Brent Johnson, the team's backup for the last three seasons, is likely to depart the organization as an unrestricted free agent. He had a disappointing year in 2011-12, going 6-7-2 with a .883 save percentage and 3.11 GAA. However, this was likely due to ongoing injury problems and an illness.

While it seems easy enough to promote prospect Brad Thiessen, it doesn't seem as though he is entirely ready for the role. Thiessen shined against weaker opponents such as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets, but got lit up against stronger competition in the Ottawa Senators.

So, assuming Ray Shero wants to sign a more experienced insurance policy for Marc-Andre Fleury, who should he pursue?

Here are six goaltenders who may be able to give Fleury some rest, which could ensure a more refreshed starter for the next postseason.

Note: All goaltenders in this slideshow are unrestricted free agents come July 1.

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On the podcast, T.J. McAloon and the Sports Half Hour, we spoke with Derek from the PensBlog about what it was like during Jagr watch was during that offseason.  

However, after missing out on Jagr to the Penguins rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, it turned out to be a good thing for the Penguins, as they signed Tyler Kennedy to more than a one-year contract, instead of blowing $3 million for a player who only scored 54 points last season.  

Plus, Kennedy brought more to his team in the postseason than Jagr. 

In only six games for the Penguins, Kennedy provided quality goals along with assists posting six points. While for the Flyers, Jagr was held to only one goal and six assists.  

After Jagr’s seven-point explosion against the Penguins, he was held to only one point in the second round against the New Jersey Devils. 

During the second round, Jagr was demoted off the team’s top power-play line, which didn’t seem to sit well. From Prohockeytalk.com, they have some quotes from Jagr and Flyers reporters:

Mind you, No. 68 didn’t sound entirely happy with how he was utilized in Philly.

Randy Miller of the Post-Courier notes that Jagr “wants to see how the Flyers would use him before deciding to stay,” and “felt he would have been better this season if Lavvy [Peter Laviolette] had given him more ice time.”

(Jagr’s quote: “Sometimes I felt I can be better if I played a little more than I played.”)

Seeing Jagr in a Penguins jersey once more would have been a fitting way to end his career. However, Jagr doesn’t look like he’s going to call it a career after this season.  

It looks like he’s going to test free agency, which would have sent Penguins fans back into #JagrWatch mode for another summer.  

With the Penguins strapped for cash—according to CapGeek.com, they’re $330,023 under the cap entering the offseason; Philadelphia has $0—it more than likely would have sent Jagr away from the club in the offseason.  

Penguins fans can continue to boo Jagr whenever he steps onto Pittsburgh ice. However, it was a better thing that he didn’t sign with the club during the summer of ’11. 

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When the Pens return next season, they will have a chance to redeem themselves after their second straight first-round playoff exit. There is no reason why they should not once again be playoff contenders.

So, what can Penguins fans and team personnel look forward to as the summer months crawl by?

Here are a few reasons to look forward to the calendar turning to October.

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With an expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement looming, there is uncertainty in terms of how the Penguins will be able to retain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal along with guys like James Neal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang, who will all be commanding top dollar.

Keeping the three centers will be an unbelievably difficult task even with the current CBA. If the players' association wins the negotiations, that will make it an even more arduous task to keep the big three.

Penguins GM Ray Shero expressed concerns after the playoff loss to the Flyers about being able to keep Crosby, Malkin, and Staal. Via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Common sense, I’d love to keep all three of them. They’re great players. They’re not even in their prime yet. But we’ll have to wait to see. We’ve had these players for a number of years now. We had success for a couple of years now. Went to the finals, won the (Stanley) Cup. But at the same time, there’s a salary cap in place now. And when these guys get into the second and third contracts, you might run into problems trying to keep all three. I’m certainly on record, I’d love to keep all three but in a practical world with a salary cap, that remains to be seen.

So what do Shero and the Penguins do?

Would it be smart to move one of the three before their contracts expire? Staal and Crosby become unrestricted free agents next summer and Malkin hits the market in 2013-14. 

Considering the fact that Malkin and Crosby are superior to Staal in terms of talent and because they both have unmovable clauses, trading Staal becomes the ideal transaction for the Penguins.

Staal is currently making $4 million per season and will definitely ask for an increase in salary when his contract expires. He has become one of the best two-way centers in the league and is an extremely valuable player on the power play, even strength and the penalty kill. Staal does it all.

So why let him walk for nothing?

