The Pittsburgh Penguins had a rough end to the season after losing in the playoffs to the Rangers after being up 3-1 in the series and now that Ray Shero has been fired, the team may look at making some trades and a trade with Evgeni Malkin or Paul Martin could be options to get Sidney Crosby some better support, as Ryan Kesler, James Reimer and Cam Ward could be targets for Marc-Andre Fleury after another postseason failure.
The Penguins are likely not going to trade Malkin, but the idea came up from some experts including Scott Burnside on ESPN.com, who wrote that the Penguins need more support for Sidney Crosby, who is the best player in all of hockey. The article admits that trading Malkin would be very tough and likely not in the best interests of the team, but after losing to a lesser seeded team in each of the past three years, the team may have to start thinking outside the box to get back to the Stanley Cup finals. Malkin is one of the best players in the NHL and while it's very unlikely that he would get traded after signing an eight year deal worth over $70 million, stranger things have happened.
The Penguins have greatly underperformed over the past few years since winning the Cup and losing to the Rangers after being up 3-1 is just another knock on the team. The fact that it was done in Game 7 at home also makes it sting a bit more. Shero went out and tried to surround Crosby with talent over the past few years with Jussi Jokinen, Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow, but none of that got the team over the top. Some names out there this summer could be James Reimer, Ryan Kesler, Cam Ward and Jason Spezza and the team also could look to trade Paul Martin or Marc-Andre Fleury.
Martin is coming into the last year of his deal and he will be a free agent after next season, while Fleury is in the same boat and he could be on his way out after another playoffs disappointment. According to ESPN.com, the Penguins have $55 million into just 14 players next season and that could mean Martin is on his way out, as he has $5 million on his contract and could get a solid return. This past season Malkin was once again very good with 23 goals, nearly 50 assists and 72 points, but the regular season won't cut it anymore with the team and the Penguins may have to think outside the box to get things done.
The Rangers were able to oust the Penguins with some great defensive play and they shut down Crosby, keeping him to just one goal and they were also all over Malkin, who couldn't get anything done in the final three games. The Rangers are looking strong and now the Penguins are without a GM and could be getting a new head coach next season as well. The team was second in the east this season and was eliminated by a lower seed and now Crosby has to come back and rebound next season after the early loss once again.