‘We’re Only Human’: Slow Start Wake Of Penguins Creeps Into Stores

Losing is never fun for any team in the National Hockey League.

But it’s especially challenging for a team like the 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins, who could potentially have major roster and organizational changes on the horizon.

As it stands now, the Penguins sit at 9-12-4, which is last in the Metropolitan Division. They are only fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.440), ahead of only Chicago, Nashville, San Jose and Montreal.

GM and POHO Kyle Dubas has been busy, attending other games — most recently spotted in Detroit — and has already made some moves to this point. He traded forward Lars Eller to the Capitals for two draft picks a few weeks ago and most recently traded for young forward Philip Tomasino.

Changes are already in the process. And despite two straight wins this week — the Penguins snapped a three-game losing streak against Vancouver on Wednesday and won again in Boston on Friday — the frustration on the ice and in the locker room has otherwise been palpable for much of the season.

Although they try to take everything day by day, they are well aware of the possible consequences if they fail to steer the ship in the right direction.

“Yeah, it’s all part of the game,” said defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who has been talked about a lot this season. “That’s all on us.” No one wants to be in a position where there is a lot of talk about the team. So I think everyone understands what the business is and everyone knows what we’ve gotten ourselves into. To be honest, it’s not talked about much. I think it can creep in, but we have to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t.”

What often gets lost in trade talk and speculation — especially for struggling teams — is that these players are human. At the end of the day, they have lives, families and personal matters to attend to outside the rink.

Even if they try their best to drown out the noise, they hear it. They know what is being said about them. They are familiar with the types of talk that take place as a team tries to string together wins and establish an identity.

And because of that—even though they’re still focused on the day—there’s a certain amount of anxiety that creeps in about the potential changes.

“I think it’s not enough,” said goalkeeper Alex Nedeljkovic. “We’re only human. You hear it and you try not to listen to it, you try not to look at it and you try to avoid it. But, of course, that comes with the territory, when you’re not in the position you want to be in, when you’re near the bottom of the league, people start asking questions or saying things.”

Nedeljkovic said that they are also often aware of the nature of this conversation. In a sense, it’s an easy thing for fans and media — just like players — to treat everything like a business.

But when it happens from the other side – and not from the players who are actually going through it – that “human” element sometimes gets lost. In fact, the players, in a way, live in a completely different world than speculated.

And, unfortunately, some people—whether fans, reporters, writers, or TV personalities—don’t always recognize that there’s a person on the other end of a tweet, podcast, article, or comment.

“Sometimes what’s being said is just clickbait, or people are just saying things because it makes sense in this surreal fantasy world we like to live in sometimes,” Nedeljkovic said. “How much sense does it make to you, at home, when you’re sitting in your chair, looking at things on lineups and everything, and, ‘Oh, this makes sense if this team wanted to do this,’ like … that’s not how the world works, you know, and if for some reason, or somehow, things work out that way, then it’s out of our control.

He continued: “So we have to take care of ourselves, take care of ourselves, take care of our own business and it will take care of itself.”

Pettersson – who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 3, 2018 – appealed when he was traded to Pittsburgh. Having “no idea” it was coming, he returned with his team from the trip only to find it had been given away.

As someone who was just making his way into the league at the time, it was shocking but exciting to make his way to a contending team. However, Pettersson acknowledged that things are a little different now that he is more of a veteran.

“I think as you get older you think about these things more and you understand how everything works a little better,” Pettersson said. “But, I went through it here too. A few years ago, when I was struggling, there was a lot of talk. And you can’t really control that. What you can control is what you put on the ice.” It’s hard, and like Ned said, it’s the human element, we all understand what happens when you go through rough patches.

Again, it’s worth noting that the Penguins have won two games in a row. They have the lead against the Calgary Flames on Saturday and have a chance to win three games in a row for the first time this season. More and more such stripes can lead to conviction in a dressing room that is sometimes looking for answers.

But make no mistake: No matter what happens, that faith rests with the guys occupying the locker room here and now. So whether outside noise and speculation prevails, each player will remain focused on what they can achieve together.

“It’s definitely out there, but there’s nothing we can do,” forward Noel Acciari said. “It’s a business.” But we can win with these guys in the room. Once we realize that and get into a rhythm, I think we’ll be fine. It’s up to us to dig ourselves out. We put ourselves here and it’s up to us to get out of it.”

ndu">lcj"/>lcj" class="caas-img"/>