The overwhelming favorite headed into the 2013 postseason was the Pittsburgh Penguins. With arguably the two best players in the world at the peak of their careers, the Penguins added grit, experience and talent at the trade deadline.
Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray were brought in to the top team in the Easern Conference for a sustained playoff run. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, and we learned that general manager Ray Shero may not in fact be the smartest man in the NHL.
The Boston Bruins turned out to be the collective Kryptonite to the high-flying Penguins. The highest scoring club in the NHL managed only two goals in four quick games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The suddenly impotent Pittsburgh attack had no answer for the swarming Boston team defense and the Pens were sent home wondering what went wrong.
The offseason for Pittsburgh was somewhat vexing as Shero seemed to focus on keeping the core of his conference finalist team together for the long-term. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz were all locked up for at least the next four years. Retread defenseman Rob Scuderi was brought back to the Iron City to recapture some mojo with his 2009 Stanley Cup teammates.
Rather than building a team that could be better suited to the rigors of the playoffs, Shero decided that he can count on the stars that are in place while using the youth from Wilkes-Barre to fill any roster gaps. The Penguins are just over $1 million over the current salary cap, so there may be a move or two before training camp starts to make the roster compliant.
The usual suspects return for the Penguins. The captain Sidney Crosby makes the team go, and will hopefully add some maturity to his offseason training regimen. Crosby lost his composure on more than one occasion in the postseason and needs to keep his emotions under wrap if the Penguins are to get back to the Final.
Evgeni Malkin would be the best player on almost any other team but Pittsburgh and I still believe he is a movable part if for any reason this team starts heading sideways. He is an otherworld talent, but seems to take too many nights off. James Neal is the prototypical power forward playing on Malkin’s left wing. After a down-ish year, look for Neal to get at least 40 goals again.
The deals that locked in Kunitz ad Dupuis were particularly strange considering that Shero and Pittsburgh were esentially negotiating with nobody else to keep both forwards. Playing on either side of Crosby could turn a plate of meatloaf into a 30 goal scorer, and both wingers have much to be thankful for.
On defense Paul Martin defies logic as the highest paid blueliner. He was actually productive last season, so hopefully for Pengun fans, he can maintain that form. Brooks Orpik is steady as ever and will be counted on along with Scuderi to stay at home when Letang goes exploring with the puck. Simon Despres and Derek Engelland will fill out the defensive corps with Matt Niskanen, though Niskanen is a prime candidate to be moved for cap reasons.
In goal coach Dan Bylsma has proclaimed to anyone that will listen that Marc-Andre Fleury is the starting goaltender in Pittsburgh. However, given the way that the playoffs unfolded, it is hard to imagine that Tomas Vokoun won’t be given considerable playing time to stay sharp for the 2014 playoffs.....er, I mean, just in case.
Prediction: First. The Penguins did little to nothing to improve their team this season, but that will still be good enough to finish at the top of the Metro Division. They should probably expect the same results in the playoffs unless Shero gets active before the trade deadline.