Season Preview: There's no reason why the Penguins can't repeat
theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
Short summers are the best summers.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won their second Stanley Cup of the Sidney Crosby era in June, and the band's sticking together for at least another season.
Here are three questions facing Mike Sullivan's squad heading into 2016-17:
Why not?
Only one Penguin from the Cup-clinching game is no longer with Pittsburgh: Ben Lovejoy. While the defender played 20 minutes or more in three Stanley Cup Final games, his ice time is replaceable, especially with Trevor Daley healthy and Justin Schultz re-signed.
So the question isn't so much whether the Penguins can repeat - it's why not?
On Jan. 1, 2016, Pittsburgh had lost 19 games - 15 in regulation and four in extra time. The Penguins proceeded to lose just two January games in regulation, four in both February and March, and one in April - the final game of the regular season, in which the club benched its best players. Pittsburgh went into the new year with 19 wins in 38 games, and finished with 48 victories. The Cup win was no fluke, as the Penguins found their game under Sullivan, and then peaked in March.
The club closed the regular season in dominant fashion, winning 14 of its last 16 games, thanks to streaks of six and eight. The road got tougher in the playoffs, as it always does, but the Penguins needed only 24 games to win 16.
While repeating in any sport is difficult, it's that much harder in hockey. But nothing's changed in Pittsburgh, so there's no reason to think the Penguins' dominance will, either.
Forget about the Capitals - with their 56 wins and 120 points. The Penguins didn't care, needing only six games to eliminate Washington in the second round.
Pittsburgh's the best team in the NHL. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
Fleury or Murray?
How do you take the net away from Matt Murray?
The kid shined in the playoffs, winning 15 of 21 starts and finishing with a .923 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average. He's in the NHL record books alongside Ron Hextall, Patrick Roy, and Cam Ward for the most wins by a rookie goaltender in one postseason year. It was a historic run.
The flip side of that question - how do you take the net away from Marc-Andre Fleury? He's a lifelong Penguin, a Cup winner himself, and stood on his head while the Penguins searched - in vain - for their game early in the season.
Fleury's 2015-16 splits:
| Month | SV % | Wins | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | .942 | 6 | 10 |
| November | .910 | 5 | 9 |
| December | .923 | 2 | 6 |
| January | .923 | 6 | 10 |
| February | .912 | 7 | 11 |
| March | .916 | 9 | 12 |
Yes, the 31-year-old played his best hockey before the All-Star break, when the Penguins needed it most. But once Fleury went down with a head injury, Murray took over, and the rest is literally history.
The decision will certainly be impacted by economics - we're in a salary-cap world and there's an expansion draft on the way. Fleury's signed for three more years at $5.75 million, while Murray's making just $894,000 against the cap and set to hit restricted free agency.
When you think about it honestly, with emotions out of the way, the answer is easy, especially based on Murray's early play at the World Cup. He's the Penguins' goalie of the future - and the present. It's still on the Penguins to make the transition as pain-free as possible for Fleury. He's earned that respect.
What's in store for Sid, Kessel, Bonino?
Crosby's season mirrored Pittsburgh's. A slow start, then takeoff, then bliss. No. 87 added to his CV in the spring, winning his first Conn Smythe Trophy after a dominant two-way playoff run.
| Month | SH% |
|---|---|
| October | 3.3 |
| November | 11.4 |
| December | 9.8 |
| January | 22.9 |
| February | 22.9 |
| March | 12.3 |
| April | 26.7 |
| Playoffs | 8.7 |
Crosby also had 19 goals and 44 points in just 33 games after the All-Star break. He finished third in league scoring with 85 points, after hot takes of his decline were being written in November. Nobody knows anything.
So we'll wait and see how Sid responds after a dream season. But doubt the man at your peril.
Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino are another set of players to watch.
Kessel had a disappointing regular season by his standards, especially based on his supporting cast. Everyone expected more than 26 goals and 59 points, but he lifted his game in the playoffs, leading the Pens in scoring and lifted the Cup, too. Perhaps after one season, the pressure's off, and Kessel will explode.
Bonino, meanwhile, finished with as many points - 18 - in the playoffs as Evgeni Malkin. You're lying if you saw that coming. The "HBK" line - Carl Hagelin, Bonino, and Kessel - will be one of the more interesting to watch in October. And for Bonino, it's a contract year.