A Chilly Penguin Story

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ inaugural year in the Karp Pond Hockey League has not gone as smoothly as one would think. Brought in after his success in other leagues, GM VideoJ, the mild tempered, quiet, respectful, and overall great guy, was brought in to manage the aging, lackluster Pens. In the inauguration draft, Gm VideoJ put together a team of stars. A top nine of well-seasoned players and a respectable blue line. Moving in with a core line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust, he drafted other superstar talent such as Steven Stamkos, Taylor Hall, and Brayden Schenn. He went full on experience, with high passing and scoring ratings. Tristan Jarry in net to anchor the team and veterans Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin to hold down the blue line. Drafting from a tent in the middle of Kruger National Park, South Africa, he believed his team was destined to contend this year and beyond. But, as we all know, the Simon T Sim can be a Bitch.

With GM VideoJ on his scouting tour around the world, it has been difficult for him to manage watching future talent, while attempting to manage the current talent of the team. GM VideoJ believed he drafted a talented team, with a “Win Now” mentality. He searched South Africa for some future prospects and left the team in the hands of coach Mike Sullivan, whom he thought would lead the team to a division, or possibly even conference lead. Unfortunately Mike was not clear and transparent in the team’s struggles during their weekly phone calls. When VideoJ arrived back in North America, he saw that the team was not in playoff standings. GM VideoJ took overhauled the lines, in hopes to turn the team around. After this seemed to help the team inch closer to playoff position, GM VideoJ traded underperforming winger Alex Formenton to Tampa Bay for some help on the blue line. The Penguins have a ton of firepower up front and brought in Jonas Brodin to shore up some of the defensive woes. With what seemed like the struggles behind them and VideoJ fed up with the lack of talent in California and Florida, he left to continue his scouting trip to New Zealand.

After a few weeks VideoJ checked on the Penguins to his dismay. After going 9-1 to catch up in the standings, they were 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. There were more questions than answers and the Pittsburgh Penguins that were starting to learn how to fly, took on a belly slide instead. Fed up with the way things were going, and worried for his job, GM VideoJ decided to shift gears. There was no sense in being a bubble aging team with little talent in the pipelines. They managed to still have all of their draft picks, and it was time to stock the cupboards. Leading up to the trade deadline, it is time to make some moves. What players will move? What assets will be gained? Just what will GM VideoJ have up his sleeve? Stay tuned.