Penguins acknowledge change is 'inevitable' as regular season concludes

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ practice Thursday in Cranberry wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Players did a few laps to open the session, which lasted roughly 45 minutes, and they wrapped things up with some stretching at center ice.

In between, they worked on five-on-five drills and the power play.

It was as unremarkable of a practice session — which by nature are usually unremarkable — as the Penguins have staged before any of their first 81 games this season.

But on the eve of their 82nd contest of the 2021-22 campaign — a meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena on Friday — things felt different. Especially considering the seismic shift the franchise took late Wednesday night when longtime CEO and president David Morehouse resigned.

The Penguins are bound to undergo more alterations this offseason on and off the ice.

With Fenway Sports Group beginning to command a firmer grasp on the team it formally purchased less than five months ago as well as the looming unrestricted free agency statuses of franchise pillars such as Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, change isn’t a possibility.

It is inevitable.

That’s a reality two of the most prominent members of the organization — captain Sidney Crosby and coach Mike Sullivan — acknowledged after Thursday’s practice.

“It’s inevitable that there’s going to be change over time,” said Crosby, who is 17 years into his tenure with the Penguins.

“That happens with a team. Moving forward, I don’t want to speculate what’s going to happen. I don’t really know. My job is to go out there and play.”

Sullivan, who is typically micro-focused with his comments on the next opponent, allowed himself to reflect on his tenure in directing the team’s core, commonly regarded as Crosby, Malkin and Letang.

“I think with respect to these guys and what they’ve accomplished and the legacy that they’ve built here in Pittsburgh, it’s impressive, and they’re deserving of the recognition,” Sullivan said. “When I look at this core group of players, I believe they’re the best core, in my mind, that I’ve ever been around. To have an opportunity to be their coach for me is an unbelievable honor and privilege. I don’t think in terms of what might happen in the future. What I think is I’m just really appreciative of the opportunity that we have right now together as a group. I think we’re all excited about that.”

A significant portion of that excitement is based in the playoffs, which are scheduled to begin next week. But given the general malaise the team has been in as of late — the Penguins have lost 11 of their past 17 games (6-9-2) — Friday’s game appears to have a more profound objective than just the two points it can offer in the standings.

“We just want to be feeling good about our game,” Crosby said. “The first thing is probably limiting chances against. That’s always so important in the playoffs is just not beating yourself, not giving (opponents) easy ones. We know that we have enough guys that can contribute offensively and score. We’ve just got to make sure we give ourselves a chance offensively. Just playing with good pace and making sure that we eliminate the opportunities against and to have a good feeling about that going into the playoffs.”

Given Morehouse’s abrupt departure Wednesday, no one seems to know what to feel about the Penguins once this season is completed.

But they acknowledge this might be — and probably is — their last chance to do it as presently constructed.

“As much as you don’t want to think about it, it’s something that you understand that could be a possibility,” Crosby said. “You just try to enjoy it as much as you can and take it all in because you know it’s not something that’s going to last forever, whether it’s this year or down the road a little bit more.

“You only get to play for so long. Just trying to enjoy it and just be grateful for the opportunity to do it again.”