The Penguins must be assuming that this is the final ride of their core group coming into the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs and wanted to give it one final go at the Cup. However, the efforts ended for them early in the postseason, as the club lost in overtime of Game 7 to the Rangers. Pittsburgh not only blew a 3 – 1 series lead.
“It’s a possibility,” captain Sidney Crosby said of this being the final ride for the core group. “I think we knew that coming into the playoffs. You try not to really think about that. You hope that we make a good run, and it’s something at the back of your mind.”
Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust have spent nearly their entire careers in Pittsburgh and have been critical to the success of the franchise. Letang and Malkin have been with the team since 2006, they also contributed to the Penguins winning the Cup thrice.