Obviously, if he's willing to take less money and stay on the Penguins that's a completely different story. But the Penguins can't bank their future hoping that Staal takes less money. The Cleveland Cavaliers tried that with LeBron James and it didn't quite work out.

The Penguins must trade Jordan Staal by draft day. 

It'll be extremely awkward and strange to hear the announcement of Staal's trade at Consol Energy Center, which will be the site of this year's draft. Penguins fans might not like it at first, but think about the possibilities for a second.

There are plenty of lottery teams right now that would be interested in Staal. One of them might be the Edmonton Oilers. Glenn Healey suggested via the Edmonton Journal that the Penguins could trade Staal to the Oilers for the No. 1 overall pick.

Using that No. 1 overall pick, the Penguins can get an NHL ready player like Nail Yakupov to start on their third-line. He will be an inexpensive and talented option. The Penguins will be able to keep Malkin and Crosby and there is no doubt that Yakupov and Malkin would hit it off immediately since they are both Russian.

Plus, the prospects of Dan Potash interviewing Yakopov between periods will get Pens fans anxious for hockey season to start again.

The Penguins will most likely have to ship their first round pick to Edmonton along with Staal. Staal would be an unbelievable fit in Edmonton and he'd have a bigger role. The notion of playing alongside Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall may be a huge reason why Staal signs an extension with the Oilers.

That'll probably be the only way the Oilers accept the trade anyway. They're not going to give up a No. 1 overall pick for a rental player. And perhaps Staal wouldn't want to play in a secluded city like Edmonton.

Maybe he'd want to reunite with his brother, Eric, in Carolina. The Hurricanes currently have the No. 8 overall pick this season. The Penguins could use that to draft a defenseman to bolster their blue line with younger blood after their defense completely failed them in the playoffs this year.

It's highly likely that the Pens would be able to get the No. 8 pick straight up for Staal. This means that the Penguins will have two draft picks in this year's draft, which would set them up nicely for the future.

No, it won't be a popular move, but in the long run it might be the only rational thing to do. It won't be a surprise to see both Crosby and Malkin make over $10 million each after they sign new contracts. That in and of itself could take up a quarter of the salary cap. Throw in the monster contracts that Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Marc-Andre Fleury, James Neal and others have and all of a sudden the Pens will be pushing the cap.

It makes more sense to trade less valuable pieces of the core for younger, inexpensive talent. 

There are four guys the Penguins should consider untouchable: Letang, Fleury, Crosby and Malkin. In order for them to remain untouchable, other players must be moved.

That being said, they can't just walk away during free agency. It's important for the Penguins to get at least some first-round draft picks in return, which is why trading Staal by the end of next month wouldn't be such a bad idea.

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Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist were the other nominees.

Malkin is the presumed favorite to win the Hart after capturing his second Art Ross Trophy with 109 points (50G, 59A) during 75 games in the regular season. His 50 goals were a career-high, and he finished four points shy of his career-best points mark of 113, set in 82 games in the 2008-09 season.

From PittsburghPenguins.com:

Malkin, 25, is a Hart finalist for the third time in the last five seasons. He finished runner-up behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin back-to-back seasons in 2009 and ’08. Should he win, Malkin would become the fourth player in franchise history to do so, joining Mario Lemieux (3 times), Sidney Crosby (1) and Jaromir Jagr (1).

... Malkin defeated Stamkos by 12 points – the largest margin of victory for a scoring champion since 1999.

In winning his second Art Ross Trophy, Malkin became the third player in franchise history to win multiple scoring titles (Mario Lemieux, 6; Jagr, 5). Malkin won the scoring title despite missing seven games due to injury in October. He averaged a league-best 1.45 points per game (min. 41 games) and he also led all NHL players with 339 shots.

Malkin led the Penguins in goals, assists, points, power-play points and shots on goal while leading the NHL in points, shots and PPG (excluding Sidney Crosby's 20 games).

His numbers were impressive given the number of games missed by his teammates. Crosby (60 games), Jordan Staal (20 games) and Kris Letang (31 games) all missed significant time with injuries, leaving Geno to carry the offense while being the square focus of opponents' best shutdown offerings.

Malkin finished runner-up to Alex Ovechkin in 2008 and 2009 despite beating him out for the Art Ross in '09, the season in which Malkin also won the Conn Smythe Trophy and was part of the team that lifted the Stanley Cup.

