Penguins Update: The Fall of Champions
I was thinking about the inexorable decline of our Penguins yesterday. Stewing over the fact that we’ve missed the playoffs two seasons running and haven’t won a playoff series since 2018. Practically a lifetime ago in sporting circles.
Specifically, I wondered if this is the way of things for former Stanley Cup champions.
The answer?
A resounding YES.
Not only is it common for former Cup winners to experience first-round flameouts (or worse), it’s the norm.
After capturing back-to-back Cups in ’20 and ’21, the Lightning are tracking toward a second straight first-round exit after reaching the Final in ’22. Vanquished that spring by Nathan MacKinnon’s Avs, who likewise bowed in the first round the following season.
The Blues, Cup winners in ’19? Like our Pens, they’ve missed the postseason two years running following a second-round ouster and two first-round exits.
Blood-rival Washington, whose rise in the early 2000s synced with ours, have more or less been in lock-step with us on the way down as well. Following their Cup triumph in ’18, the Caps endured a string of four first-round exits and missed the playoffs altogether last spring, with yet another first-round exit looming.
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