The Pens will surprise the NHL again
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Kris Letang (left), Sidney Crosby (center) and Evgeni Malkin (right) will take the ice again for their 21st consecutive season together. Photo: Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
Expectations for the Penguins aren't high this season, but nobody should ever count out a team with a core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, no matter how old they are.
The big picture: Last year proved that Crosby and company can still compete when they finished second in the Metropolitan Division and made the playoffs, even after everyone (including me) counted them out.
- The roster is more of the same this year, and pundits are down on them again, but I think the Pens will overperform again.
Catch up quick: The team finished with 98 points last year.
- The Penguins faced off against the Flyers in the Battle of Pennsylvania, but lost in six games.
- New owners the Hoffmann family took over this summer and promised to keep the team in Pittsburgh, invest in more talent and rebuild the area around PPG Paints Arena.
Predictions: Crosby, who led the team in points last season, will excel again. He's 39, but age doesn't seem to impact him much.
- His aging brethren — Malkin and Letang — will have to keep pace somewhat if the team wants to succeed.
- Goalie Arturs Silovs will improve in his second season in Pittsburgh and will help the team's middling defense.
New additions: Forward Andrei Kuzmenko signed a one-year deal. Expect him to have a bounce-back season after being injury-plagued last year.
Between the lines: The Pens will have to toe the line again this year between rebuilding with young talent and relying on an aging core.
- The Ruck brothers, drafted in the first and second rounds, will start in the Western Hockey League this year, but after an exciting preseason with the Pens, count on them being future stars.
Yes, but: If things don't work out, expect the Pens to unload a lot of their older talent and focus solely on rebuilding.
- Don't worry too much about Crosby. Signs are pointing to him signing a contract extension with the Pens, likely keeping him in Pittsburgh until he retires.
What's next: The Pens take on the Flyers in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
- Puck drops at 7:30pm. Watch on TNT.
The bottom line: There are plenty of reasons to get excited about the Pens season, including the return of the gravy boat giveaways for any game in November, after it appeared they benched the popular promotional item.