So far this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been far more than disappointing. They currently are the fifth worst team in the league with just 20 points. They are currently last in a very competitive Metropolitan Division. A few Penguins abysmal play this season has led to an extremely disappointing and underwhelming season so far.
Disappointing Penguins Players This Season
Tristan Jarry
Since the 2019-20 season, Tristan Jarry has been the long-term franchise starting goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, his first season as a starter was in 2017-18. For the most part, Jarry has been a very solid goaltender as he has taken his team to the playoffs, appeared in two All-Star games and finished top-seven for the Vezina Trophy twice.
However, it was not until the the 2022-23 season where he started to regress. He still finished that season over .500 with a record of 24-13-7. However, his save percentage slightly dipped to .909 and his goals against average rose to 2.90. It was also the first time the Penguins missed the playoffs in 16 seasons.
However, his struggles were way more evident the following season. For the first time in Jarry’s career when he started more than one game, he had a losing record. He finished with a record of 19-25-5, yet somehow, he still managed to lead the league in shutouts with six.
This season has been something else for Jarry though. He has only appeared in eight games this season and has a record of 3-3-1. His save percentage is an abysmal .861 and his goals against average is an even more disappointing 3.88.
In efforts to fix Jarry and his game, the Penguins sent him down to the AHL in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a conditioning stint. The goal was for him to regain his confidence and composure and hopefully comeback and play like his former self. However, he has still played far from his former self. In four of his seven starts, Jarry has allowed a goal on the first shot he has faced which is abysmal.
Ryan Graves
Another disappointing Penguin this season is defenceman Ryan Graves. After a disappointing season in his first year with Pittsburgh, many fans, General Manager Kyle Dubas and even himself were hoping for a better season this year. In his first season with the Penguins after signing a six-year deal, he had just 14 points and 40 giveaways.
This season has been way worse for Graves. The beginning of the season, he was actually playing well as he was the only defenceman on the team with a positive +/- and was a top 12 defenceman in expected goals against. However, his hot streak has come to an end and for just the second time in his career is on pace to finish with a negative +/-.
Offensively, he has still been unsuccessful and disappointing. He has played 20 games this season and is still searching for his first point this season. Graves has been very unsuccessful in Pittsburgh and it does not look like he will be successful there anytime soon.
Kris Letang
A far more shocking disappointing Penguin defenceman is Kris Letang. Letang is arguably the best defenseman in Penguins history and has spent his entire 19 year career in Pittsburgh. However, this season has been the worst of his career. Letang as good as he is defensively, has always had success on the offensive end and that is mainly due to being the anchor on for what was most of his career a lethal Penguins powerplay.
This season, Letang has not had the same success as he has just four assists. In addition to not creating offensive chances, he is not taking care of the puck as well as he has 19 giveaways. Defensively, he has not been solid either as he has a +/- of -13 which is tied for second worst on the team only behind forward Bryan Rust.
Erik Karlsson
Lastly and arguably the most disappointing is defenceman Erik Karlsson. Similar to Graves, Karlsson is also in his second season with the Penguins. Unlike Graves however, Karlsson had more success offensively. Penguins fans still expected a better season from him as he had a 101 point season in his last season with the San Jose Sharks under head coach David Quinn who now coaches the Penguins powerplay and defense.
However, Karlsson is having an awful season. He is known and has been one of the best offensive defenceman in the league and has looked far from it this season. In 24 games, he has just two goals and 13 assists for a total of 15 points. He is turning over the puck at an alarming rate as he has 44 giveaways this season.
The Penguins expect him to be dominant on offense because he is far from it on the defensive end. This season he has a +/- of -13 and is one of the worst defenceman in the league in expected goals against.
Main Photo:Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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