It's been four-plus years since the Penguins won a Stanley Cup, and it will be at least one more before they get a shot at another.
A lot of things -- quality coaching, contributions from up and down the lineup and being lucky with the number and severity of injuries -- go into winning a championship, and having the right people in the lineup is high on the list.
It's no coincidence that nearly all of the Penguins' five Cups were earned at the end of a season during which their general manager made some critical personnel additions. Consider:
1991 -- Craig Patrick added Larry Murphy and Peter Taglianetti from the North Stars and Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from the Whalers, as well as Scott Young (Whalers), Jiri Hrdina (Flames) and Gordie Roberts (Blues) after plucking Joe Mullen out of Calgary during the offseason.
1992 -- Patrick acquired Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget and Jeff Chychrun in a three-team deal with the Flyers and Kings.
2009 -- Ray Shero brought in Chris Kunitz from the Ducks and Bill Guerin from the Islanders as the trade deadline approached.
2016 -- Jim Rutherford got Phil Kessel (Maple Leafs) and Nick Bonino (Canucks) before the season, then added Carl Hagelin (Ducks), Trevor Daley (Blackhawks) and Justin Schultz (Oilers) while it was in progress.
2017 -- Perhaps because the Penguins were a defending champion with a deep and talented roster, Rutherford made only one move of consequence, picking up Ron Hainsey from the Hurricanes.
Considering that the Penguins are 3-13 in their past 16 playoff games and haven't made it past Round 1 since 2018, it seems safe to assume that Ron Hextall will have to pull off several significant deals before the 2022 trade deadline if the Penguins are to have any realistic hope of making a run at Cup No. 6.
That won't be easy. But nothing about winning a championship ever is.
Of course, not every good trade translates into a title within a few months. Getting Kevin Stevens from the Kings for Anders Hakansson comes immediately to mind. So does grabbing Syl Apps and Sheldon Kannegiesser from the Rangers for Glen Sather.
YOUR TURN: What do you think is the best trade (not necessarily the most lopsided one) the Penguins ever made?