The 25-year-old Russian star has led the Penguins in scoring in three of his six seasons with the team. With a Calder Trophy, Conn Smythe, two Art Ross Trophies and the '09 Cup already accounted for, the Hart is one of the last major awards missing from his cabinet.

He is the presumptive favorite to capture MVP honors for the first time in his third official nomination.

Stamkos led the NHL with 60 goals, just the second person to score as many since the lockout (Ovechkin), and finished second to Malkin for total points. Lundqvist helped to lead the Rangers to their first conference title since 1993-94 and finished in the top five of the NHL in wins, goals-against average and save percentage.

Slew Footers & @Slew_James

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But thinking long term, is it possible that Crosby and Malkin will ever be separated? Will upper management make a move to try and make room for a player like Staal to see the ice more than he does as a third line center?

These questions are honestly hard to fathom, and the truth is this is something that won't be dealt with for quite a while. At least until next season, when Crosby's $8.7 million contract expires and he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Who is to say however, that if another postseason goes like this one, that Crosby will not get fed up with sharing the spotlight with another Hart Trophy winning all-star and make a move west?

Especially if his injuries continue to build up and another concussion costs him part or most of next season. Will arguably the best player in the world be worth such a hefty contract when he can only play 40ish games a season?

In my mind, Malkin has proven himself as an elite player and is a much larger asset to the Penguins organization then Crosby. You can state that Crosby is the "face of the league," but after his antics in this year's playoffs, one has to ask: Does he really deserve the C?

As a captain, the most important thing to do is to lead by example, and that is something that Crosby failed to do in the first-round series against Philadelphia. Sure his eight points were just one behind Jordan Staal for the team lead, but his attitude and antics proved otherwise.

When you watch the film, it is not even a question as to who wanted it more between Crosby and Malkin. Gino fought for every lose puck in the defensive end, and his aggression on the bench toward linemate James Neal in Game 6 showed the intensity and the will to win that he possesses.

Crosby failed to register a point in Games 5 and 6, and in the deciding Game 6, where Crosby led the team in ice time with over 26 minutes, he had a minus-3 rating. If things don't change next year and a weak playoff run happens once again, change should be in order.

Do I think that Crosby and Malkin will ever be separated? Realistically, no. We've seen guys with character take pay cuts in order to stay in one city for their career (Super Mario and Steve Yzerman come to mind). And I don't see Sid or Gino wanting an enormous contract that would boot the other one out of town.

As a Penguins fan however, If this year repeats itself in 2012-13, I am all on board to send Crosby elsewhere and let Malkin lead the team. He earned the chance.

But for now, we have other things to worry about, mainly the contracts of James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Steve Sullivan.

But what do you guys think? If this year repeats itself in 2012-13, do we send either Crosby or Malkin packing? And if so, who?

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"I want to congratulate the Flyers organization on the series win but, I really can't wish them good luck though," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma.

Some NHL fans might hear Bylsma’s comments and think that he is being rude, but Penguins and Flyers fans should be thrilled with what Bylsma said.

Dan Bylsma is a coach that makes sure he acts appropriately when the public is watching. When Bylsma is on the bench, he is usually very composed and rarely loses that composure.

When Bylsma refused to wish the Flyers luck, it sent a message to both Penguins and Flyers fans—that he is fully committed to the rivalry, and being beaten by the Flyers is personal. 

Bylsma was very polite when he made his statement; he even made sure that he first congratulated the Flyers, because they beat him and his team. He did not discredit the Flyers’ win and simply admitted defeat. 

The important part of Bylsma’s comment was when he refused to wish the Flyers good luck.

The Penguins and Flyers’ rivalry is intense. The first three games of the series were part-hockey game and part-bar fight. The two cross-state rivals hate each other, and they are not shy about admitting it. If Bylsma would have been nice and wished the Flyers good luck, it would have been fake and pointless. 

The Flyers and Penguins are both full of young players and are set up to have success for the foreseeable future. With the current group of players, the rivalry should be highly competitive with close matchups for several years to come.

Bylsma’s comments were perfect for the situation. In a way, he set the stage for next year when they play again. 

During the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Flyers’ and Penguins’ rivalry heated up, and Bylsma’s comments have already set the stage for the rivalry to pick up next season. 

Follow @xIanxBarryx

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On Sunday, the Pens dropped a 5-1 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of a very heated series. It was a series that was fair to neither squad. Pittsburgh (108) ended the regular season with the second best point total in the Eastern Conference, while the cross-state Flyers (103) were third. 

