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A look inside the Penguins' roster
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President Barack Obama held a ceremony to honor the 2009 Stanley Cup champion Penguins in the East Room of the White House Sept. 10. -
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin. -
Penguins winger Ruslan Fedotenko. -
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. -
Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
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After the Penguins began to accumulate elite young talent a few years back -- around the time guys such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby started showing up on the organizational depth chart -- it was widely accepted in hockey circles that there was at least one more Stanley Cup in the franchise's future.
The big question then was, "When?" That has been answered, of course, and the issue now is, "How many?"
Of course, it's possible that the one they earned in June at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit is the only one this group will get, because so many variables influence how the playoffs unfold every spring. A few untimely injuries, a bad bounce or two or an unfavorable matchup is all it takes to mutate what could be into what might have been.
Still, the nucleus of the Penguins' Cup-winning team remains intact, and they remain on nearly everyone's short list of clubs that could contend for the championship next spring.
Although management has until 3 p.m. tomorrow to pare the roster, which includes 25 mostly healthy players at the moment, to 23 or fewer, it is expected to reduce the group to 20, 21 or 22. Those moves will mostly be fine-tuning, however, because most of the significant roles on this team were set even before training camp opened.
This is the best group of centers in the league, and the Crosby-Malkin tandem has done little to discourage comparisons to 1-2 combinations such as Mario Lemieux-Ron Francis, Wayne Gretzky-Mark Messier and Steve Yzerman-Sergei Fedorov. Both should contend for a second scoring championship -- and an MVP award -- with Washington's Alex Ovechkin the obvious competition on both counts
There's more to this group than just its two most prominent members, though. Staal will continue to develop into a major two-way force, and the fourth-line center -- be it Talbot, Rupp or Adams -- will be capable of being plugged into openings elsewhere on the depth chart.
Talbot will be missed, on and off the ice, while recovering from shoulder surgery, but should be out for no more than the first third of the season.
No. - PlayerHeightWeight27 - Craig Adams6-0197Figures to get somework on the wing too.87 - Sidney Crosby5-11200Might be ready for a
run at 40-plus goals.71 - Evgeni Malkin6-3195Legitimate threat to win
another scoring championship.17 - Mike Rupp6-5238Hard to understand why
New Jersey deemed him expendable.11 - Jordan Staal6-5238Is there a better
No. 3 center in hockey?25 - Max Talbot5-11185Plays his best when
stakes are highest.
There's not a game-breaking goal-scorer in the group and unless a prospect such as Eric Tangradi or Luca Caputi develops into one, that might be a permanent void on the depth chart because of the salary cap. Unless the Penguins opt to part with a world-class center, anyway.
That said, every winger on the top two lines -- that would be Guerin, Kunitz, Fedotenko and Kennedy, at least for now -- can reasonably be expected to contribute at least 20 if Crosby and Malkin stay healthy. For the most part, the rest are blue-collar types who have embraced their roles and execute them effectively.
No. - PlayerHeightWeight37 - Ryan Bayda5-11195Training camp tryout whosehard work earned contract.16 - Paul Bissonnette6-2211Toughness, team-first
mindset keep him in the mix.23 - Chris Conner6-2179Goal-scoring touch might be
too good to put in minors.24 - Matt Cooke5-11209Edgy style, decent skills are
a good fit on No. 3 line.9 - Pascal Dupuis6-1205Speed, versatility make him
good guy to have around.26 - Ruslan Fedotenko6-2205Expect 20 or more goals for just
second time in nine NHL seasons.28 - Eric Godard6-4214Might fill the most narrowly
defined niche on the team.13 - Bill Guerin6-2220Birth certificate says he's almost 39.
His game disagrees.48 - Tyler Kennedy5-11183Has made good case for
permanent spot on Malkin's line.14 - Chris Kunitz6-0193Must rediscover scoring touch that
deserted him during playoffs
Losing the shutdown pairing of Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill to free agency was a setback, to be sure, but not a lethal one. McKee plays a game similar to that of Scuderi and, while Goligoski couldn't possibly be more different from Gill -- Goligoski is fast and skilled, Gill slow and physical -- Goligoski is ready to assume a top-six role.
Each pairing is well-balanced, with one offensively skilled member and one stay-at-home type, and with Guenin, Engelland and the injured Ben Lovejoy in reserve, the Penguins might be able to absorb an injury or two without suffering too badly.
No. - PlayerHeightWeight7 - Mark Eaton6-2212Responsible style shouldhelp Letang flourish.5 - Deryk Engelland6-2202Toughness could punch
his ticket onto roster.3 - Alex Goligoski5-11180Might have been Penguins'
best player during camp.55 - Sergei Gonchar6-2211Remains a force at both
ends of ice at age 352 - Nate Guenin6-2210Looks like next local boy
to wear a Penguins sweater.58 - Kris Letang6-0201Unless he plateaus, will be
an all-star someday.74 - Jay McKee6-3205Good shot-blocker can help to
compensate for loss of Rob Scuderi.Brooks Orpik6-2220Few players hit as hard or
as often as he does.
First Published September 29, 2009 1:06 am
