Last Season: 47-29-6 100 pts (2nd in Metropolitan Division; Lost in Eastern Conference 2nd Round)
Key Additions: D Jack Johnson, F Matt Cullen, and F Jimmy Hayes
Key Departures: D Matt Hunwick, F Conor Sheary, F Carter Rowney, and F Tom Kuhnhackl
Top Questions Facing the Penguins:
- Can Matt Murray rebound from a subpar season?
Last season was Matt Murray’s first full season as a number one goalie and it was met with mixed results as he registered a 2.92 goals against average along with a .907 save percentage in 49 games played. Murray also dealt with injury issues as well. Murray will need to have a more complete season if he would like to bounce back from last season.
2. Are the Pittsburgh Penguins regressing?
We’ve seen it with both Chicago (3 Stanley Cups in 6 years) and Los Angeles (2 Cups in 4 years), but are the Penguins, at a much slower rate, regressing? With the Salary Cap it is hard to keep teams together, for example Chicago, but despite that the Penguins were able to win back to back Stanley Cups, but also as the main core gets older, they can slow down like in Los Angeles. The Penguins don’t have the same Cap issues that Chicago has had yet, but they do have pieces that are slowing down.