Fleury to start in goal for Penguins opener; Staal makes team
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Penguins coach Michel Therrien today named Marc-Andre Fleury the starting goaltender for the season opener Thursday against Philadelphia, and 2006 first-round draft pick Jordan Staal made it through the team's roster cuts.
Therrien said Fleury, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, improved over the final week of training camp and played well in the Penguins' preseason finale Saturday night in Buffalo.
The Penguins are keeping three goaltenders, at least for now, with veteran Jocelyn Thibault and rookie Dany Sabourin competing for playing time behind Fleury.
Staal, a third- or fourth-line center who turned 18 last month, signed with the Penguins this afternoon. Fellow rookie Kris LeTang, a defenseman, also signed a contract before today's 5 p.m. deadline, making them eligible to start the season inthe NHL.
Staal and LeTang can still be sent back to junior hockey before the Penguins play nine regular-season games.
The Penguins sent five players to their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club to get down to 23. They are forwards Daniel Carcillo, Libor Pivko, Ryan Stone and Maxime Talbot, and defenseman Noah Welch.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published October 2, 2006 12:00 am
