of trying to keep the window open on the Sidney Crosby-Malkin-Letang era of greatness while at the same time acknowledging that the entire frame around it needs to be replaced.

That’s a renovation project that was simply never going to be completed by March 3.

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What are the Penguins getting from Nashville in Mikael Granlund? We find out from John Glennon. He covers the Predators for NHL.com.

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