Less than 10 years ago, at the end of the 2016-17 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins were sitting on top of the hockey world with their fifth Stanley Cup title. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the Penguins appear to be far from contending for a title given the lack of overall progression since the offseason. The Penguins finished last season ranked seventh in the Metropolitan Division, only ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. After several seasons of deciding whether to rebuild or go all-in, it is now too nearly too late for the Penguins to rebuild into an immediate playoff contender, as they could be looking at becoming one of the worst teams in the league. Pittsburgh knew it was adding a lot of aged veterans to the roster via free agency or trade within the past few seasons. Now, the Penguins have a conditioning problem. Eight of the team’s top scorers from last year are returning, but seven of them were at least 31 years old. Forward Michael Bunting (29), forward Anthony Beauvillier (28), defender Marcu
