Penguins Open 2009 Training Camp -- 5 Burning Questions

As the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their 2009 training camp on Saturday with physicals and fitness testing, and then yesterday with their first on-ice practice sessions, there's no better time than now to examine five (5) burning questions that the team faces this season as they set out to their work of becoming the franchise's 4th Stanley Cup Champion in 2010:

1) HOW WILL THE PENGUINS HANDLE BEING THE DEFENDING STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS?

It would be hard to deny that going to -- and losing -- the Stanley Cup Final in the 2007/08 season put a strain on the Penguins at some point last year. Let's face it -- they had a short off season after playing into June in 2008, then had a short training camp as a result of beginning last season overseas with 2 games against the Ottawa Senators. Of course, the Penguins started out well for the first 5-6 weeks of the season, but quickly fell into a 8-10 week funk that many thought they might never get out of. They clearly needed to re-focus and re-energize, and under new head coach Dan Bylsma, they were able to do that --- and do it well.

This season, the challenge is greater. Not only did the Penguins play into June for the 2nd straight summer, they had 3 months of attention as the Stanley Cup Champions. Did that distract them? More importantly, how will they handle having the bulls-eye on their chest over 82 games this season? As the defending champion, they are going to get the best from their opponents every night. Bylsma will work hard in camp to establish a culture that mostly forgets about what happened last season and instead focuses on championship building from scratch all over again this year. I think that's the right approach, but only time will tell if it is successful.

2) WHO WILL PLAY SIDESADDLE FOR EVGENI MALKIN TO START THE YEAR?

This is probably the most obvious question the Penguins face going into camp.

Max Talbot, who played -- and played exceedingly well -- on Malkin's RW for most of the playoffs last year is out for the first 6-8 weeks of the regular season after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He brought speed, grit and an underrated scoring touch to Geno's line.

The other person on the roster at the same natural position who has just about all of those characteristics is RW Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy was an equally good fit playing with center Jordan Staal on the 3rd line almost all of last year and there might be an understandable reluctance to break up the effective unit that those two -- together with LW Matt Cooke -- formed last season. However, during the first on-ice session of camp yesterday, there was Kennedy getting the first crack at patrolling Malkin's RW.

Clearly, Blysma realizes that a more effective second line puts the Penguins at a better advantage than if they had a less-than-whole second unit at the expense of a solid, 2-way 3rd line. He also just as clearly realizes that Kennedy brings so many similar elements to the ice as Talbot did that it was worth the try in camp to see if he and Geno can develop some good chemistry.

3) WHO WILL THE PENGUINS RELY ON TO REPLACE ROB SCUDERI AND HAL GILL?

Throughout the post-season last year, the Penguins matched up defenseman Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill against each of their opponents' top forwards --- from Jeff Carter to Alexander Ovechkin to Eric Staal to Henrik Zetterberg -- and it would be hard to deny that both played the best hockey of their careers in limiting the damage incurred by all of those guys. Unfortunately, thanks to free agency and the team being close to the salary cap ceiling, the Penguins were not able to retain either one, with Gill going to the Montreal Canadiens, and Scuderi signing a multi-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings.

So who will the Penguins deploy to do what those 2 guys did?

Well, for starters, the Penguins still have several carryovers on the blueline who have proven they are pretty capable defensively. Brooks Orpik is one and Mark Eaton is another. While few guys in the league are as good positionally or with their stick as Scuderi, Eaton has always been an established shot blocker in the league, and Orpik remains one of the most physical defensemen in the NHL. Both give the Penguins a decent defensive presence.

Add to that Penguins' free agent addition Jay McKee -- another physical, defensive defenseman who is known for blocking shots -- and the Penguins are not lacking capable players who know how to concentrate on their own end. Let's hope both McKee and Eaton stay healthy, though, because both have been known to battle injuries in their careers.

I actually don't think the Penguins will miss Gill that much. His size and experience were assets -- particularly on the penalty kill -- but he had weaknesses. The truth is that playing with a guy like Scuderi helped Gill greatly. Having a partner as sound as "The Piece" on the ice with him helped cover up for the lumbering Gill getting beat wide or out of the corners by a speedy opposition forward. Gill certainly was capable, but not irreplaceable.

4) CAN BYLSMA GET THE SAME THINGS OUT OF HIS TEAM NOW THAT HIS 'HONEYMOON PERIOD' IS OVER?

What Dan Bylsma did last year with this team is one of the greatest coaching success stories in the history of the National Hockey League, in my opinion. Coming into his first head coaching gig to an underachieving team that was in real danger of missing the post-season just months removed from playing in the Stanley Cup Final, Bylsma did a fabulous job righting the ship and leading the franchise to its 3rd Stanley Cup.

But let's face it. Bylsma benefitted from the low expectations that came with his new position. And he also benefitted from the fact that his message was fresh. The Penguins' players clearly grew tired of the stale, nearly 3-year old routine from former coach Michel Therrein that they had to deal with every day. This year, Bylsma's honeymoon period is over. He will have to establish from the first day of camp that he runs the show, and will need to get his players to buy in all over again.

While the Penguins had their moments of adversity during the Stanley Cup playoffs under Bylsma, the regular season grind is a different animal. The Penguins will undoubtedly hit a rough patch or two at some point, and it will be up to Blysma to keep things from spiraling out of control like they did last season. If he can stop the bleeding when needed and avoid losing streaks of more than a few games during the dog days of the season, that will prove he continues to be capable of getting his team to respond.

Bylsma is also probably going to have to be an authoritative figure at times. Clearly, at his age, and with his experience, he's a players' coach. Only time will tell how he responds when his authority gets challenged. Tony Granato, who was brought in this year as an assistant coach and who is a bit more outspoken and assertive, is probably a good complement for Blysma in this regard.

5) WILL THE PENGUINS GET ENOUGH SCORING FROM THE WING?

There's no team in the NHL deeper down the middle than the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal are a matchup nightmare for opponents night in and night out.

But carrying 3 lynchpins at center in the salary cap era comes at a cost -- wingers who are less than lethal in finishing all the opportunities #87, #71 and #11 regularly create.

Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotneko and, perhaps Tyler Kennedy aren't going to be confused with the Dany Heatley's, Marion Gaborik's and Jarome Iginla's of the league, that's for sure.

Guerin is 39 and will be tested during a full season here in Pittsburgh.

Fedotenko has never been a great regular season player. He's basically a 20-goal man and, if he exceeds his ceiling, he might be able to get to 25.

Kennedy is still developing and could blossom if he sticks with Malkin all year, but that's far from certain.

Kunitz is capable of more than he showed last season when he scored only one playoff goal despite being regularly centered by maybe the best playmaker in the game for 24 contests.

Because of how well Malkin and Crosby carry the offense and score when necessary, it's not absolutely critical that the Penguins have three 40-goal scorers on the wing. But it sure would be nice for one or two of these guys to step up into the mid-30 range and become a real threat from along the wall.


Those are the questions. I'm anxious for the answers.

The Penguins already have their first exhibition game tomorrow night at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. More on camp happenings in the next day or two.