Previewing the Penguins

Since falling to the Canadiens in an embarassing game 7, GM Ray Shero has been actively reshaping the Penguins. They are still built around their strength down the middle with centers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal along with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. But it appears the run and gun style may be falling by the way-side if you break down the pieces added around their talented youth.

Armed with long-term contracts, defensemen Paul Martin, Zybynek Michalek and Brooks Orpik now must be discussed with Crosby, Malkin, Fluery and Staal when discussing the core of this team. These 7 players equal nearly $40 million in cap hits, meaning the Pens only have around 16 million to fill out the rest of their depth chart.

Luckily, Shero hasn't made the blunders his fellow GM's have made with albatross contracts. The biggest hits against the Penguins cap space are their most talented players, so it there isn't any wasted space keeping Pittsburgh from retaining a productive player or blocking a prospect from graduating to the lineup.

In fact, for the Penguins to rebound from their disappointing finish of a season ago, they will need some of the lesser priced young players on their roster to seize the opportunity laid before them. The core will produce. This was evidenced by Malkin's "down" season last year still not preventing Pittsburgh from ranking 5th in the league in goals scored. The success of Pittsburgh's season will come from the renewed commitment of Ray Shero to improve on their league ranking of 20th in goals against.

Forwards:
Who will play with who? Pittsburgh has a ridiculous wealth of centers, to the point where a natural center will most likely play alongside Malkin, Crosby or Staal. Shero has stated that there is a strong possibility that Malkin or Staal could move to a wing position to fortify the top 2 lines. With that in mind, here's a look at the potential line combos for Pittsburgh:

Forwards
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin
(The time has come to put the golden eggs in one basket. Other than Marian Hossa, Crosby hasn't found a winger who can keep up with his anticipation on the ice. Why move Malkin? Because of all the wingers currently on the depth chart, most are natural left wingers. Malkin has played RW before, and his style is best fit on the right side. Kunitz hasn't proved very durable or consistent in his time with the Penguins. He will have competition from veteran Max Talbot and rookie Eric Tangradi for his spot on the top line.

Eric Tangradi-Jordan Staal-Tyler Kennedy
Tangradi replaces Matt Cooke on what was widely considered the top 3rd line in the league. It is now time for Staal and Kennedy to graduate from a checking role to one of scoring. They have the talent to provide secondary scoring behing Crosby and Malkin, and Tangradi's power game and hands probably fit the 2nd line more than Cooke's does.

Matt Cooke-Max Talbot-Arron Asham
Love the addition of Asham to this roster. These 3 make up a promising energy line, and they are all more than capable of chipping in the occasional goal. Keeping in mind that this unit would be primarily deployed in a shutdown role, meaning their value to the team is in how many goals they keep off the score board rather than putting them on there. All 3 are swift skaters, and none pass on a hit when it's available.

Mike Rupp-Craig Adams-Eric Godard/Dustin Jeffery
Rupp is 6-5, Adams shouldve been a candidate for the best defensive forward, and Godard is the designated enforcer who may be relegated to luxury with the addition of Asham. Asham is no heavy weight, but other than the Rangers and Flyers, enforcers seem to be
less and less necessary in the Atlantic Division. That means Jeffrey will probably at least split time with Godard and provide an offensive touch to the 4th line.

Defense
Paul Martin - Brooks Orpik
Martin is not an offensive dynamo like Gonchar was, but he isn't exactly challenged offensively. He is a huge upgrade over Gonchar defensively, however. Orpik is a punisher, and the addition of Michalek takes some of the physical and defensive load off his shoulders.

Zybynek Michalek-Alex Goligoski
Michalek will block any shot in his reach, and is capable offensively. Gologoski has the tools to replace some of Gonchar's offensive production. Letang is a candidate here, but Gogo's game seems to fit with the shutdown style of Michalek better.

Kris Letang-Ben Lovejoy
These 2 are more offensively inclined, and neither has an imposing, crease-clearing frame. But both are capable of eating up minutes, playing within the system, and starting the rush with a reliable outlet pass. Letang can surprise with well timed hits when opposibg forwards aren't expecting it, as well.

Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury
Brent Johnson
Shero stays with what he had last year here. Fleury was hung out to dry by his defenseman too many times last season. The additions of Asham, Martin and Michalek will make sure that doesn't happen as often this year, and should lead to better play from the goalies.