Previous Roster, Mild Schedule: Can the Penguins Take Benefit?

Barring some late-summer strikes from Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas, his staff is on monitor to be one of many NHL’s “most skilled” rosters as soon as once more.

Per eliteprospects.com, Pittsburgh at the moment has the second-oldest roster within the NHL with a median age of 29.9 years, simply behind the Edmonton Oilers.

Nonetheless, there could also be some respite for the Penguins, whose common age of 30.8 years final season was one of many many causes they missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second straight season.

The Penguins will journey an estimated 31,372 miles in 2024-25, in comparison with 35,153 miles final season. That ranks second-lowest within the NHL, simply forward of the New Jersey Devils:

It additionally falls properly wanting the NHL common of 40,382 miles traveled. The Anaheim Ducks will spend probably the most time within the air this season with an estimated 50,943 miles to cowl.

Whereas the Penguins could spend much less time within the air and crossing time zones this season, it’s price noting that they typically play extra back-to-back video games and take extra highway journeys than most groups.

Based on soundofhockey.com, Pittsburgh led the league with 23 highway journeys in 2023-24 whereas taking part in the tenth-most back-to-back video games.

As a member of the geographically concentrated Metropolitan Division, it’s far simpler for the Penguins to take separate journeys in a shorter timespan with fewer miles traveled. That’s contrasted with Pacific Division groups, who are inclined to pack in additional video games in fewer highway journeys to restrict their general mileage.

So, all the benefits gained from spending much less time within the air, together with misplaced sleep and fatigue, are arguably balanced out by the abovementioned components.

So ought to we count on the Penguins’ lighter air journey to translate to extra on-ice success?

Not essentially. There isn’t a lot proof to counsel lighter journey schedules produce the winningest groups.

Simply final season, the Edmonton Oilers endured one of many heaviest schedules within the league with an estimated 50,887 miles coated within the common season. They went on to lose within the Stanley Cup Closing to a different perennial frequent flier, the Florida Panthers.

The Los Angeles Kings log heavy journey mileage yearly, and all they produced was a mini-dynasty within the early 2010s. That included a grueling 2014 playoff run by which the Kings went to seven video games in every of the primary three rounds, one in all which was towards the Chicago Blackhawks, whose United Middle is greater than 1,700 miles from Los Angeles.

Nonetheless, it stands to motive that none of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, who’re all nearer to 40 than 30, are complaining concerning the additional time on the bottom.

So it stays to be seen how this may issue into the Penguins’ season. Given their common age and sagging efficiency in earlier seasons, maybe their lighter journey merely helps to degree the taking part in subject for them greater than it stacks the deck of their favour.

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