The National Hockey League (NHL) will start the 2022/2023 season on October 7th. After the Tampa Bay Lightning’s reign was broken by the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Avalanche is the new prey! In the annual preview series Hockey-News.info a different team in focus every day.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been the epitome of consistency for years, because in the last 16 (!) seasons the penguins from the steel city always reached the playoffs. The last time you missed the “postseason” was in the 2005/06 season. Notable: The second-longest playoff streak is held by the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals, with eight each. So a lot has been going right in Pittsburgh for years – for years you have been benefiting from the dark years before the drafts around Sidney Crosby, Marc-André Fleury and Evgeni Malkin. For General Manager Ron Hextall However, it is now time to turn some screws and partially rejuvenate the squad, which has at least partially succeeded this year with one or the other newcomer. An average age of 29.38 means second place, only the Washington Capitals are “older” at almost 30 years. With only 566 penalty minutes, the Pens were the team with the fewest penalty minutes in the entire league after the Dallas Stars (551), the penalty killing ended up in 3rd place with a success rate of 84.4%. Long-termCoach Mike Sullivan has his squad under control for years, which is why his contract has now been extended early for three more seasons. With 367 wins, Sullivan is already ranked 45th on the all-time coaching wins list.
| Pittsburgh Penguins Infobox | |
|---|---|
| Additions: | Ty Smith, Jan Rutta, Jeff Petry, Ryan Poehling, Josh Archibald |
| Departures: | John Marino, Mike Matheson, Evan Rodrigues |
| 2022 1st Round Pick: | Owen Pickering (21st) |
| Top 3 Prospects: | Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Valtteri Puustinen, Joel Blomqvist |
After a long back and forth, the Pittsburgh Penguins agreed and Evgeni Malkin regarding a contract extension. The 36-year-old Russian signed a four-year extension that will bring him $24.4 million. Malkin is in his 17th season with the Penguins this year and with 444 goals, 702 assists and 1,146 points he is in third place on the Penguins’ all-time points list. Ahead of him are only Mario Lemieux (1,723) and long-time teammate and franchise figurehead Sidney Crosby (1,409). Crosby has three more years and a $8.7 million cap at the club. He himself said that he would like to continue playing for three years after that – but it remains to be seen whether it will really be over in six years. With the two superstars occupying the center slots in rows 1 and 2 with enormously high quality for the years to come. In addition to Crosby developed Jake Guentzel a real top performer – together with Crosby he took first place in Penguins internal scoring with 84 points. For the second time in his career, the American cracked the 40-goal mark last year and broke through the 80-point wall for the first time. At 27, Guentzel is in his prime, and the Penguins would do well to extend the contract that expires in 2024 early.
Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby will make their opponents despair again this year! Image: https://www.facebook.com/penguins
Also Bryan Rust has developed into a reliable points provider in the top 6 in recent years. With 58 points in 60 games, the 30-year-old delivered a spotless 2021/22 season. Unlike Guentzel, the winger is under contract for another six seasons. At last year’s deadline, the Rickard Rakell to the team and settled in quite quickly with 13 points in 19 games. His place on the wing of Crosby or Malkin should be fixed. The first two attacking formations are supplemented by Jason Zucker, who is entering his final year of contract in Pittsburgh. Since his move from Minnesota, however, the winger has never really found his form – some injuries also played their part. If Zucker does not deliver as desired, the Finn could Kasperi Kapanen move up into the top 6. with Danton Heinenthe Latvian Teddy Blueger, Brock McGinn and I recommend Zohorn there are solid strikers in rows 3 and 4, who could also be used a little further up in the event of injuries. Even the experienced one Jeff Carter is in the squad with almost 1,200 NHL games experience, he probably holds the 3rd line center slot. With 45 points, the 37-year-old center forward was still convincing last year. The 24 year old Drew O’Connor has trumped in recent years with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and could fight for a permanent place this year. For prospects Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare, things are unlikely to get serious for a year or two.
| Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| striker | ||
| Jake Guentzel | Sidney Crosby | Rickard Rakell |
| Jason Zucker | Evgeni Malkin | Bryan Rust |
| Drew O’Connor/Danton Heinen | Jeff Carter | Kasperi Kapanen |
| Brock McGinn | Teddy Blueger | Josh Archibald/Radim Zohorna |
| defender | goalkeeper | |
| Brian Dumoulin | Kris Letang | Tristan Jarry |
| Marcus Pettersson | Jeff Petry | Casey DeSmith |
| Ty Smith/Marcus Pettersson | Jan Rutta | |
Compared to last year, the defensive has changed a lot: with John Marino and Mike Matheson, two fixed points left the defense, but you could welcome no fewer than three “new” defenders in Pittsburgh. In the trade changed to John Marino Ty Smith to the penguins. He was considered an offensively very talented prospect, but couldn’t really find his strengths in New Jersey. At just 22, the Canadian is still very young and has plenty of time to develop into a solid defender – it remains to be seen whether he will reach his full offensive potential. With the Czech Jan Rutta piloted a two-time Stanley Cup champ to Pennsylvania. The free agency offered the 32-year-old a 3-year contract with an annual salary of $2.75 million. The third newcomer is the American Jeff Petry, who by the age of 34 has over 800 NHL games to look back on. Pittsburgh will become Petry’s first NHL employer outside of Canada after Edmonton and Montreal. He is considered an experienced all-rounder who will give the defense a lot of stability, especially in combination with Jan Rutta.
with Kris Letang agreement was reached regarding a further cooperation, the #58 of the Pens signed for another six years – the Canadian will be 41 years old when his contract expires. With 6.1 million US dollars Caphit, however, the burden is still limited. With 650 points, Letang is already Pittsburgh’s most-scoring defender of all time – and the assistant captain and three-time Cup champ will continue to push that mark. The line-up of defenders complete the Swede Marcus Petterson, Chad Ruhwedel as well as the reliable one Brian Dumoulin. At 31, Dumoulin is entering his tenth season with the Penguins and has 114 points in 464 games. He’s considered a solid stay-at-home defenseman, but has earned his place in the Penguins’ top 4. Also this year he should be entrusted with more than 20 minutes ice time per game. Pierre-Olivier Joseph showed what he’s made of last year with 33 points in 61 AHL games, he should spend a lot of time in the AHL this year too, but the Canadian will move up in the event of injuries and continue to gain valuable experience. Along with this year’s 1st round pick Owen Pickering, he is considered the Penguins’ top D prospect.
Tristan Jarry is entering his seventh NHL season! Image: https://www.facebook.com/penguins
Also in the coming season the goalie duo is called Tristan Jarry – Casey DeSmith. For Jarry, Pittsburgh’s 2nd Round Pick 2013, it will be the eighth season in the Penguins franchise, since 2019 he has been playing exclusively for the Stahlstadter. In 159 games, he has a 91.5% save rate and a 2.57 goals-against average. Respectable numbers that are in the top third in a league-wide comparison. The 27-year-old Canadian’s contract expires after the 2022-23 season so it could be Jarry’s last season in Pittsburgh – but it’s not a bet. Also because Casey DeSmith is only under contract until 2024/25. DeSmith has established himself at the NHL level in recent years and at the age of 31 can look back on 43 wins in the world’s top league. Remarkable: with 5.3 million US dollars Caphit, the pens send one of the cheapest goalie tandems onto the ice, which can definitely keep up in terms of quality. with Joel Blomqvist the Pens have a strong Finnish goalie prospect in their own ranks. He is currently guarding the goal of Kärpät Oulu and has already shone properly this year. In five liiga games, the 20-year-old boasted a goal-against average of 1.83. It should be on the ice permanently in North America from the 2023/24 season – but it is doubtful whether he will make the jump to the NHL immediately.
Hockey-News Projection: The Pittsburgh Penguins still have a lot of quality, even if the cornerstones of the successful franchise are now showing their age. But the Penguins from Pennsylvania will also qualify for the playoffs this year.
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