HockeyPenguins have some decisions to make

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It's a difficult evaluation: a team that fails to repeat as champion. Ken Hitchcock once said defending your crown "is the toughest thing in sports," and I'm sure Dan Bylsma would agree.

Sometimes, people lose perspective of that. Just because the Penguins went one year without winning doesn't mean they need to trade Evgeni Malkin, even though the greatest challenge going forward will be managing the salary cap. It says something (negative) when a team hits a Grand Slam with all four of its high draft picks, signs them to reasonable long-term contracts, and still can't manage the system.

Let's look at the Stanley Cup champions since the lockout:

In 2006, Eric Staal earned $942,400 US and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cam Ward $684,000 for the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, their combined cap figure is $14.5 million.
In 2007, Ryan Getzlaf made $881,600 and Corey Perry $684,000 for the Anaheim Ducks. Now, they're at $10.65 million. Both were absolutely deserving, but a major reason Chris Pronger is in Philadelphia.

In 2008, Henrik Zetterberg's salary was $2.7 million and Niklas Kronwall's $1.5. Now, they're at $9.1, and Kronwall is underpaid by NHL standards. The Red Wings were already loaded with big deals, but these ones pushed them over the edge. (That's why it will be interesting to see what Nicklas Lidstrom signs for.)

Last year, Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury's extensions had already kicked in. Malkin and Jordan Staal jumped from a total of $1.85 million to $12.7 million this season.

Moral of the story? You'd better win before your good young players strike oil.

I really thought Pittsburgh had an excellent strategy in getting wingers to accept less money, knowing they would have a chance to win and put up good numbers alongside Crosby and Malkin. That strategy was exposed by the Canadiens, who refused to let Malkin/Crosby carry the puck through the neutral zone, daring anyone else to beat them.

A few years ago, I attended the Roger Neilson coaches' clinic. One of the featured speakers was Penguins assistant Mike Yeo, who gave a presentation about the Pittsburgh offence. (He didn't give away any secrets, just explained it so idiots like me could understand.) Yeo talked about the area just inside the opponents' blueline, and how his team liked to set everything up from there. (Maple Leafs assistant Keith Acton once said that if you can't control that area against this team, you'll get killed.)

With The Big Two cocooned, the Penguins were forced to chip and chase. Montreal actually allowed them to win the races, choosing instead to set up a perimeter around Jaroslav Halak. It surprised and confused Pittsburgh, leading towards the epic Game 7 meltdown.

Most telling comment? According to one member of the Montreal organization, "This is where they missed Marian Hossa."

Of course, Pittsburgh laughed at Hossa last year in the handshake line. So, they can win without him. What to do on the wing is going to be a major decision, but there are some other critical evaluations to make.

The Disease of Me

Miami Heat president Pat Riley devoted a section to this in his book, The Winner Within. He was an assistant when the Lakers won the 1980 NBA title, only to see petty jealousies (who got paid, who got the credit, who didn't work as hard) cause a stunning first-round upset one year later.

"The Disease of Me leads to the Defeat of Us," he wrote.

It's difficult to compare hockey with basketball, because hoops is a much more flamboyant and individualistic sport. But some degree of this infected the Penguins this season. How bad? Hard to say, but the staff was frustrated at the players' inability/unwillingness to go hard to the net after winning one-on-one battles against the Canadiens. Another NHL coach agreed.

"They don't pay the same price to score like they did last year."

Games 4 and 6 against Montreal were very strange. In each, the Penguins overcame a wild Bell Centre crowd and early goals against to hold 2-1 leads. Those were enormous defeats. Ottawa eventually folded under Pittsburgh's pressure. The Penguins couldn't find an answer when Montreal didn't. 

If you're going to hang Bruce Boudreau for Round 1, well, Dan Bylsma didn't have a solution, either. Outside of the impressive Game 6 comeback in Ottawa, this team showed little resemblance to last year's incredibly resilient group.

This isn't to say the Penguins don't care. Marc-Andre Fleury cried on the ice just before the handshake line, apologizing to his teammates for his shockingly poor performance. Maxime Talbot was a mess in the room. The rest of them were in shock. They thought they could turn it on for the playoffs, and the extra level just wasn't there.

The key thing to remember is that, in 1982, Los Angeles was a champion again - the second of five during the decade. Pittsburgh has only $11 million to sign seven players for next season, which means there are two choices: make a seismic change, or be patient and see if - like the 1981 Lakers - we just witnessed a one-year blip.

If I was Ray Shero, that's the choice I'd make. Obviously, you have to tinker a little. But trading Malkin? Right now, that's an enormous overreaction. In another year? Maybe.

Franchise player?

After the Penguins wiped out Carolina in the 2009 Eastern Final, Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice talked about how Crosby, Malkin and Staal changed the balance of power in the East.

"To win this conference, you're going to have to beat these guys down the middle," he said. "Who's going to be able to do that?"

Well, it's easier when they beat themselves. And, Malkin does that way too much.

Staal may never score 29 goals again, but he's a premier shut-down centreman who allows the other two the luxury of not having to face the other team's best every shift. Malkin is a nightmare, because, as several opponents will tell you, when he's going it's impossible to stop both of the elite centres.

The problem is that number 71 goes through long stretches of disinterest. He's not an every night player like Crosby. Considering he's eating up 15 per cent of the team's cap space, that's got to stop and the point needs to be made forcefully. Basically, the organization must tell him that, if he has another year like this one, it may have no choice but to move him.

One GM I really respect told me that if you're going to sign a guy to a long-term, big-money, cap-eating deal, he must be three things: a critical part of your team, a guy who can stay healthy, and someone who can motivate himself to bring it every night.
Malkin is not number three. And, that jeopardizes number one.

The Penguins should make that known. If that doesn't change things, it's his own fault if Pittsburgh makes a drastic move.

Okay, where can you fix it?

Obviously, Shero's going to have to look for a winger and a defenceman or two, especially since it looks like Sergei Gonchar will be leaving. (Really thought Jay McKee should have played Game 7 over Jordan Leopold.)

But, he's also got to look at what he lost off the ice. The departures of Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi and Philippe Boucher cost them dearly in the room. They were dedicated, respected and (along with Gonchar and Bill Guerin) helped Crosby control things. Shero tried to get Mike Knuble in free agency, which would have helped, but didn't have the cap space to compete with Washington.

What he has to do is find high-character guys like those, who haven't won before. It is a powerful motivation to get a popular teammate his first ring, especially if you've already got one.

There's no reason the Penguins can't win it again next year. Obviously, they'll make some personnel changes. But the biggest change will be in attitude. Once again, they remember how much it hurts to lose.

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