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Krepps: Pittsburgh Penguins 2021 Season Preview

Tags: penguins

This year is already starting to look like a better year than last year. The NHL season is only 10 days away. All teams’ training camps have started by today. Before you know it we will be back in full swing. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the other 30 teams are ready to roll.

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Due to COVID-19, this upcoming NHL season will consist of a baseball-like schedule. Teams will play 56 games with eight games against each team in their new divisions. 

Of course, there are still things we don’t know, such as the possibility of fans in attendance. Rumors have also been floating around stating that the NHL is moving forward with purchasing the COVID-19 vaccine for all players. We could talk all day about the uncertainties about conditioning, game atmospheres, travel concerns and just COVID in general. But darn it, hockey is back, and let’s skip these topics and just focus on hockey.

It has been too long.

Shortened Season Effect

Something that could be positive for the Penguins in 2021 is that they tend to perform well in shortened seasons. Sadly, the Penguins have played through two lockout-shortened seasons in 1994-95 and in 2012-13. In both seasons, the Penguins made the playoffs with the 94-95 team advancing to the second round, and the 12-13 team going all the way to the Conference Finals — that was the Jarome Iginla year.

Also of note, is that players such as John Marino and Bryan Rust are former NCAA college hockey players. The reason this is relevant is that NCAA schedules tend to have a shorter season with a schedule that is similar to the NHL’s 2021 schedule. Teams play the same team in short series, and the overall schedule has fewer games. Side-note: today the Penguins re-signed Marino to a six-year extension with an average of $4.4 million proving that he will be a huge piece for the team going forward.

Offseason Recap for the Penguins

Given the non-traditional nature that we are living in, there were a lot of moves that flew under the radar in this past NHL offseason. Cody Ceci is a Penguin. But thankfully Jack Johnson is not anymore. Kasperi Kapanen is back in Pittsburgh and, according to Jim Rutherford, will be a top-six forward. The rest of the moves that Rutherford made this offseason were either moving on from championship players or fixing his mistakes.

Rutherford traded away Nick Bjugstad and bought out Johnson, as well as let Conor Sheary, Dominik Simon and Justin Schultz walk in free agency. Tristan Jarry proved himself worthy of the starting job in the net so Matt Murray was shipped to Ottawa for some futures. Finally, the Penguins said goodbye to fan-favorite Patric Hornqvist and added to the defensive depth by acquiring Mike Matheson.

Penguins Prospects

The Penguins have had one of, if not, the worst pool of prospects to pick from in the entire league. Ray Shero and Jim Rutherford have been trading away futures since Malkin and Crosby entered the league. However, there are a couple of notable names that could surprise people and make their way into the lineup for the Penguins this season.

NHL 2019 draft picks Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare have been tearing it up in juniors. Last year in the QMJHL, Poulin had 77 points in 46 games and was close to making Canada’s World Juniors team. Despite not being on the Penguins training camp roster, Legare is producing at a point-per-game pace in the QMJHL. The Penguins also recently signed Czech center Radim Zohorna, who could sneak into the lineup with injuries. Also, Pierre-Oliver Joseph is still waiting for his shot to become a sturdy young defenseman like John Marino before him.

Forwards Outlook

Above are my lines for opening night for the Penguins. Zach-Aston Reese is the only injury the team currently has on the roster. Jason Zucker and Kapanen will serve as top-six forwards that will switch around with Jake Guentzel and Rust flanking Crosby and Malkin. The fourth line should be solid as long as Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev stay healthy and maintain the chemistry they had last season.

I think the biggest area of concern for the Penguins is the third line. Championship teams need to have a strong checking line that can score and take the pressure off of your star players. Jordan Staal and the HBK line did this in years past for the Penguins. If Samuel Poulin can make the team he could slot in here alongside Jared McCann. 

With the departure of Bjugstad and Blueger locked in as the fourth-line center, Jared McCann is the Penguins’ new third-line center. I think that this season’s biggest X-Factor is the success of McCann. There are all the signs in the world of a great player within McCann, but consistency is his worst enemy. He went through multiple scoring droughts last year and was scratched against the Canadiens in the play-in round for one game. If the Penguins are going to perform well they need a solid third line and that all starts with McCann.

Defense and Goalie Outlook

Dumoulin and Letang will remain paired together and so will Marino and Pettersson, at least to start the year. There was simply too much to like with these pairings last year to fiddle with them. However, this does leave a weak third pairing with Matheson and Ceci. But before you get all up and arms about the third pairing we should give both Matheson and Ceci a shot first.

The Penguins have a good amount of NHL-ready defensive spares. The problem is that none of them blow you away. Chad Ruhwedel, Juuso Riikola, Zach Trotman and Cody Ceci will all be fighting over that last defensive spot. Yet none of them are clear cut stud defenseman. However, you never know if someone like Joseph could come and steal a spot similar to how Marino did last season.

Goaltending wise the Penguins have an inexperienced goalie heading into his first year as a starter in the NHL. Despite this, I am not worried about the tandem of Jarry and Casey DeSmith as much as I am other things. Both goalies have proven that they are capable of going on runs in the past. With how the schedule is arranged this season, a hot goalie could easily get you in the playoffs. I think the Penguins have just that. How they end up performing in the playoffs themselves is a completely different story.

Tough Division for the Penguins

But to do that the Penguins have to make the playoffs in arguably the toughest division in the new NHL. Boston, Philadelphia and Washington have proved that they are stable playoff contenders over the past few years. Both the New York Islanders and Rangers are on the rise. Even the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres made some big offseason additions. I am not going to go as far as I did last year and say that the Penguins will miss the playoffs but this year will not be easy.

What this season will boil down to is what I have been preaching ever since the Islanders sweep. That is that the Penguins Stanley Cup window might be closing if it hasn’t already. And that’s okay; the Penguins have given fans three Stanley Cups in the Crosby/Malkin era.

However, the league is getting younger, faster and more talented. Crosby and Letang are 33 and Malkin is 34. If the Penguins play like they did against the Islanders and Canadiens, then they will never win anything again. Hopefully, they can turn things around with a solid 2021 campaign.

The post Krepps: Pittsburgh Penguins 2021 Season Preview appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Castle.



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