NHL Season Preview 2016-17: Pittsburgh Penguins

Do the Pittsburgh Penguins have what it takes to defend their Stanley Cup title?

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2015-16 season was a roller coaster ride. From October to early December, the team went straight down. Once they fired head coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, the Penguins dominated their way to the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup title.

Pittsburgh is bringing back most of their roster from last season. But most NHL teams have spent most of their respective summers either building three strong forward lines like the Penguins or thinking of ways to counter it. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup thanks to their elite talent and fast style of play. Will that be enough to repeat?

Offseason Review

Here’s a quick look at what the Penguins have done this offseason.

Additions: C Thomas DiPauli (college free agent)

Losses: D Ben Lovejoy (Devils), F Beau Bennett (Devils), F Pascal Dupuis (LTIR/retirement), G Jeff Zatkoff (Kings)

Retained: C Matt Cullen, D Justin Schultz

Thomas DiPauli, a former Capitals draft pick, should provide forward depth. He will likely start the season in the AHL because he needs to prove himself as a scorer. DiPauli is coming off an impressive senior season with Notre Dame. Don’t be surprised if he’s on top of the Penguins call-up list in case of an injury.

Last season, Ben Lovejoy often found himself as either a sixth defenseman or a healthy scratch. The Penguins have pretty solid defensive depth, especially with Justin Schultz back, so they likely won’t miss him. Beau Bennett has talent, but his health issues made him expendable. Jeff Zatkoff became expendable once Matt Murray proved himself capable of handling the backup goalie role.

Matt Cullen was an important piece to the Penguins’ Stanley Cup puzzle. Bringing him back is huge. He’s a capable center who can fill in virtually anywhere in the lineup and really thrived under Sullivan. The Penguins took a flyer on Schultz who never found success with the Edmonton Oilers, but was a nice fit with the Penguins.

Perhaps the biggest move of the offseason for the Penguins is the move that they didn’t make. Pittsburgh is keeping goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury despite the success of Murray. Trading him would have made sense, but keeping him is the right decision. Murray might have set records in the AHL, but he has only 34 NHL games on his resume. Keeping Fleury allows the Penguins to let Murray continue to develop and not force him into an everyday role. Murray suffered an injury during the World Cup of Hockey, so keeping Fleury is the right decision for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Player Spotlight: Kris Letang

Kris Letang tends to be forgotten when people talk about the Penguins. That’s understandable because Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin tend to get most of the attention. But don’t underestimate how important Letang is to the Penguins or how great of a player he is.

Letang, much like Crosby, did not do well under Mike Johnston. He had 14 points in 25 games, including just five points at even strength. Letang was a bit too cautious and timid under Johnston, much like the rest of the Penguins. However, Sullivan got Letang back to doing what he does well. From December 14th to the end of the playoffs, Letang had 68 points in 69 games and was arguably the league’s best defenseman during that time.

He brings far more to the table than just scoring. Letang consistently makes a significant impact on puck possession despite playing huge minutes. He is the Penguins’ lone true top pairing defenseman. The Penguins relied on him even more after Trevor Daley’s injury in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Like all great leaders, Letang took on the extra responsibility and flourished.

The only thing that has kept him from winning a Norris has probably been his health. If Letang can stay relatively healthy in 2016-17, he could finally win a Norris Trophy.

2016-17 Outlook

The Pittsburgh Penguins have found a great recipe for success. Their forward depth is quite hard to beat. Instead of putting Phil Kessel with Crosby or Malkin, the Penguins put him on the third line with Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino. The trio formed the HBK line, arguably their most important forward line in the playoffs. When Crosby and Malkin struggled against the Capitals, the HBK line stepped up big time and replaced that production.

That said, repeating will be quite tough for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their defense was quite efficient last season under Sullivan. While Letang is its lone star, they have five other solid defensemen who move the puck well.

However, it’s worth noting that Letang and Maatta are significant injury risks. Trevor Daley didn’t miss a game last season, but before last season, he hadn’t played in over 70 games in a season since 2011-12. The full-time additions of youngsters Brian Dumoulin and Derrick Pouliot should help with their blue line depth.

A lot of things went right for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. They are a good enough team that they can win even when things don’t go their way. It’s tough to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in the NHL, as no one has done it since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. However, the Pittsburgh Penguins have what it takes to join them.