HARDER TO PLAY AGAINST

By Mark Madden

Now that the dust has settled on free agency, what did the Penguins really do this off-season?

The Penguins are going to be harder to play against. That means an awful lot.

Some Penguins spent much of last season in a haze of Stanley Cup complacency. The loss of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi left the Pens without a true shutdown defenseman. Marc-Andre Fleury had an off-year. So did Evgeni Malkin, at least by his lofty standards.

Even though Sidney Crosby amazingly and dramatically improved in three different categories (goal-scoring, face-offs, shootouts), the Penguins just weren’t a difficult opponent. You wouldn’t get bruised, aggravated or exhausted most nights.