Stanley Cup Odds: Crosby and Kessel Combo Won't Help Penguins

Now that Phil Kessel has joined Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins are among the 2016 Stanley Cup favourties. 

Phil Kessel is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new toy, a toy that has potential of delighting fans with flashy goals one moment and bringing them to tears the next when it doesn’t whistle and whirl like the user manual promised.

In theory, Kessel, one of the game’s purest scorers, would form a dynamite combination with Sidney Crosby on the team’s top line and power play, filling nets with pucks all around the NHL. Penguins brass would watch on as ticket and jersey sales went through the roof as the pair formed a new version of Gretzky and Kurri, bucking the league-wide trend and winning with an offensive onslaught every night.

2016 Stanley Cup Odds

That’s the type of story the Penguins are selling as they head into the 2015 season whether they’ll admit it or not. Thanks to a ton of star power, the Penguins are set at +1000 to win the Stanley Cup, in a pack of six teams at the same price that sit just behind the +800 Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks.

Kessel was the big fish on the market and the Penguins lured the Toronto Maple Leafs into the trade with a handful of prospects, two high draft picks, while eating a bunch of his salary while he plays for another team. That’s what had to be done to get Kessel out of Toronto. The second-worst team in the Eastern Conference and a club that ranked 24^th in league scoring, was sick of Kessel and his 30-40 goals every year. That’s how bad things ended up.

The Kessel and Crosby Combo

Now, Kessel goes from Toronto’s whipping boy to Pittsburgh’s new toy, pushed into the spotlight of Sidney Crosby’s right wing.

You knew that was coming. First off, where exactly do you put Kessel in the lineup? It’s not like he’s capable of fitting in on the third line just to get his feet wet with the new team. This is a perennial All-Star and a USA Olympian, so he deserves every bit of a chance to play the world’s best player. The thought here is, Kessel will see Sid the Kid’s work ethic first hand and put his nose to the grindstone from the moment he pulls on a Pens sweater.

But will it work? Don’t bet on it but don’t blame Kessel if this team struggles to make the playoffs, either.

In a lot of way’s none of this is Phil’s fault. Kessel is what he is – an incredibly talented offensive hockey player. He’s never been much for systems or backchecking or going the extra mile to make sure he takes care of the team’s defensive end first. And that’s OK. Actually, that’s more than OK when you score 80 points in a season, which he could easily accomplish again this year.

It probably won’t be long until he’s bumped from Crosby’s line down to play with Evgeni Malkin, where he’s likely better suited anyway. Kessel’s speed and finesse will mesh much better with Malkin than Crosby’s grinding, relentless attack and that could give the Penguins two of the top lines in all of hockey.

That doesn’t mean the trade will end up being a winner and it’s very unlikely to help Pittsburgh win many games when it counts – in the playoffs.

In a best case scenario, Kessel shows up to camp in shape and scores 40 or 50 goals and chips in at least 80 points, while buying into Pittsburgh’s system and re-committing himself to a team-first mentality. He’s a great guy in the dressing room and doesn’t yell at any reporters. He doesn’t sulk or whine or hang his head on the bench. In this best case scenario, he’s the exact opposite of what Toronto thought he was with equal the production.

But even if all that works out, the Penguins still may not be any better for it. The best teams in the NHL win with skill, preparation, carefully-crafted systems and possibly most importantly, depth. It’s about survival in the Stanley Cup playoffs and that’s just not something a team can do with three elite forwards but little else in the cupboard to fill the other two lines.

Odds of +1000 to win the Stanley Cup? Please.

Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel may fill the net, but the Penguins will be a long way from filling the Stanley Cup with champagne unless the team makes drastic moves to fill out its top-heavy roster.