5 Burning Questions that don't involve Health.

Obviously, we could write a short blog about how the Pens avoid the injury bug and call it a day, but I wanna dive deeper into the upcoming season.

Sid vs. Father Time

Love him or hate him, Tom Brady is the gold standard for aging athletes. At 45, he played at an MVP caliber level. When it comes to the NHL, it’s Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin who are fighting the clock on the twilight of their careers. Sid celebrated his 35th orbit on August 7th.

His drive and determination has never been questioned, and remains one of the best possession players in the league. As has been the case at various times in his career, a concussion derailed his postseason last year, following an elbow from Jacob Trouba. As far as stats go, he remains very productive. He finished with 84 points in 69 games. his 16th consecutive season of at least a point per game.

Assuming he plays a full slate, I would expect him to finish in 95-100 point range and 30+ goals.

Loyalty vs. Getting Better

There was a whirlwind of emotions this summer, as the drama of the Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin contract situations played out. In the end, both of the franchise icons signed on, for what seems like the remainder of their careers. It is fair to ask if keeping the band together may have came at the cost of some upgrades at other positions.

Firstly, I don’t believe that there was upgrades to be found over Malkin or Letang in this year’s crop of free agents. The best Center available was Nazim Kadri, who just had a career best 87 points at 31 years old. All while playing on a talented Colorado team. Behind him was a selection of Vincent Trocheck, Andrew Copp, and Frank Vattrano. As for Right-handed Defenseman, the only worthwhile option was John Klingberg, who would have been a significant downgrade.

With that being said, Hextall may have been able to utilize the new found cap space to work some trades with some cap strapped teams to improve the forward group. Look at Carolina acquiring Max Pacioretty for the oft-traded "future considerations.” Perhaps a JT Miller homecoming may have been more feasible with the extra space. Time will tell if the loyalty route was the right choice. I, for one, am glad they brought them back for another kick at the can.

Tristan Jarry’s Time

I know that many people find it hard to criticize a goalie that made the All-Star game, and likely should have been the MVP of that game. Though, after the break, his numbers were a bit more pedestrian, and his season ended abruptly with a fractured foot. Though, he did start Game 7. He is entering the final year of his contract, and there have no contract discussions reported at this time. You have to wonder if this is an ultimatum season for the 27 year old net-minder.

The Pens have Joel Blomqvist in the pipeline, and should be playing in the States, at the conclusion of the Liga season. Casey Desmith is back for the next two seasons, so it’s safe to wonder if the Pens move on from Jarry after this year.

At the same time, Jarry has been stellar in each of the past few regular seasons, but has not been able to showcase that same talent in the postseason. Either because of injury or performance.

Goaltending is the most important position in the game, and the team can’t squander the last few years the Crosby/ Malkin Era.

The Defense

For better or worse, the Penguins defense core underwent a major makeover. Mike Matheson and John Marino are out, replaced with Jeff Petry and Ty Smith. Petry is capable of playing top pair minutes and manning the point on a top power play unit. Smith is a prospect with 114 games of NHL experience already under his belt. At just 22 years old, you could argue that he still has plenty of room to develop. Jan Ruuta was signed in free agency, from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As it stands now, the top 4 is likely set. Letang and Brian Dumoulin will eat the bulk of the minutes. While Petry and Marcus Pettersson will play the 2nd pair. Ruuta will probably start the season as the third pairing righty, but that last spot will be a dogfight in training camp. Smith and Pierre Oliver Joseph will have to battle it out, but neither are a lock. Maybe the coaching staff would be more comfortable with Ruuta on the left and one of either Chad Ruhwedel or Mark Friedman on the right. Keep an eye on this battle as training camp plays out.

The Bottom Six

Much like Steelers fans have griped about the offensive line for the past few years, us Pens fans have been griping about the bottom six since the glory days or Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. You have to go back about 15 months to realize where all this went wrong. The decision to protect Jeff Carter, and subsequently trade Jared McCann has really changed the trajectory of this franchise. It is likely that we still lose Tanev to the Seattle Kraken, but having McCann would have improved this forward group.

In that hypothetical scenario, we could be rolling out a top 9 consisting of the following:

Guentzel- Crosby- Rust

McCann- Malkin- Rakell

Zucker- Carter- McGinn/ Heinen

I argue that McCann not only adds value to the Malkin line, but would add value to the third line, by reducing Zucker’s minutes and likelihood for injury.

As for what we have now, the bottom six is more likely to see reduced minutes, which puts more strain on Crosby and Malkin. I promised not to talk about our team’s health, so yinz can draw your own conclusion on what that could mean.

Day 1 Lineup

Here is my optimal opening night lineup:

Guentzel- Crosby- Rakell

Zucker- Malkin- Rust

Heinen- Carter- Kappanen

O’Connor- Blueger- McGinn

Dumoulin- Letang

Pettersson- Petry

Joseph- Ruuta

Jarry

DeSmith

Extra: Archibauld, Poehling, Friedman