You can probably guess the main focus of this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast: What happened to the Pittsburgh Penguins and where do they go from here?

The “what happened” part is all encompassing when it comes to the Pens’ four-game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens last week. It was goaltending. It was coaching. It was the stars underperforming.

“It’s the worst, most embarrassing loss for anyone in NHL playoff history,” Madden said. “The Penguins lost to a No. 24 seed. There never has been, nor will there ever be again, a No. 24 seed. That speaks for itself.”

On the “where do they go from here” front, Madden has a strong opinion, too.

“I know there is a lot of pressure from within — from the (Sidney) Crosby, (Evgeni) Malkin, (Kris) Letang core — to try to win right now,” Madden said. “But I think that ship has sailed. And I think those guys need to be made to understand that. If they can’t … one of them should get traded.”

Madden wasn’t done there.

“I think one should (get traded) anyway,” Madden continued. “I hate to say it. But you can’t truly move on by keeping that core of three intact.”

Meanwhile, goaltender Matt Murray is about to become a restrcited free agent. What should be done with him after a third straight playoff series defeat?

“I would try to trade his rights, but he’s got to go,” Madden said. “If you have to let him walk, you’ve got to do that. But you have to let him go. He just stopped performing at a high level. And I also heard he got very persnickety about not playing Game 4. That means he doesn’t understand where his game is. And if he doesn’t understand, what’s he going to do to fix it?”

Some think the Penguins should try to reacquire Marc-Andre Fleury as a complement to Tristan Jarry for 2020-21. Madden doesn’t think that’s a good idea. He’ll tell you why.

We also talk offseason strategy depending on if the Penguins win the Alex Lafrenière draft sweepstakes.

In non-Penguins news, we examine the PIAA dilemma about resuming high school sports in Pennsylvania, the state of NFL training camps, and a pending salary cap crisis for the Steelers.

Which is nothing compared to the current state of crisis for the Pirates.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss how the Penguins were bounced from the opening round of the playoffs and what comes next

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