How Pittsburgh Penguins can Win the Stanley Cup

The Pittsburgh Penguins currently hold the 1st wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with a 19-8-5 record and 43 points through 32 games played. With the current team the Penguins have, they won't be able to make a deep run but if they make a few moves at the deadline, they could have one last Stanley Cup run with their current core. In this blog, I write about what the Pittsburgh Penguins need to improve on and what needs to be done to improve their Cup Chances.

Issues w/ Pittsburgh Penguins:

1. Lack of Secondary Scoring

2. Goaltending

3. Lack of Offensive + Defensive Depth

The Biggest issue that the Pittsburgh Penguins will have in the Playoffs if they do not add any players is that they lack secondary scoring. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust are seasoned veteran players with Stanley Cup pedigree, but the rest of the forwards have yet to prove themselves a scoring threat in the playoffs. If the Penguins are to make a deep playoff run this year, they will need to add some secondary scoring to the lineup.

Another big concern of the Pittsburgh Penguins is their Goaltending. Tristan Jarry has not performed well in the playoffs in the past, and Casey DeSmith is not good enough to be a starting goalie in the playoffs. If the Penguins are to make a deep run, they need to make a move for a veteran backup, who can come in and play if he should falter.

While this is exactly necessary, it would be helpful for the Penguins to add more depth on both offense and defense. Especially now with COVID, you never know when players will be out of the lineup, so it is never a bad idea to have depth on the team in case of injury or illness.

Trades:

Pittsburgh Penguins trade Jason Zucker, Danton Heinen to the Montreal Canadiens for Tyler Toffoli, Artturi Lehkonen.

Jason Zucker has not fit well with the Penguins, so he is dealt along with Danton Heinen to the Montreal Canadiens for Tyler Toffoli and Artturi Lehkonen.

Pittsburgh Penguins acquire Tanner Pearson from Vancouver Canucks for Marcus Pettersson, 2023 3rd round pick.

The Penguins acquire Tanner Pearson; this reunites him with former linemates Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli.

Pittsburgh Penguins also trade Kasperi Kapanen, Casey DeSmith to the Ottawa Senators for Matt Murray, Nick Holden. The Senators retain 2 million of Matt Murray's contract until the 2023-24 season.

The Matt Murray experiment has not worked out in Ottawa, so the Penguins re-acquire him alongside Nick Holden for Kasperi Kapanen and Casey DeSmith.

This is how the lineup looks like in the playoffs:

J.Guentzel-S.Crosby-B.Rust

B.McGinn-E.Malkin-T.Toffoli

T.Pearson-J.Carter-E.Rodrigues

A.Lehkonen-T.Blueger-Z.Aston-Reese

B.Dumoulin-K.Letang

M.Matheson-J.Marino

N.Holden-C.Ruhwedel

T.Jarry

M.Murray

Spares: D.Simon, B.Boyle, R.Zohorna, A.Nylander, M.Friedman

If they add the right pieces, the Pittsburgh Penguins definitely could win the Stanley Cup again with the core players they have.

Fantasy Hockey Forwards to Trade For

Here is a list of Players who you should consider trading for in Fantasy Hockey. Tage Thompson Tage Thompson had very high expectations of him heading into this season but has been a massive disappointment to this point in the season with only 7 goals, 8 assists, 4 PPP, 60 SOG, and 99 FW. Thompson has been better after coming back from injury and you would think that he is going to eventually start putting points in bunches. Because of how bad Thompson's statline is this season. it would be a good idea to trade for him because you may not have to give up a lot in return. Elias Lindholm Elias Lindholm is another player who has had a slow start to the season with only 7 goals, 10 assists, 3 PPP, 68 SOG, and 297 FW so far this season. Lindholm is definitely going to want to play better if he wants to increase his value for his next contract and also showcase himself for a trade at the deadline. If Lindholm gets dealt to a contending team, his fantasy value would drastically improve b

TIPS FOR DECIDING WHO TO KEEP FOR KEEPER/DYNASTY LEAGUES

Keeper fantasy leagues are a variation of traditional fantasy sports leagues where participants are allowed to keep a certain number of players from their previous season's roster onto their team for the upcoming season. The number of players that can be kept, as well as the specific rules regarding keeping players, vary from league to league and are typically determined by the league commissioner or by a set of agreed-upon rules among league members. In a keeper league, the kept players usually come with a cost, such as forfeiting a specific draft pick in the upcoming draft or having to pay a predetermined fee. This adds a strategic element to the game, as managers must decide which players to keep based on their performance, potential, and value relative to the cost of keeping them. Keeper leagues often provide a deeper level of engagement and strategy compared to standard fantasy leagues because managers need to consider long-term player development and roster management beyond

FANTASY HOCKEY WAIVER WIRE PLAYERS TO PICKUP

Here are some players you should pickup in Fantasy Hockey, sorted by position. Center Colton Sissons Colton Sissons is one of the best 4th line centers in the league, but in fantasy hockey, he could be even more valuable than he actually is in real life because of what he provides in the peripheral categories. So far this season Sissions has 5 goals, 1 PPP, 1 SHP, 12 PIM, 20 SOG, 89 FW, 15 hits, and 9 blocks. This is a terrific stat line and although you can't count on Sissons scoring a ton, he will fill out the FW, Hits, and blocks usually. Sissons is owned in 6% of fantasy leagues, snag him up while you can. Nick Bjugstad Nick Bjugstad is having an excellent year so far with the Arizona Coyotes, in fact he has played so well that he earned himself a promotion to play on the 2nd line along with Mattias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse. Bjugstad also gets time on Arizona's 2nd PP unit and 2nd PK unit. Bjugstad may not be a name who stands out to casuals, but his fantasy stat line is

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