Penguins preseason primer: What you need to know as training camp opens
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ “Big Three” of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang is back for their 17th season together. And that officially gets underway Thursday, when the team opens training camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
The veterans will lead the way as the Penguins look to extend their consecutive streak of playoff appearances to 17 seasons.
What to know
The players will be split into three squads, with the first practice starting at 9 a.m. Thursday. All non-game day practices are free and open to the public. Preseason games start at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The full schedule can be found here.
Roster
The Penguins have invited 58 players to training camp.
Transactions
The biggest moves of the offseason involved their own players. The Penguins re-signed forward Bryan Rust for six years, $30.75 million in May, followed by backup goaltender Casey DeSmith (two years, $3.6 million), defenseman Kris Letang (six years, $36.6 million) and forward Rickard Rakell (six years, $30 million) in July. And they finally came to an agreement with center Evgeni Malkin on a four-year deal worth $24.4 million on the eve of NHL free agency opening.
Internally, the Penguins also re-signed forward Kasperi Kapanen (two years, $6.4 million), defenseman P.O Joseph (two years, $1.65 million) and brought back Danton Heinen on a one year, $1 million deal after not tendering him a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent.
In free agency, the Penguins added defenseman Jan Rutta from Tampa Bay, depth forward Josh Archibald from Edmonton and veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski from Buffalo.
General manager Ron Hextall shook up the blue line with a pair of trades on July 16. He sent defenseman John Marino to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Ty Smith and a third-round pick. He also dealt defenseman Mike Matheson and a fourth-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling.
The Penguins also lost forwards Evan Rodrigues and Brian Boyle, defenseman Juuso Riikola and goalie Louis Domingue in the offseason.
● After re-signing Evgeni Malkin, Penguins believe they can still ‘do special things’
● With a new contract in his pocket, many milestones are within reach for Evgeni Malkin
● Penguins for life? Kris Letang agrees to 6-year contract that will stretch into his early 40s
● Penguins re-sign forward Bryan Rust to 6-year contract extension
● Rickard Rakell wants to show he can do more with the Penguins
● Ty Smith’s journey bring him to the Penguins
● New Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry is closer to home and ready to win
And, of course, Tribune-Review columnists Mark Madden and Tim Benz had opinions on the Penguins’ moves this summer:
● Mark Madden: With Evgeni Malkin signed, Penguins’ plan comes together, for better or worse
● Tim Benz: Evgeni Malkin’s decision to stay in Pittsburgh softens focus on Rickard Rakell’s contract
● Mark Madden: New acquisitions make the Penguins better now but weaknesses remain
Stats
Can the Penguins extend their streak of consecutive playoff appearances to 17? Can winger Jake Guentzel break 40 goals for the third time?
Penguins A to Z
Penguins beat writer Seth Rorabaugh combed through the team’s system, looking back at the last season and what the future holds for the team’s players:
● Corey Andonovski follows a familiar route for college free agents
● Defense will be Raivis Ansons’ path to the NHL
● How valuable is Teddy Blueger?
● How big of a role should Jeff Carter have next season?
● Sidney Crosby remains the game’s most complete player (when healthy)
● Casey Desmith proved reliable as backup goaltender
● Even with uncertainty, Brian Dumoulin remains a major component
● Taylor Fedun offers value in an important role
● Jordan Frasca boosts the organization’s depth at center
● Feisty Mark Friedman finally finds a fit
● There’s nothing silly about Taylor Gauthier
● Ty Glover will be a long-term project
● Can Jonathan Gruden make a bigger impact?
● ‘Playoff’ Jake Guentzel made a big return
● Can Filip Hallander finally take a spot on the NHL roster?
● Danton Heinen proved something in 2021-22
● Is Tristan Jarry the future?
● Can P.O Joseph take the next step?
● Can Kasperi Kapanen be fixed?
● Cam Lee took a step back in 2021-22
● Nathan Legare went through growing pains
● It wouldn’t have been easy to replace Kris Letang
● Filip Lindberg needs to rebound from a lost season
● What does Evgeni Malkin have left?
● Is it now or never for Josh Maniscalco?
● Brock McGinn delivered as advertised
● Alex Nylander made the most of his fresh start
● What is Drew O’Connor’s role?
● Marcus Pettersson is still looking for that next step
● Sam Poulin is better prepared after his first pro season
● Valtteri Puustinen remains intriguing
● Rickard Rakell’s skill, speed fit in well in brief time here
● Chad Ruhwedel finally becomes a regular in the lineup
● Bryan Rust is back where he belongs
● There’s plenty of cautious optimism with Lukas Svejkovsky
● Colin Swoyer has a chance to prove he has a future
● Can Radim Zohorna find a way to stay in the NHL?
● Jason Zucker just needs to stay healthy
Rookies and prospects
One of Hextall’s priorities has been to restock the franchise’s depleted farm system with prospects. The Penguins got to take a closer look at their team’s future with a prospect development camp in July and the team’s rookie camp earlier this month.
● Forward Samuel Poulin is happy to fill any role for the Penguins
● Joining the Penguins was an easy choice for prospect Jack St. Ivany
● Penguins defensive prospect Ryan McCleary offers different game from his father
● Penguins goaltender Filip Lindberg eager for 1st game in 10 months
● Penguins forward Valtteri Puustinen’s goals are easy to understand
● Inspired by his brother, Penguins prospect Luke Devlin’s hockey journey is just beginning
● Goaltending prospect Taylor Gauthier wants to prove the Penguins ‘made the right choice’
● Penguins forward prospect Raivis Ansons offers assets that ‘are essential to winning’
● Penguins prospect Tristan Broz moves past a rough freshman season at Minnesota
● Penguins forward prospect Lukas Svejkovsky can be ‘pretty special’ with the puck
● Penguins forward prospect Corey Andonovski has plenty to learn about pro game
● ‘Hockey sense’ led to forward Zam Plante being drafted by the Penguins
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