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The Pittsburgh Penguins deserve Alexis Lafreniere more than anyone else |
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off a disappointing playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens. Another year of the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin era is lost to time. Crosby will be entering his 16th season next year with Malkin entering his 15th. We are now in the final chapters of their illustrious careers.
They need help, but more specifically Sidney Crosby needs the help. Their GM consistently makes trades to undo the mistakes of his other trades. The coach doesn’t ever play them together at 5v5 and messes up other really easy parts of his job. They can’t do this alone. Enter, the projected #1 overall pick in Alexis Lafreniere. The Penguins deserve to acquire this talent. Sidney Crosby deserves to acquire this talent. Nobody else deserves it as much as Sid and the Penguins.
Think about it. By acquiring Lafreniere it would finally open up the possibility to trade Malkin’s dead weight. Think about all that cap space. Think about the possibilities. No more what ifs about trade packages like David Backes, TJ Oshie and a second. You can explore those aggressively now. The Penguins would finally be free instead of being held hostage by Malkin’s 9.5M cap hit. That frees up space for like three Brandon Tanev’s.
Also, when is the last time the Penguins won a draft lottery? It was 15 years ago. The Penguins are more than due to deserve another top pick. They didn’t win first overall for Alexander Ovechkin and they didn’t win first overall for Erik Johnson, either. They don’t win it all the time. They aren’t the Oilers.
Unlike the Oilers the Penguins will make use of Lafreniere. Let’s be honest even if the Oilers win the lottery they’ll probably deal Lafreniere to the Penguins for defensive help in Marcus Pettersson so why delay the inevitable? Also, Taylor Hall finally won a playoff series in Edmonton, they don’t need the left wing help anyways….
The other teams don’t deserve Lafreniere, either.
Jets? It would just be confusing after the first time he plays up top on the power play and they tell him he has to stay on the blue line forever.
Toronto? Why should Lafreniere be exploited and demeaned by spreadsheets for his entire existence in Toronto by the number crunching overlords? He doesn’t deserve that kind of micromanagement.
Florida? Who is going to run the fax machine to put in the official paperwork for Lafreniere with Dale Tallon gone?
Minnesota? It would be Wild if this team was ever relevant.
Rangers? Do you think Tony DeAngelo is going to welcome someone who speaks English as a second language and is from another country? Why put Lafreniere through it? Did you see Kaapo Kakko’s underwhelming rookie year?
Predators? For a team known for throwing catfish on the ice it is a little on the nose that they themselves have been catfished into believing they have a #1 center in either Ryan Johansen or Matt Duchene.
You can see the Penguins are the obvious fit. Who better to mentor Lafreniere from the mean streets of Rimouski to the NHL than somebody like Sidney Crosby who made the same jump? Sidney Crosby is a selfless captain. Instead of extending the Penguins season on Friday Sidney Crosby sacrificed his birthday for a chance to draft this amazing young player. Sure it is only a 12.5% chance the Penguins get it, but it is an 87.5% they don’t. Sidney Crosby saw that 87% and the wheels started turning. It isn’t an 87% failure rate. It is destiny.
When the NHL reveals Alexis Lafreniere is going to the Penguins later tonight you now know it is for the best. Nobody deserves Lafreniere more than the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins have waited long enough. It has been five whole years since they won the Stanley Cup. The Penguins are entitled to great players every 15 years and this would be right on schedule. It would be a controversy if the Penguins don’t land him and I’m sure many would agree.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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