Penguins leave locker room without 3rd Stanley Cup

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins were in their locker room at PPG Paints Arena one last time this season on Wednesday, although it wasn’t the celebration to which they’ve become accustomed.

For the past two years, locker clean-out has had a much different meaning than it did this year.

After winning back-to-back championships, the Penguins had previously walked out of the locker room to embark on their summer celebrations with the Stanley Cup.

This time around, there is no trophy after the team was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Washington Capitals.

But players are already looking forward to next season.

“As a defensive corps, our future is bright. We have a lot of guys coming back here next year. We are definitely going to take advantage of the long summer. We are going to use this time to become more fresh and be ready to go in September,” Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said.

Head coach Mike Sullivan said he's still not over the disappointed stage. It'll take some time for him to get over his first playoff series loss as the coach of the Penguins.

"I have so much belief in this group of players, so when you fall short of your ultimate goal, it stings. I'm still not over that yet," Sullivan told reporters Wednesday.

Many of the players echoed that sentiment.

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"It's something we haven't felt in a while," said Sidney Crosby. "You wanna be playing still, but yeah, you have to evaluate everything and turn the page at some point and get ready for next year."

Injuries to some Penguins players became an issue during the playoffs.

Derek Brassard acknowledged playing through an undisclosed injury, but said he didn't want that to be an excuse. Sullivan and Jim Rutherford, the Penguins' general manager, both said Brassard's injury affected his play.

Phil Kessel's play during the postseason was criticized. Many wondered if he was playing with an injury. Sullivan said any injury to Kessel was "not significant."

"I'm not going to disclose any of our injuries. I'd rather not get into the list of injuries our team had," Sullivan said.

Both Sullivan and Rutherford are optimistic about the future.

"We're a good team and we'll be a good team going forward," Rutherford said. "We have a chance to win again."

When asked about his own future, Rutherford also joked, "I may be around longer than you guys."

While the season didn’t end with a three-peat, Penguins fans can now cheer on the team’s beloved former goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Cox Media Group