Mark Madden's Hot Take: If Vegas won't trade Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins should pursue his teammate

When the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005, it wasn’t long before the future became now. It’s been the case ever since.

But the Penguins have never been more about right now, than right now.

The word is that the Penguins won’t burn it down. Won’t rebuild. Why should they? Despite a gratuitous playoff disappointment, they finished atop the very difficult East Division.

The commitment to right now will be confirmed when Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin sign extensions to their current deals, which are set to expire at the end of the next season.

So, it’s very clearly about right now. Tweaks will be made. Few major changes.

But one major change must be made to stay true to the pursuit of right now.

The Penguins have to get a legitimate No. 1 goaltender.

Tristan Jarry fell apart in the playoff loss to the New York Islanders. But this goes beyond that.

Even when Jarry played OK, it was only OK. He can’t shake certain flaws, like a vulnerable glove hand and sitting too deep in the net. It was like Matt Murray got Xeroxed at 95%.

Jarry might get better. He’s 26.

But when your chances of being good revolve around two 34-year-olds and a 33-year-old, that risk simply can’t be taken. “Might” isn’t acceptable.

The Penguins can’t wait for Jarry to further develop. Murray only got worse.

Penguins fans fantasize about re-acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury. But he’s too popular in Vegas and just won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie.

Fans of local hockey fantasize about getting Whitehall’s John Gibson from Anaheim. But he’s signed through 2027 at a reasonable cap hit of $6.4 million. The Ducks are bad, but Gibson is one of the NHL’s top five goalies. He gives Anaheim credibility.

Few legit goalies will be available in free agency. So, those who are — like Colorado’s Phillip Grubauer or Boston’s Tuukka Rask — seem unaffordable.

Perhaps upgrading isn’t possible.

But if Vegas won’t trade Fleury, maybe Robin Lehner could be had.

The Golden Knights are contenders but have holes to fill, most notably at center. That’s not going to be easy when goaltenders tie up $12 million of Vegas’ salary cap.

Vegas coach Peter DeBoer wastes no excuse to go to Lehner, even though Fleury played most of the games. What the Penguins might trade in return for Lehner isn’t obvious, and they have their own cap issues to deal with.

But, still, inquire within. He was just out of the NHL’s top 10 for goals-against average at 2.29. His other stats were respectable. Lehner was a Vezina finalist just two years ago.

Whether the next 2-3 years constitutes a still-open championship window for the Penguins is a sketchy proposition. But they can be good. They can make the playoffs.

After those 2-3 years, it burns down organically. Bad.