The Penguins are set to open their season tonight against the Arizona Coyotes, and while much of the team is staying, including the core players, the team added some new players who can help this team perform better than last year.
If this team can win the Stanley Cup this season, or crash and burn, is still to be seen. However, the Penguins have upgraded their depth from last year in all positions and should hopefully finish better than 3rd in the Metropolitan Division last year. Starting with the line combos, let’s look at some of the improved changes from last year.
FORWARDS
The first line of Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, and Rickard Rakell has the potential to be one of the best first lines this season. Rickard Rakell will be playing his first full season with the Penguins after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline last year. Guentzel hit 40 goals, and Crosby is still his elite and skillful self. Rakell performed well in his 19 games with the Penguins, scoring four goals and 13 points and mainly playing with Crosby and Guentzel. He also played two playoff games before getting injured against the Rangers in game 2. If Rakell can continue to perform as good as he has with Crosby and Guentzel, I see this line being very good this season
The second line of Jason Zucker, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust should be better than last year. The difference? Zucker and Malkin are finally healthy and looked pretty impressive in training camp. Rust and Zucker are both pretty strong forecheckers capable of putting the puck in the net. I could see both of them scoring 25+ goals this season. Malkin’s play is still a bit of a question mark. He had a pretty solid preseason, but his level of inconsistency the past few years, which also could be due to his injuries, has made the fanbase split on him. The Pens opted to keep him, however; if keeping him is the right move will soon be seen.
The third line of Heinen, Carter, and Kapanen will be interesting to see. Carter started last season very well but struggled toward the season half of the season. He’s now 37, so I’m not expecting anything special from him this year. Heinen managed to surprise everyone last year and put up 18 goals. He returned to the Pens for only $1M AAV. I am not expecting him to reach that again, but at least people know that reaching that is possible for him. Signing Kapanen was a risky move for the Penguins and one with which fans were not too thrilled. If Kapanen can finally find his game, however, I expect the Pens to improve significantly on the power play and penalty kill.
The fourth line will have a different look this year, more than any other line. Ryan Poehling played pretty solid during camp. However, when Teddy Blueger is ready to return to the lineup, he will likely be the odd one out. However, Poehling can also be a winger, so a very solid addition from the Montreal Canadiens this offseason will make for something to watch throughout the season. Brock McGinn and Josh Archibald are both solid penalty-killers for the Penguins. The Penguins struggled in the latter part of the season, and the postseason, while shorthanded. However, the addition of Archibald should help out here. These two players are both solid defensively at even strength and will have to be all year if this team wants to contend for a championship. McGinn also has a scoring touch when needed, but it’s not his role on the roster.
DEFENSEMAN
Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin are inseparable, and once again, Letang, the leader of the defensive core, is back. Dumoulin struggled for most of the season last year and was injured for most of the first round of the playoffs last year. I believe Dumoulin will turn himself around, though, and return to being the solid left-shot defenseman the Penguins expect him to be. If he doesn’t, then I don’t know what the Penguins would do. No other Penguins defensemen seem to have the same chemistry as Dumo and Letang do together. Letang is still an elite defenseman who can play at a high pace. He signed a six-year contract in the offseason, and I’m very excited to see how he performs this season.
Marcus Pettersson and Jeff Petry is a new pairing for this season that will be exciting to watch. Petry was by far the Penguins most exciting new player to see and GM Ron Hextall’s biggest acquirement in the offseason. He replaces John Marino, as Petry is more of an offensive-minded defenseman rather than a defensive-minded defenseman as Marino was. However, Petry turns 35 in December, which is a slight risk for the Penguins. Pettersson is more defensive-minded, which is why this pairing could work out great for the Penguins. With Pettersson staying back, it can allow Petry to join the rush and help create more scoring opportunities.
The last pairing should have been Ty Smith and Jan Rutta. Smith played very well in the preseason and impressed the Penguins coaching staff. Unfortunately, his cap hit, and the fact that he didn’t require waivers meant he was the player who got sent down. However, he should be back up to the NHL soon. I’m expecting Pierre-Olivier Joesph to keep Smith’s seat warm while at least POJ has the offensive skill to go with Rutta’s more defensive-minded style of play. Ruhwedel doesn’t have the offensive skillset that POJ has, but he is a solid depth defenseman who can slot in when needed and still perform pretty solidly in the lineup.
GOALIES
Jarry and DeSmith are back as the dynamic duo in the crease. Jarry proved last year that he can be a solid starting goaltender in the regular season and playoffs but still has yet to have that big playoff run. He had a seventh-best (for goalies who appeared in six-plus games) save percentage of .919. He also had a sixth-best (for goalies who played five-plus games) 2.42 GAA. Jarry is also an elite passer and adds that to the Penguins transition game. DeSmith is still a solid backup who plays well when called upon.
