Penguins/NHL
Penguins Training Camp Primer
The Stanley Cup Champs return to the ice this morning at 9:00 a.m.
Well some of them.
The Penguins’ officially open training camp in what will be an unorthodox training camp due to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist, four of the Penguins top-6 forwards still playing in the World Cup.
Here are five key storylines to watch
1. Will Marc Andre Fleury have a chip on his shoulder? The Penguins goaltending situation is certainly not going to be resolved in training camp. All indications are Matt Murray, who is dealing with a thumb injury, will start the opener and go into the season as the No. 1 netminder with Fleury as a 1B. From there is anyone guess on how it plays out.
For Fleury, he’s talked about this summer how he’s determined to regain his starting job back and remain the Penguins’ long-term goaltender. Nothing he does in training camp/preseason is going to have an impact but I think you’re going to see a goaltender who’s motivated to have a lights out training camp/preseason.
2. With Finland (Olli Maatta) out of the World Cup and Trevor Daley healthy after fracturing his ankle last spring, the Penguins will have their entire defensive corps on the ice for the start of camp.
One promising development for the Penguins is they look to have finally found a long-term d-partner for Kris Letang in Brian Dumoulin. That pairing should only get stronger together this season.
A key for the Penguins coaching staff this season is getting Olli Maatta to max out his ability and that’s something they’re setting out to do. Maatta’s performance in the World Cup was a mixed bag where he had his good moments and there were quite a few bad moments in getting overwhelmed against a team like North America.
Coaches feel he needs to have a D-partner with speed, pegging Trevor Daley as the top candidate to play with Maatta.
In the first year of a 6 year, $24 million contract, expectations now change for Maatta where he has to emerge into a consistent No. 2 pairing type.
Elsewhere on the defensive front, Penguin coaches are excited about the chance to work with Justin Schultz for a full camp. There’s always going to be some limitations there but the staff feels he’s a player who is trending up.
3. Which regulars are on the bubble? No veterans or young contributors from the Cup run are going to lose a roster spot right away with a bad camp, but the impact of a Bryan Rust and others last season has this coaching staff and management team being very open to inserting more youth into the lineup if this group is stagnant through the first month of the season or so.
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Someone should tell Sprong he’s not on Depaoli’s list of top prospects
Fehr Traded Yet?
Therrien and Bergevin fired yet?
Worry about oilers coaching. Changes what is it 5 in last 6-7 years
Ya… they are shit but unlike you I am more concerned about the Penguins and dont spend much time on defending pieces of shit like Theirrien out here lol
I don’t defend therrien for the fun of it I just think all around MT is a better coach then DB. DB is the biggest fraud that ever happened in the NHL coaching. I bet all 29 coaches sees that way too look how he failed with pens and team USA an yet got contract extension with a raise is that logic? Why because he is American so NBC and some media needed to promote that fraud
then DB? (it’s than) – I won’t even go into the rest of your sentence, it’s too painful.
I have no love for DB but at the end of the day Therrien makes enough mistakes on his own to blow it with regularity and Bylsma had his team accomplish what Therrien could not!!!
“Nathan”
You guys think team USA wouldve been in a better situation with bone head DB
No one cares about international hockey…it’s all pagentry….well at least I don’t
just make sure you tune in to hockey come April
Or October when the pens play..I could care less about any other team
You could care less? That means you DO care about other teams. It’s “I couldn’t care less”.
USA would have been better off without team NA… there was about 3 or 4 guys on that roster that would have hugely impacted their team. Gaudreau being the standout
well canada did not mcdavid ,Nathan
one player I am sad for is Hall this kid shouldve made team canada sucks that he is not 23 under he wouldve been good for NA
McDavid would have been nice but I think the US missed the guys on NA more than Canada is missing McDavid at the moment
The US also missed guys like Faulk, Tyler Johnson, Paul Stastny, Kessel, Bobby Ryan, etc. No reason to pass these guys up for Jack Johnson, Abdelkader, Callahan, Dubinsky, etc.
“Nathan”
Problem for the US according their GM team was build to play vs canada and not vs the rest of the teams
only thing they did good was hits thats about it
and teams gave too much respect to the NA team if teams played physical game vs NA that team wouldnt even won a game dont get me wrong i enjoyed their game and talent but had 0 toughness in that team
You’re a fucking idiot. Not only is your grammar awful and at a 2nd grade level, you have no clue what you’re talking about either. How do you play a physical game when you can’t catch them and put yourself out of position completely when you chase a hit? You don’t need toughness you idiot, as apparent by the Pens Stanley Cup victory last year. Or did you miss that?
