2012-13 record: 36-12-0 (72 points)
Lost to Boston in Conference Finals
Captain: Sidney Crosby
Everything was on a plate waiting for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals. From deadline deals for Jarome Iginla, Douglas Murray, and Brenden Morrow to presumably the two best players in the game today (emphasis on the word PRESUMABLY) in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. A funny thing happened en route to that Final, as the Penguins were nearly undone by their goaltending and were ultimately derailed thanks to the Boston Bruins. This year, the expectations are the same, and so is most of the cast. While all three acquisitions at the trade deadline have moved on (Morrow to St. Louis, Murray to Montreal, and Iginla to Boston), the Penguins will be without an agitator in Matt Cooke and welcome back an old, reliable hand in Rob Scuderi. The core of the team still centers around Crosby and Malkin, but the Crosby injury watch is always on and Malkin is coming off a mediocre season in which he only scored 33 points in 31 games. The wings on either side of both players will get their chances, as Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis will score with Crosby while James Neal and possibly Beau Bennett will get their chances with Malkin. The bottom two lines will be a work in progress, with role players filling those spots. Defensively, there will come a time when the overstocking of defensive prospects will bear fruit. Until then, that responsibility falls to the likes of Kris Letang, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, and Scuderi. Goaltending is the biggest question, as Marc-Andre Fleury melted down in the playoffs again. This time, backup Tomas Vokoun came in to save the day, as the Penguins narrowly avoided an embarrassing playoff series loss to the New York Islanders. Without Vokoun, who is sitting out for an indeterminate amount of time while he recovers from surgery to remove a blood clot, all eyes will be on Fleury, as he looks to remain the face in goal.
Prospects: With all of the spots spoken for, there isn't likely to be any room for any rookies to start the season. That means the likes of Olli Maatta, Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington, and Brian Dumolin will all start either in the minors or in junior. It is not out of the question that any of the four could get a call for a cup of coffee with the Pens during the season. Tristan Jarry is years away, but his drafting by the Pens sends a message to Fleury that if he doesn't find consistency soon, the Pens will have his replacement on hand.
Prediction: 1st in the Metropolitan Division
The Penguins are expected to win the division again. However, the real fun won't be until the playoffs, when we will find out for sure if Fleury can be the player he was in 2009 and not the one that couldn't stop the Flyers or the Islanders in the last two playoff seasons.
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