Penguins set pace in new era

for the third time in nine years. A downtown parade is scheduled for Wednesday, a party that’s on the verge of becoming a rite of late spring.

Pittsburgh has done it by investing heavily in their core group and finding the right complement of players and staff around Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to make it work.

“I always say best organization, amazing team,” Malkin said. “We have great chance win every year.”

That’s not how it’s supposed to work nowadays. Championship windows are supposed to be narrower with the cap in place, not wider. Sure, Chicago has won it three times in six seasons in the cap era but the Blackhawks were forced to blow it up after 2010. The Kings won it all in 2012 and 2014, and are now in the process of starting over.

Not Pittsburgh. The Penguins have more Cup appearances (four), playoff wins (90) and regular-season victories (467) over the last decade than any team in the NHL. And it’s not really that close. While Crosby is loath to talk about his “legacy” — he won’t turn 30 until August — the way he describes the only franchise he’s ever known sounds an awful lot like a “dynasty.”

“Your goal is to win every year and our team just had a collection of guys that knew how to win, knew how to find ways,” Crosby said after picking up his second straight Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

If Malkin and Crosby can stay healthy, Pittsburgh will certainly be right there again. Oddsmakers made them the early favorite for a three-peat, something that hasn’t been done since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-83.