Now a regular, Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea wants to show 'a different side of me'

Tuesday’s season-opening 3-0 road win against the New York Rangers represented a lot of significant firsts to celebrate for members of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It was Dan Muse’s first game as head coach.

For defenseman Harrison Brunicke and forward Ben Kindel, the teenagers got into their first career NHL games.

Goaltender Arturs Silovs made 25 saves to earn his first career regular season shutout.

And forward Justin Brazeau scored his first goal — two, actually — as a member of the Penguins.

Defenseman Ryan Shea’s first wasn’t quite as prominent. But it was no less significant to him.

It marked the first time in his professional career that the 28-year-old Shea was in the lineup — as a starter, no less — for a season-opener at the NHL level.

“It’s pretty special,” Shea said the next day in Cranberry. “It’s something that you work for every (training) camp. It’s good that (management) recognized the camp that I had. And I definitely think it was my best camp. So, I was pretty happy to be in (Tuesday’s game).

“It’s probably one of the coolest things in my life, being in the lineup at Madison Square Garden.”

Shea’s journey to the NHL hasn’t always been pretty. A fourth-round draft pick (No. 121 overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, Shea never signed with that organization and signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent in 2020 after four seasons in the collegiate ranks with Northeastern.

In three seasons with the Stars, he never played above the American Hockey League level, then joined the Penguins as free agent in 2023.

Finally debuting as an NHLer in 2023-24, Shea skated in 70 games over the next two campaigns with six points (three goals, three assists) but never seemed to be more than the club’s seventh defenseman, moving into the lineup whenever injuries struck a teammate higher up the depth chart.

To be certain, it’s a valuable role in the NHL, but Shea, a left-hander who can also play the right side, entered this season with higher aspirations than being the seventh defenseman.

“The first year (2023-24), I definitely had that thought process that I was battling for the seventh (defenseman role),” Shea said. “Now, my intent is completely different. I don’t think I’m that type of player anymore. You’ve got to earn everything in this league. I’m trying to earn a bigger role and a bigger spot. My mindset on that spot is I don’t think that way anymore. It was a bad way to think in the first place. No one should think that way because it eases you into the camp, eases you into the season.

“A guy in my situation, there’s no time for that. I’m definitely striving for more. I don’t want to think that way anymore.”

That approach has led to him finding a pretty prodigious role two games into the season as the partner to All-Star Kris Letang on the second pairing.

Shea and Letang sporadically skated together last season, but a suspected left-hand injury suffered by Shea dissolved that union in March.

“Last year, he had a pretty good run,” Letang said. “I think we played 13, 14 games (together). He ended up having surgery and that put him out six or eight weeks on the sidelines. So, that was hard for him, especially when you’re trying to build the momentum and secure that roster spot.

“But we all know what he can do. He’s a great skater, plays hard and he can chip in offensively. He’s a decent puck-moving defenseman.”

Shea seems happy to collaborate with Letang as well.

“Playing with him is, honestly, it’s easy,” Shea said. “When you play with those guys, you just read off of them. What I learned after playing with him a little bit last year is you’ve still got to play your game. You can be — I don’t want to say star-struck — but you’ve got to be able to make plays as well and you’ve got to be able to complement them in certain ways. But you definitely have to pinch yourself a little bit when you’re playing with a guy like that.”

Stopping pucks from entering his net will always be Shea’s primary focus. And through two games, he leads the team in short-handed ice time, averaging 3:30 per contest.

With Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas significantly overhauling the left side of the blue line this past offseason, Shea is one of the few southpaw holdovers on the backend.

The increased competition to earn a job on the port side was embraced by Shea.

“I think it brings the best out of me,” Shea said. “That brings out the best out of all of us. That’s really what you want. That’s what the coaching staff, that’s what management wants. They want to see people at their best and make decisions from there. I’ve been in this situation for (many) years. This is where I’m comfortable.”

Another area Shea had comfort in this past offseason was his contractual status.

In March, management signed Shea to a one-year contract extension worth $900,000 for the current season. That security gave him some peace of mind as he engaged in his typical offseason training regimen.

But what about another contract beyond this season?

“It definitely gives you motivation,” Shea said. “You’ve got to prove yourself. You’re on a ‘prove-it’ type of year. But I’ve been proving myself for the last three years. I have no problem with that. If I have to prove more, I have to prove more. But I think we’ll see this year, a different side of me, even more. I’m excited for everyone to see it.

“I kind of just have a whole new mindset that I belong and I belong in a bigger role.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Friday.