Tom Werner wasn’t happy.
Neither was Sidney Crosby.
With the Pittsburgh Penguins floundering in the standings late in the 2023-24 campaign, the chairman of the franchise’s ownership group had a chat with the team’s captain.
“We’re all disappointed last year that we didn’t make the playoffs,” Werner said. “I was talking to Sidney in March. I said, ‘You know, we’re going to be better next year.’ And he said, ‘You know what, we’re going to go on a run.’ And we did go on that run. I’m hoping that it carries over.”
The Penguins did surge late in the regular season in the final 13 games and came a handful of points short of the playoffs.
It was a valiant performance. But it certainly fell well short of Fenway Sports Group’s goals when it purchased the franchise in 2021.
“We’re here to win Stanley (Cup titles),” Werner said during the Penguins’ season-opening contest against the New York Rangers on Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena. “I’ll start with that. We got involved in this because this is an incredible team with a great legacy, and our responsibility is to bring another Stanley Cup (title). “
In June of 2023, Fenway Sports Group installed Kyle Dubas as president of hockey operations and gave him complete control to chart the course of that pursuit.
“We know that we are in another period of some transition,” Werner said. “We are so confident, though, in Kyle’s vision. He brought on (assistant coach) David Quinn this last (offseason.) I think we’re going to improve in various aspects. Our responsibility as FSG is to give (coach Mike Sullivan) and Kyle the resources that they need to win.”
Werner addressed a number of topics with a small collection of local media during the first intermission of the contest.
• He gave a brief but emphatic endorsement of Sullivan, even with the team having failed to qualify for the past two postseasons under his watch.
“We think that he’s one of the two or three best coaches in hockey,” Werner said.
• In September, the Penguins signed Crosby to a two-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season. Werner noted Crosby’s clear importance to the club when discussing that business.
“He is a once-in-a-generation player,” Werner said. “He’s a role model, not only in the community or on the team. But he’s a leader in the (dressing room). So, it’s really important that younger players obviously look up to him. … He’s still an extraordinary player and for us, it was imperative to sign (him).
“Part of the reason that (Fenway Sports Group is) here is because we trust the core (including defenseman Kris Letang and forward Evgeni Malkin). It was really important for us to sign Sidney and you’ve got to build around that core. Kyle’s goal is to get the team younger, and we brought in (several) new players. We think we’re confident in the direction that it’s going.”
• Whispers of a strained relationship with franchise icon Mario Lemieux, currently a minority owner in the team, have persisted seemingly since Fenway Sports Group took stewardship of the franchise. Werner offered a positive assessment of where the relationship with Lemieux stands.
“It’s good,” Werner said. “We welcome him whenever he wants to come. We’re doing the (Pittsburgh Penguins 6.6K Run and Family Walk, which benefits Lemieux’s foundation) this weekend, which we’re supporting. So it’s good.”
• The site of the former Civic Arena continues to undergo development but at a glacial pace since the facility closed in 2010. Much of it remains a parking lot, though in June, the team was granted approval to begin construction for a music venue by the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment and Sports and Exhibition authorities.
“Well, we’re working on a music hall as you know,” Werner said. “We are interested in developing the neighborhood. It’s not going as quickly as some people would want. But we’re at it. That’s all I can say.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.