Pittsburgh Penguins 2014-15 Season Primer

The Pittsburgh Penguins are next up in our season primer series. The Penguins underwent some roster changes this offseason, including the  trading of James Neal.

Use the below Tabs to view Penguins info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.

2013-14 record: 51-24-7, 109 points
Where they finished: 1^st in the Metropolitan; 2^nd in the East; 6^th in the NHL; lost 4-3 in the second round of playoffs to the Rangers

Player Salaries: $72,975,000 (21)
Cap Payroll: $68,069,167
Bonuses: $0
Cap Space: $930,833
Forwards: $40,050,000 (12)
Defensemen: $22,019,167 (7)
Goalies: $6,000,000 (2)
Source: CapGeek.com

In: Blake Comeau LW/RW, Christian Ehrhoff D, Jim Rutherford GM, Mike Johnston Head Coach, Nick Spaling W/C, Patric Hornqvist RW, Steve Downie RW, Taylor Chorney D, Thomas Greiss G

Out: Brian Gibbons W/C, Brooks Orpik D, Chris Conner LW, Chuck Kobasew RW, Dan Bylsma Head Coach, Deryk Engelland D/RW, Harry Zolnierczyk LW, James Neal RW/LW, Joe Vitale C/RW, Jussi Jokinen LW/C, Lee Stempniak RW, Matt Niskanen D, Ray Shero GM, Tanner Glass LW

2014-15 Team Outlook:

In what has seemed to become normality for the Penguins as of late, it was another extremely strong season with a disappointing finish.

Few teams in the NHL can put out the level of talent that Pittsburgh is blessed with on a day-to-day basis, yet Pittsburgh can’t seem to find what it takes to have success in the playoffs lately, advancing past the first round only twice in the last five years since their back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances (winning the cup in 2009).

Looking for a shakeup following the playoffs failures, this offseason the Penguins fired general manager Ray Shero on May 16, followed by head coach Dan Bylsma on June 6. New general manager Jim Rutherford, who was hired the same day Bylsma was dismissed, and head coach Mike Johnston, replacing the duo that helped in establishing Pittsburgh as one of the distinguished franchises in recent years.

It didn’t take long for Rutherford to make another high-profile move after firing Bylsma, trading former 40-goal scorer James Neal to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forwards Patrick Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. Neal had been a big part of Pittsburgh top-heavy offense, and the move was made to get a more balanced look to the forward unit.

In free agency Pittsburgh took a rather quite approach, not signing any star players, but picking up some key role players. The most notable signing, Christian Ehrhoff, was brought in to replace Matt Niskanen, who left Pittsburgh along with Brooks Orpik to join division rival Washington Capitals in free agency.

Offensively the Penguins will look to their extremely gifted top-six unit for most of the goals, although their improved third-line should be able to chip in every once and awhile as well. The top-line will be very familiar, with Sidney Crosby in the middle between his usual line-mates Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. On the second-line you will find Evgeni Malkin at centre, with the newly acquired Patric Hornqvist and the young Beau Bennett on the wings. The somewhat reconstructed bottom-six sees an improved third-line of Brandon Sutter at the pivot with Steve Downie and Nick Spaling, and Marcel Goc alongside Craig Adams and Blake Comeau on the fourth-line. Other players who have outside shots at making the team are rookie Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Payerl. The 18 year old Kapanen, who was recently selected 22nd overall in the 2014 draft, is the son of former NHL forward Sami Kapanen, and has played against men the past two years in the Finnish Elite League.

Defensively the Penguins look a little weaker than they did last season, after losing Niskanen, Orpik, and Deryk Engelland, while only replacing them with Ehrhoff. Pittsburgh is relying on some of their young defense core from the AHL level to step up and take the other spots. The first-pairing will likely consist of Ehrhoff or Paul Martin alongside the talented Kris Letang. Olli Maata will combine with either Ehrhoff or Martin to comprise the second-pairing, while veteran Rob Scuderi will find himself mentoring one of Brian Dumoulin, Simon Despres, Scott Harrington, or potentially even rookie standout Derrick Pouliot on the third-pairing. Robert Bortuzzo will also be vying for a spot, but given his skill set he is better served as the seventh defenseman.

In net, the Penguins will be rolling out the usual suspect, Marc-Andre Fleury, as their number one option. This is the final year of Fleury’s contract, and it is safe to assume that the Penguins might be in the market for a goalie should Fleury struggle in the playoffs again this year. Last postseason Fleury was not spectacular, but was solid enough to provide some stability for the Pens, something in which he had struggled heavily with in previous seasons. For added insurance the Penguins brought in Thomas Greiss to be his backup. Greiss was one of the more stable backup goalies in the NHL last season, posting a 2.29 goals against average and a .920 save percentage during his 25 games with the  Coyotes. Adding Greiss to the mix bumps last season’s backup, Jeff Zatkoff, back down to the AHL, after providing Pittsburgh with some solid play (2.61 goals against average, .912 save percentage in 20 games).

After an offseason that saw the Penguins lose quite a bit of talent (Neal, Niskanen, Jokinen, Orpik, etc.), the team still looks very solid on paper. The low-key free agent signings should be a positive to the team, as players such as Ehrhoff, Downie, and Comeau all bring a little something to the team that it was lacking. The star power is still very much intact, and the Penguins will have no problem once again rolling through the regular season with a top seeded position in the Metro Division. With a fresh view of the team from the new management, expect the Pens to have a deep playoff run, with their eyes set on the Stanley Cup Finals. They have the talent to do it; it’s just a matter of will.

Written by Greg Stamper, who can be found on twitter @g_stamp91.

The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30. 

FORWARDS
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Pascal Dupuis
Patric Hornqvist – Evgeni Malkin – Beau Bennett
Nick Spaling – Brandon Sutter – Steve Downie
Blake Comeau – Marcel Goc – Craig Adams
Jayson Megna – Zach Sill

DEFENSEMEN
Paul Martin – Christian Ehrhoff
Olli Maatta – Kris Letang
Simon Despres – Rob Scuderi
Robert Bortuzzo

GOALTENDERS
Marc-Andre Fleury
Thomas Greiss

A look at the Pittsburgh Penguins top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.

* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.

Pittsburgh Penguins Draft History from the past five years

Performance and Usage Charts for the Pittsburgh Penguins from last season, from Extra Skater.