The Pittsburgh Penguins' offseason begins with a lot of questions. As the team begins to figure out what went wrong in the playoffs, they will have to also figure out numerous expiring contracts. The Penguins were shocked in the Eastern Conference finals, barely putting up a fight against the Boston Bruins before getting eliminated altogether. Now, they must deal with the contracts of some of their biggest players and decide to the future of head coach Dan Bylsma.
Bylsma's future is looking cloudy. The head coach has failed to capitalize off super stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and the front office is reportedly not too thrilled about it. Sources report the Penguins' front office is split on Bylsma. Majority co-owner Mario Lemieux is not happy, while general manager Ray Shero is making a push to give the coach an extension. The head coach is also getting endorsements from Malkin and Crosby. With ownership split on a decision, nothing is likely to happen soon. The Penguins will have to decide if they want a coaching search added to the growing list of offseason moves.
Bylsma came up short in the postseason for the fourth year in a row. With a roster of all stars, his chances of remaining with the team look grim. Instead of firing Bylsma, they could get rid of assistants and bring someone in as a counter attack to the head coach. If he is fired, the New York Rangers have him as the top candidate in their ongoing coaching search.
The first step in the offseason is to handle the pending expiring contract of Malkin. Pittsburgh is hoping to reach an extension with the star prior to July 5. Ownership has instructed Shero to keep Malkin at all costs, no matter how high. That cost could reach to about $10 million per season. If the two sides fail to come to terms on a deal, Malkin will hit free agency in July. From there it is anyone's game.
If Shero feels a deal might not come that easily, he could opt to trade Malkin prior to the July 5 deadline. It would be a similar situation to what happened with Jordan Staal during last year's draft. Shero continues to meet with Malkin's agent with negotiations continuing.