Carolina Hurricanes Division Rivals: Pittsburgh Penguins on Hunt for Stanley Cup
By Zeke Lukow
Leading up to the season we are going to have a Metropolitan Division Season projection series. We will be starting with the last place team and finish with the Carolina Hurricanes. Today we will be covering the Pittsburgh Penguins
Head Coach: Mike Johnston
2014-2015 Record: 43-27-12
2014-2015 Result: 4th in the Metro, 15th overall (Lost 1st round)
More From Cardiac Cane: Division Rivals: Columbus Blue Jackets
The Penguins were the last team to make the playoffs in the East with only 98 points. Pittsburgh’s year was not out of the ordinary for them. Like in years past, the Pens offense excelled but they struggled mightily on defense.
After losing two of their top defensemen in Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskinen to the Caps in free agency before the season even started. It was pretty easy to see that this was going to lead to defensive issues throughout the season.
Where the Pens really excelled throughout the year was offense. They had 4 players with over 50 points, and 4 players with over 20 goals. It was clear that their strategy was to fight fire with fire, which lead to issues in the playoffs.
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Without elite players on defense or between the pipes they were unable to beat the Rangers in the first round.
Key Additions: Phil Kessel (Trade), Nick Bonino (Trade), Eric Fehr (Free Agent)
The Pittsburgh Penguins and GM Jim Rutherford have had a busy offseason. Rutherford started on July first with a multitude of signings and a blockbuster trade.
The Penguins acquired Phil Kessel, Tom Erixon, Tyler Biggs, and draft picks for Nick Spaling, Kasperi Kapenen, Scott Harrington and picks. This was a pretty low price to give up for an elite winger. This trade brings in another highly talented forward to the team, and will skate on the top like with Sidney Crosby.
Kessel registered 61 points (25g, 36a) last year with the Maple Leafs, and will be able to bring those numbers to the top line of the Penguins. Seeing Crosby on a line with Kessel should be a fun combination for all hockey fans to watch.
One of their largest weaknesses going into the offseason was depth, the signings of Nick Bonino and Eric Fehr add some needed depth to the Pens Offense. They both have the ability to add secondary scoring to the bottom 6. Both Fehr and Bonino added more than 30 points.
Key Losses: Brandon Sutter (Trade), Blake Comeau (Free Agency), Paul Martin (Free Agency),
Brandon Sutter is coming off of a 21 goal season was traded away in the deal that brought in Nick Bonino. Sutter has been a high quality forward for the Pens, but was dealt to clear up much needed cap space. Bonino may be a little bit of a downgrade in talent, the price was right.
Blake Comeau is a versatile forward who was able to be slotted in with any line successfully. Where he will be missed is in possession numbers, he posted a Corsi For Percentage of 52.9%, showing that he is responsible for positive possession.
The largest loss for the Penguins this offseason was the loss of Paul Martin. Pittsburgh has been thin on defense for the past couple of years, and in the past 2 years they have lost 3 of their top 4 defensemen.
Mar 26, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Fleury (29) stops the shot by the Carolina Hurricanes forward Staal (12) during the 3rd period at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Depth Chart:
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Phil Kessel
David Perron – Evgeni Malkin – Patric Hornqvist
Sergei Plotnikov – Nick Bonino – Beau Bennett
Matt Cullen – Eric Fehr – Pascal Dupuis
Kris Letang – Olli Maatta
Ian Cole – Ben Lovejoy
Rob Scuderi – Derrick Pouliot
2015-2016 Outlook:
I think any fan of the NHL will be excited to watch what they can do on the ice together. Kessel never had that level of talent around him in Toronto, so it will be exciting to see what he will be able to do with the Penguins. Where the combination will be deadly is on the powerplay. Having Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel on the ice together will be almost impossible to stop.
Though the first line will be dangerous, Crosby and Kessel may end up cannibalizing points. It may end up being tough for both of them to maintain the high level of even strength production they have been able to accomplish on separate teams.
Though the Penguins were able to upgrade the offense this offseason, I think the lack of forward depth and defense will hurt them in the long run.
Marc-Andre Fleury had an above average year for his standards and had a GAA of 2.32, better than his average of 2.59. But in the playoffs he struggled again, and was only able to win one game.
With the weakened defense Pittsburgh needs a goalie that can stand on his head and win games for them. The Flower hasn’t proved to be this guy for them in the past, his career SV% is .911.
Going out and having score 4 to 5 goals every night to win is a tough strategy to execute successfully. A prime example of how this goes wrong every year is with Bruce Boudreau’s teams. The Caps from 2007-2012 employed this strategy and lost early in the playoffs every year.
Carolina Hurricanes
Elite teams in the NHL have defenses that can shut down a top line, and score with the lower lines. I would expect to see Pittsburgh to struggle defensively this year and lose games 5-4.
Teams will be able to game plan around the top line, and take advantage of the lower lines to win games. With the Rangers and Islanders locks to make the playoffs and with Columbus and Washington improving their rosters over the offseason it will be tough for the Penguins to make the playoffs this year.
The old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link will sum up the Pen’s Season. Other teams have more well rounded rosters which will be able to withstand injuries and an 82 game season better than the Penguins.
Because of these issues, the Pittsburgh Penguins will finish 5th in the Metropolitan Division which means they will be fighting for the last Wild Card spot in the East. I believe that with the Atlantic Division being weak, the Metro will win both wild card spots in the east.
If they are able to get the Wild Card spot, the boom or bust strategy has proven to be ineffective in the playoffs. They would most likely lose in the first round to the top team in the East, due to a lack of quality defense and goaltending.
Next: Can Flyers Ride the Back of Giroux and Voracek to the Playoffs?