Five Things Pittsburgh Penguins Fans Can Look Forward To This Season

The beautiful thing about a sports season is that it always ends.

For one team, an end of the season and start of a new season is bittersweet, a time to surrender a title unless a rare repeat allows them to retake it.

For the remaining teams, it's a rebirth, a time to start fresh with new players and a new mentality.

The 2009-2010 season for the Pittsburgh Penguins was one of character: How will the young Pens perform when they have a target on their backs?

The overall season result? Average.

Excuses could have been used as explanation; for example, the Pens withstood two long seasons prior, many players were playing injured, etc.

Those don't matter anymore because that season is in the books. What does matter is what the team has ahead of them, and that's an exciting season full of change.

Here are five things we, as Pens fans, have to look forward to come October.

A Vamped Defense

Free agency was very kind to the Pens despite the significant losses to the roster.

Analysts raved about Ottawa's signing of Sergei Gonchar and the negative effects it would have on the Pens. Other players lost to free agency include Mark Eaton, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jay McKee, and Jordan Leopold.

Four of the six are defensemen.

It went without saying that throughout the 2009-2010 season, the weakest aspect of the team was defense. With the deficiencies and losses on defense, General Manager Ray Shero naturally went to work rebuilding the back line.

The result was the signing of shut-down defenseman Zbynek Michalek and smart, puck-moving defenseman Paul Martin.

Any problems on the back line? Solved.

Michalek's and Martin's zeal for joining the Pens—especially Martin who sided with Pittsburgh even after receiving higher bids from other teams—was showcased in following interviews, leaving fans and media with the understanding that these two really hope things work out in Pittsburgh.

We obviously can't foresee how these two will perform and if they can tap into Dan Bylsma's offensive/aggressive style, but there is no question that the Pens boast one of, if not the most, promising defenses in the NHL.

New Blood

With the signing of Martin and Michalek who combine for $9 million a season in cap, there isn't much left in the pot for Ray Shero to sign others unless he performs a miracle.

Instead, I am certain he will look to Wilkes-Barre to fill in the gaps.

A casual glance at the roster and there aren't any "superstars" on Wilkes-Barre like their big brother team.

No problem, because the players on Wilkes-Barre who have skated on NHL ice with the Pens have certainly impressed.

Players that come to mind are forwards Mark Letestu, a faceoff master who played a major role in Pittsburgh tying a game against Chicago last season, Chris Connor, a smaller player with wings on his skates who also managed to find a little chemistry with Sidney Crosby during his stint, and Eric Tangradi, the top prospect whose big body bodes well with Bylsma's system.

On defense, Ben Lovejoy demonstrated a cool demeanor with a lot of potential as a good puck-moving skills.

Expect one or more of these players to find their way into the NHL at the beginning of the season. It will take some time for them to get acclimated to the NHL, but we have high hopes for all of them.

Refreshed Start

303.

That's how many games the Pens played from the fall of the 2007 to the spring of 2010.

It takes a toll on the body and it does affect the outcome of a playoff series, despite players turning away from any excuse.

But after an embarrassing series against the Montreal Canadiens that sent the Pens to tee off, the Pens will enter this season with no excuses.

They've had a long and well-deserved summer, allowing nagging injuries to heal and the brain to take a timeout. The result should be a refreshed team ready to start the season with a clean slate.

Pens fans watching will be very thankful.

The Winter Classic

Not too many NHL fans were thrilled when they heard the Pens would host the Washington Capitals for the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field.

But Pens fans certainly were.

They all love their hockey, but nothing beats the Steelers to those loyal to the Steel City. The fact that the two are incorporated into one major event that is considered a highlight in the NHL season?

Best of both worlds.

Regardless of how people feel towards the Pens' opportunity to take part in a second Winter Classic in four seasons, this game will bring the NHL everything it wants and more: a hockey-crazed city, fanatic fan bases, hatred, and a lot of good hockey.

You don't like it? Don't watch.

But I can guarantee everyone in Pittsburgh will.

The Consol Energy Center

It was a beautiful moment when Mario Lemieux announced that the Pens had made a deal to build a new arena.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mellon Arena has an indescribable charm with a history that sinks deep into the concrete and metal, but enough was enough.

The ice rivaled chunky soup, the seats looked like they came out of the attic, and the jumbotron was as outdated as Chris Chelios.

But starting in September, all of that changes when the Pens open the Consol Energy Center to the public for the first pre-season game against the Detroit Red Wings.

State of the art equipment, a fresh sheet of ice, and thousands of seats that each boast a fantastic view of the ice.

What's there not to look forward to?