It still doesn’t excuse the US for not taking the best players available to them, Team NA or not.
Like reading about the changes Pouliot has made, a lot of this reminds me of Despres tho. Took awhile to get serious and never seemed to be able to make it work in the long run (at 6’4 too). I’m not quite sold but am intrigued to see what he has this year.
Gary Roberts hey… well then I am very intrigued
HEY SAM… ZEROOOO!!!!!!!
D just never disappoints. How he can continue to come up with information that completely contradicts what ever other insider with actual sources reports is just amazing. 1. Pretty much everyone other sites has reported, with direct quotes from the coaches and GM, that the goalie situation is very much up in the air and will be decided by camp/preseason play but yet this site believes it’s already decided and the preseason is irrelevant…interesting. 2. Other sites are reporting that Letang’s partner for this season is still up in the air and that Daley, Dumoulin and Maata will all get… Read more »
Agreed on point 1…. point 2? While I am sure they have not etched it in stone and are willing to see what happens in camp I am pretty much part of the camp that believes Dumo will be Letangs partner to start the year. He can skate, is responsible in his end and is not useless with the puck on his stick. Plus it makes more sense to have Daley and Maatta, both who may be stronger than Dumo at this point over all patrolling the 2nd line as there was some chemistry there last year. Maatta seemed better… Read more »
I was by no means saying I personally felt Dumoulin wasn’t the best option, I absolutely am in the boat of preferring Dumoulin paired with Letang, I was just pointing out that many actual insiders are reporting that the coaches aren’t sold yet on whom they prefer to pair with Letang and that many are reporting that Daley is actually the preferred option of the coaching staff.
Ya I guess I am in the same boat… read that before coffee 1a
The last time this team played meaningful games Dumo and Letang were partners. Even before Daley got hurt, he didnt play a ton with Daley
play with Letang***
Now that Team USA lost again when will the new movie Miserable on ice come out
this shows that all the American teams in the NHL needs the help of the canadian superstars in order to win a stanley cup.so your joke stain of since 1993 you can shove it because we saw all the superstars of team usa were able to do in this tournament a big Nothing.as i said before you dont built a team around a russian and american players and this is a prime example
How does it feel to know that a bunch of americans and a Russian carried this club to a Cup last year?
if it wasnt for the 3 cannadians fleury, letang and crosby teams wouldve have stated Golfing by early April
Letang and Crosby! They didn’t show up for four months! They’re the reason the team had to scratch and claw to get in you f’ing moron.
so team relied on the canadians .didnt the team have enough americans to carry the team of forgot chubby was on vacation mode to on the 3rd line and when playoff started he switch places with the russian
and didnt know from mid october to december 12 its 4 months of taking time off
Coming from the guy that thinks Sweeney sucks because Chairelli had to move Boychuk to free up cap space I think its fair to assume that what you dont know is yoda like… #McDavidVancouver2017!!
They didn’t rely on the canadians – they canadians let them down for a half a season (save Fleury – who was a stud from the minute he put on his skates until he got injured)
“the Canadians let them down for half a season”
Yes, their nationality had EVERYTHING to do with it. haha. WOW.
Canadian apologist. Next you’ll be telling us waiting 4 months for a CAT scan is preferred.
It was a line of two US borns and a Swede that really stood out. Add the timely scoring from Rust, Sheary and Cullen and it baffles the mind how you can make this claim.
MAF and Geno carried this team until Sullivan was hired. Crosby woke up shortly after but he hardly did it alone.
Geno did not carry the team it was Fleury that was the only consistent player
sid and letang woke up on december 12 when coach was changed
Crosby had 6 goals and 19 points up to that point…. Geno had 13 goals and 26 points!!! Why do you keep talking shit without actually knowing whats going on?
And don’t give us the “stats are not everything” line because Crosby was fucking invisible when not scoring whereas Malkin was very visible in those games
http://www.pensburgh.com/2016/7/15/12194322/2015-16-pensburgh-recap-evgeni-malkin
An entire article on Malkin debunking your stupid fucken bull$hit
Letang, Crosby, Murray, Kunitz, and Daley had no part in that Cup?