Lars Eller shares thoughts on what went wrong for the Penguins
The traded player in a unique position to offer insight
Lars Eller played 99 games with the Penguins after signing as a free agent in the summer of 2023. He’s played over 1,050 career NHL games and has won a Stanley Cup, playing for five different teams across 16 seasons. He’s a veteran whose been around the block and had a first hand look at Pittsburgh’s slump on the ice over the past 13 months from a club trying to get back into the top-half of the league as a playoff team down into their descent to (waives hands) whatever it is they’ve become now.
As such, he has a unique perspective to offer now that he’s been sent away from Pittsburgh to reflect back on what went wrong.
Eller on what wasn't working with Penguins: pic.twitter.com/l5lPdoYD9S
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) November 14, 2024
The consistency mentioned is right on the nose. Too often the Pens floundered or failed to find their footing in what’s become a frustrating turn for a veteran team that no longer has the muscle or horse power to stand up as one of the NHL’s better teams.
As such, it was Eller who paid the price getting traded at the beginning of a season.
Lars Eller spoke during the first intermission about being traded back to the Capitals. (Disappointed to leave Penguins, but happy to be back with Capitals) pic.twitter.com/VKPuMEZxev
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) November 14, 2024
It’s a shame Eller’s stint with the Pens ended in disappointment on small and large scales. He was a professional player who could have been a part of the solution, yet it never turned in the direction that Pittsburgh was able to progress as a team.