It's obvious that Sidney Crosby is remarkably good. At 20 years old, he is a dominant offensive force and considered an excellent team leader.
But, and you can go back to Gretzky and even the Trottier/Bossy/Potvin Islanders on this one, youth often must suffer some painful setbacks before achieving the ultimate success in the NHL playoffs. The Isles of the late 70s and early 80s endured some disastrous elimination losses to the Leafs and Rangers in the playoffs before winning those four straight Cups. And Gretzky's Oilers lost to an aging Isles team in the Finals before going on their run in the 80s.
Anaheim, last year, and Carolina and Tampa Bay most recently, are examples of young Cup-winning teams that did either not repeat or had trouble reaching the playoffs in subsequent seasons. Look at Ottawa's recent fall from the NHL elite. Or Buffalo's decline.
The mere presence of Sid the Kid does not guarantee the Penguins a playoff spot every year. And Penguins fans who think that they are now the team to beat in the entire NHL are fooling themselves. Malone, Orpik and Hossa are free agents. If any leave -- and the Penguins can't pay them all -- who is to say the team can recapture the magic that led them to this year's Final?
The Rangers, Devils, Ottawa and Buffalo will improve, you can bet.
I like Crosby, but here's hoping the fans in the league understand how difficult it is to get back to the Finals. One successful year is no guarantee there will be more to come.
Hope you enjoyed the ride, fellas.
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