Grading the Pittsburgh Penguins' Stars so Far This Season

As the first semester of the 2014-15 NHL regular season comes to a close, it seems appropriate to look back over the first half of the season and examine the individual performances of the Pittsburgh Penguins to this point.

While the task of assigning grades is always subjective and the results are always open for debate, this process does offer better insight into how players are performing, especially on a team like the Pens who are always at or near the top of the standings, which can mask problems.

Although the NHL's final exam won't be held until the postseason, let's take a look to see what grades the Pens' stars have earned so far.

Marc-Andre Fleury

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Having survived intense criticism, multiple benchings and trade rumors over the past few seasons, Marc-Andre Fleury has gone from question mark to exclamation point this season.

Leading the NHL with six shutouts, Fleury's .926 save percentage and 2.16 goals-against average are career bests, and with 21 wins through the first half of the season, he is on pace to match his career high of 42 wins from the 2011-12 season.

While many observers decried Pens general manager Jim Rutherford's decision to resign Fleury to a four-year, $23 million contract earlier this season, that move, at least for now, has paid huge dividends.

Although Fleury's detractors will always point to his recent postseason struggles as reason to withhold praise, at least for now, even they must admit that Fleury has looked even better than anyone could have expected.

Grade: A 

Chris Kunitz

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Since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2009 and helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup, Chris Kunitz has been a fixture on the top line, but at 35, that has not been the case this season.

Having been the closest thing the Pens had to a power forward since Bill Guerin retired, Kunitz has had the job of causing traffic in front of the net on the power play. But his production has dropped significantly as newcomer Patric Hornqvist has assumed more of that role.

Although his shooting percentage is even higher than last season, 16.4 percent up from 16.1 percent, he's on pace to take around just 150 shots on goal this year after taking more than 200 each of the last two full seasons.

Having been demoted to the third line recently, Kunitz is now back on the first line. But with the acquisition of David Perron, the imminent return of Hornqvist from injury and the emergence of Beau Bennett, it remains to be seen whether Kunitz will remain there.

Grade: C+

Evgeni Malkin

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Having gone from scoring 50 goals during the 2011-12 season to just 32 goals combined in the two seasons since, Evgeni Malkin began the season looking to return to MVP form, and through the first part of the season, he's done just that.

Despite the loss of trusted linemates Jussi Jokinen and James Neal during the offseason, Malkin has played like a man possessed at times this season, and with a 15 percent shooting percentage, he's converting scoring chances at his highest rate since the 2007-08 season.

With the impending return of linemate Patric Hornqvist and the emergence of Beau Bennett as a top-six winger, Malkin's production only figures to increase as January and February are historically his best statistical months.

Although he has lost his composure at times this season both in games and in practice and is on pace for only his second 100-penalty-minute season, Malkin has re-emerged as an MVP candidate after two down seasons and has led the way offensively to this point.

Grade: A-

Kris Letang

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While most of the Penguins' top players have seen their ice time decrease under new head coach Mike Johnston, Kris Letang has seen his slightly increase from 24:14 to 25:36, and his productivity has gone up as well.

Often left to fend for himself in the defensive zone under Dan Bylsma's system, Letang struggled at times with turnovers and ill-advised passes, but he has benefited from the Pens' new puck-possession system and its emphasis on backchecking and moving the puck up the ice as a five-man unit.

Although he is fifth among Pens defensemen with a plus-four, he is tied with Sidney Crosby with 12 power-play assists and has even been effective on the Pens' top penalty-kill unit.

While it will take a bigger sample of games to convince critics that he should once again be considered a Norris Trophy candidate, Kris Letang has, at the very least, looked much more deserving of his $7.25 million cap hit and vindicated the organization’s decision not to trade him last summer as many thought it should.

Grade: B+

Sidney Crosby

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For almost any other player in the NHL, 12 goals and 32 assists at the midway point of the season would be considered a great performance. But Sidney Crosby, the defending Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner, is not just any other player.

Having averaged 1.4 points per game over his career, Crosby is producing just 1.15 points per game, and his shooting percentage of 10.5 percent is the lowest of his career.

While injuries to linemates Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis have undoubtedly been the root causes of some of his struggles, if averaging better than a point per game can be considered struggling, Crosby has not been able to convert scoring chances the way he has in the past.

With the arrival of talented winger David Perron, Crosby should have more time and space to work with in the offensive zone, but the Pens will need him to find the back of the net more regularly if they are going to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

Grade: B (by his standards), A (by most other players' standards)