Pittsburgh Penguins season preview
I don’t think anyone had as exciting of a summer as the Pittsburgh Penguins. They brought in the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson, thanks to the help of their new President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas. This team is eager to get back into the playoffs after missing out by one point last season.
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Offense
On paper, the Penguins might have the most talented offensive group in the NHL. I mean, this roster is absolutely loaded with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Karlsson, and Jake Guentzel, who will unfortunately miss some time early on due to injury. They also brought in Stanley Cup champion Reilly Smith to help round out the top six, but this is a much deeper team than last year.
They finished as a middle-of-the-pack offensive team last year, but there is so much room to improve offensively this season. The biggest area of improvement will most likely be their power play. The first unit is expected to consist of Letang, Karlsson, Crosby, Malkin, and Guentzel, which is an insane amount of talent.
Defense
Sticking to the theme of their offense from last year, the Penguins also happened to be very average in their own zone both at even strength (2.9 expected goals against per 60) and on the penalty kill (79.1%). Pittsburgh struggled to keep the puck out of their own net last season, which is somewhat out of character, so I imagine that Mike Sullivan will have his team play much tighter in the defensive zone this season. This team should be much stronger on defense now that they have a completely different look.
Goaltending
Tristan Jarry’s ability to stay healthy will be critical to how well this team performs. Jarry played in 47 games last year, earning 24 wins while skating to a .909 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average. He has the ability to be a massive difference-maker for this group, but he needs to find consistency. The Penguins brought in Alex Nedeljkovic to back up Jarry. He needed a fresh start after two decent years in Detroit, but we’ve seen Nedeljkovic succeed in this league and he certainly can help this team win games.
Player To Watch – D Erik Karlsson
Everyone knows what Karlsson is capable of. The three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman is going to have to adjust to this well-established Penguins machine. Going into the season, the biggest question is how Karlsson can co-exist with Letang and if he can help improve this team’s defense. He has faced a lot of criticism about his defensive play, so I’m sure that will be a main focus of his.
Outlook
I can’t imagine any world where Crosby misses the playoffs two years in a row. The 2022-23 season seemed like a fluke for the Penguins. Of course, they are one of the oldest teams in the league, so health will be a concern. But I have no doubt that this a playoff team, and possibly, even a Stanley Cup contender. I don’t see them winning the division, but they could fall anywhere from second to fourth.
