The playoff run that the Penguins hoped would last for a couple of months barely made it for a week and a half, but there is little time for them to ruminate about what they believe might have been.
There is a busy offseason for which Ron Hextall and his staff must prepare, including the expansion draft that will provide players for the Seattle franchise that will begin play next season.
The draft is scheduled for July 21.
The Kraken will select one player from each of 30 teams -- Vegas, the league's most recent addition, is exempt -- to construct the bulk of its roster.
Established clubs have two options for the players they will protect: Eight skaters (regardless of position) and a goalie or three defensemen, seven forwards and a goalie. Most, including the Penguins, are expected to opt for the latter.
Expansion draft guidelines compel them to protect Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang because their contracts include no-movement clauses.
Each team must make available at least two forwards and one defenseman who appeared in at least 27 NHL games in 2020-21 or 54 or more in 2019-20 and 2020-21, combined. (Those numbers have been prorated because of the shortened regular season in 2020-21.)
Players who have played two or fewer pro seasons -- that includes the likes of John Marino, P.O Joseph, Drew O'Connor, Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Jonathan Gruden, Cam Lee, Radim Zohorna, Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare, among others -- are exempt from the draft.
After the protected lists are set, the Kraken will have an opportunity to sign any unprotected free agents -- including restricted ones -- without the player's former club having the ability to match the offer. That means a team that doesn't sign a free agent before submitting its list risks losing him.
Penguins players who made it into at least one NHL game during the past season and are about to enter free agency are:
RESTRICTED -- Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese, Mark Jankowski.
UNRESTRICTED -- Cody Ceci, Frederick Gaudreau, Evan Rodrigues, Colton Sceviour, Yannick Weber, Maxime Lagace, Kevin Czuczman.
With all of that established, what follows is one perspective on who the Penguins should protect, based on players who appeared in the NHL during the just-concluded season, and the players' salary-cap hits for 2021-22.
The most interesting call facing Hextall might be whether to put Jeff Carter on the protected list, because that could be an indication of whether the Penguins are still in total "win-now" mode, or are beginning to look to the future.
On the basis of his play after being acquired from Los Angeles at the trade deadline, protecting Carter would be an easy call, but he'll turn 37 Jan. 1 and has just one season remaining on his contract. With no guarantee that he'd put off retirement -- or that he could continue to perform at an extremely high level -- putting him on the list would show that the Penguins' all-in mindset for the short term hasn't changed.
Because Hextall is expected to make significant alterations to the roster before next season, additional emphasis has been placed on protecting players who figure to have the highest trade value.
PROTECTED
Forwards:
Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million) -- He's Sidney Crosby (in addition to having that no-movement clause).
Evgeni Malkin ($9,5 million) -- No movement clause.
Jake Guentzel ($6 million) -- A potential 40-goal scorer during a full season, despite the physical pounding he absorbs.
Bryan Rust ($3.5 million) -- His reputation for scoring in high-stakes games has faded a bit, but Rust is a solid top-six winger.
Kasperi Kapanen ($3.2 million) -- A slow start and lackluster finish, but he's capable of scoring 30-plus.
Teddy Blueger (Unsigned) -- Don't underestimate the importance of strength down the middle.
Brandon Tanev ($3.5 million) -- His importance to this team goes far beyond his modest statistics.
Defensemen:
Kris Letang ($7.25 million) -- No movement clause.
Brian Dumoulin ($4.1 million) -- His defensive style allows Letang to take offensive gambles.
Mike Matheson ($4.875 million) -- There were hiccups, but Matheson frequently showed why Florida gave him an eight-year contract.
Goaltender:
Tristan Jarry ($3.5 million) -- His first-round flameout aside, Jarry remains the goalie most ready to be a No. 1 in the NHL next season.
EXPOSED (excluding pending free agents)
Jeff Carter ($2,636,364) -- He could provide strong two-way play and leadership in Seattle, but possibly for only one season.
Casey DeSmith ($1.25 million) -- A possible dark horse choice by the Kraken if it is shopping for a backup goalie.
*Mark Friedman ($725,000) -- His NHL resume likely is too limited to merit gambling on him.
Sam Lafferty ($750,000) -- There should be more to his game than he's shown so far.
Jared McCann ($2.94 million) -- His chronic inconsistency aside, McCann's versatility and potential could appeal to Seattle.
Marcus Pettersson ($4,025,175) -- His 2020-21 performance was disappointing, but he can be a two-way contributor.
*Juuso Riikola ($1.15 million) -- Seattle would really have to do its homework to find game tape of him.
*Chad Ruhwedel ($700,000) -- A reliable depth guy, although the Kraken might have more pressing needs.
Jason Zucker ($5.5 million) -- Effort's never an issue, but he hasn't had the expected impact since joining the Penguins.
* Does not meet games-played standard to count toward Penguins' must-protect minimums.