However, NHL rules require division champions to be seeded No. 1, 2 and 3 in the playoffs, with all non-division winners falling in place from No. 4 to 8. So, the Penguins, second best, were seeded fourth behind a pair of completely out-classed division winners in Boston (102) and Florida (94). Philadelphia fell in place just behind. 

While the third-seeded Florida Panthers had home ice against sixth-seeded New Jersey (102, eight points better than their first-round foe), two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were doing battle.

It is now two seasons in a row the Penguins have suffered a first-round playoff loss when seeded fourth despite owning a regular-season point total inside the top three. Last year, Pittsburgh fell to a Tampa Bay squad that tallied 103 regular-season points. If done strictly by point total, the Pens would have faced the Montreal Canadiens, earners of 96 regular-season points. 

What is preventing the NHL from adopting an NBA-type format for playoff seeding? In the NBA, the three division winners and the top wild-card team earn the No. 1 to 4 seeds, and are seeded by record. Under this system, this year, Pittsburgh would have been the No. 2 seed, and last year the No. 3 seed. 

It surely wouldn't have guaranteed a run to the Stanley Cup Finals, but it sure would have made the road easier, and more fair for a team that deserved it.

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When a top team exits the playoffs prematurely, it's only natural to wonder what went wrong, and the Penguins have plenty of unanswered questions.

Here are some things that might have cost the Penguins the series and, thus, their season.

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Fans and the media are quick to criticize the Penguins and their stars for not getting the job done in the playoffs. While some of the criticism is justified, it’s important to acknowledge the play of the Philadelphia Flyers and remember how the NHL seeds its playoff teams.

Give the Flyers Credit
 

No one should be shocked by the Flyers series win.

They are one of the only teams in the NHL who can score as much as the Penguins.

The Penguins and Flyers finished first and second in scoring in the regular season and had almost identical power play percentages. The Flyers boast a lineup full of offensive talent; they just don’t have the household names the Penguins do.

Daniel Briere leads the NHL in post lockout playoff points with 104 in 103 games. While Claude Giroux is one of the best players in the league right now, finishing with 93 points in 77 games this season. He also leads all playoff scorers with 14 points.

Scott Hartnell is a physical force, but has also left his mark on the score sheet with five points in the playoffs. Jaromir Jagr is a savvy veteran who has six assists in the playoffs and adds depth to the power play. Max Talbot adds experience to the lineup having won the Cup with the Penguins, scoring the Penguins two goals in Game 7 of the 2009 final.

Finally, young players such as Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier add depth to the Flyers scoring.

The Flyers outplayed the Penguins in all aspects of the game.

Their best forwards were as good if not better, than Crosby and Malkin. Their special teams were far superior to that of the Penguins, highlighted by a power play that scored on 52 percent of its opportunities.

Goaltending was shaky at the best of times for both teams, but in the end Ilya Bryzgalov managed a better performance when it really mattered.

NHL Playoff Seeding Format
 

Before criticizing the Penguins specifically for not making it out of the first round, consider the NHL’s format for playoff seeding. Perhaps they deserved an easier first round opponent?

The NHL’s format rewards division winners with a guaranteed spot in the top three. The New York Rangers won the Atlantic and earned the top seed (109 points), while the division winning Boston Bruins (102 points) and Florida Panthers (94 points) took the second and third seeds.

This left the Penguins and Flyers to play in the first round as the fourth and fifth seeds, even though they had higher point totals then the other division winners.

The Penguins finished with 108 points, second most in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers weren’t far behind finishing with 103, good enough for third in the East. No format should allow for the second and third best teams in the conference to play in the first round.

Take the NBA’s playoff seeding format for example. It gives division winners a top four spot by reseeding them and the next best team, based on their point totals. Essentially, it offers talented teams who play in competitive divisions the opportunity to be rewarded for their efforts.

The NHL’s format does not, as it forces the Penguins and Flyers to play in the first round. Again, even though they amassed more points playing in a tougher division than the Bruins and Panthers did playing weaker divisional opponents.

This isn’t an excuse for the Penguins, but rather another explanation why this is hardly a big first round upset.

It’s a very small upset. It was a series that easily could have been played to determine the conference champion.

The Penguins had the second best record in the East and lost to the team with the third best record. A Philadelphia squad who happened to be the one team in the NHL who can match the Penguins offensively.

The NHL’s playoff seeding format has given us an amazing first-round series.

Unfortunately, it might compromise the level of play and excitement in the second and third rounds. 

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