Are the Penguins a Playoff Team?

Now that the initial wave of trades and free-agent signings has passed, a question’s been banging around in my noggin for the past couple of days.

As presently constructed, are the Penguins playoff bound?

Yeah, I know it’s early. And president of hockey ops Kyle Dubas may still have a trick or two (Erik Karlsson) up his sleeve. But what the heck.

Back to my question. A tricky one with no easy answers. On the plus side of the ledger, Dubas imported a spate of new players to man the bottom six and provide organizational depth. He significantly improved our ‘d’ as well by signing Ryan Graves. Changes that should bring new energy and vigor to what was a decidedly stale mix last season.

Still, questions remain. Will Tristan Jarry stay healthy and emerge as a true No. 1 goalie? Will the recast bottom six be able to score? What role, if any, will dual albatrosses Mikael Granlund and Jeff Carter fill? Perhaps the most chilling…who steps up if there are injuries to our top six, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in particular?

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