3 Factors The Penguins Must Overcome To Reclaim The Cup

If the Pens however are going to repeat as champs, they are going to have to do so in a different fashion than they did last year, for the landscape of the NHL has changed immensely this off-season. As a result, here are three factors that the Pens must overcome in order to repeat as champs:

1. The Philadelphia Flyers 

Note to self – The Flyers will not bow out of the first round of the playoffs this time around. During this off-season, the Flyers made the surprise move of trading Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, two first-round picks and a conditional third-round pick in 2010 or 2011 for the All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger. With an already deep defense corps which is filled with such names like Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent and Matt Carle, Pronger will add even more depth, grit, leadership, and good two-way savvy which will enable the defense to chip in on both sides of the puck. With a defense this stacked, Crosby and Malkin will find it hard to maneuver against these division rivals.

On offense, the Flyers are led by Mike Richards, one of the leagues best leaders and two-way players. After that, the Flyers covet big league snipers like Jeff Carter (46 Goals) and Simon Gagne (34 Goals), and they also have one of the leagues best super pest in Scott Hartnell (60 points and 143 PIMS). Did I forget to mention that they also have veteran play-maker Daniel Briere, who is looking to bounce back from an injury plagued 08-09 season, and one of the leagues most feared players Daniel Carcillo (254 PIMS in 74 Games). Also, with Lupul gone, who, at best, was a second line player last year with the Flyers, look for up-and-coming prospect Claude Giroux to fill in the void, who played brilliantly in last years playoffs with 5 points in 6 games.

The only question with the Flyers is goaltending – if Ray Emery can keep his emotions in check and steal a few games, than look for the flyers to make a long playoff run next spring.

All in all, this isn’t the same Flyers team that lost in the first round of last year’s playoffs – look for this new Flyers team to be grittier and hungrier than ever.

 2. Penguins depth is not as deep as it was last year

This was said to be the case last year, especially on both wing positions, and they ended up winning it all. Yet going into the 2009-10 season, the Penguins only have two solid wingers in Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, and after that they look even slimmer than they did last year on the wing position. The Pens over the off season lost Petr Sykora and Miroslav Satan to free agency- two players that went invisible in the playoffs, but both still managed to pot over 15 goals throughout the regular season, thus being an integral part of team for the majority of last season. So who can fill the void? Can left winger Ruslan Fedotenko, who had a pedestrian season with 35 points in 65 games, take on the number 2 spot on the wing? Can Max Talbot make the jump and fly with Malkin on the second line after a stellar playoff last year? These guys were mere role players that played very effectively in the playoffs, but its tough to see if they can be as effective in the regular season. This also goes for guys like Tyler Kennedy, who is also at best a third line role player. Also, Jordan Staal needs to step up and bring in at least a 30-goal season to provide scoring depth after Malkin and Crosby at the centre position.

On defense, the Pens are led by a legitimate 2-way defenseman by the name of Sergei Gonchar. After that, they have some smooth puck movers like Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski, yet the defense corps has taken a huge hit when it comes to defensive stalwarts. Already led by the hard hitting Brooks Orpik, the Pens have lost 2 prime-time stay-at-home defenders in Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi to free agency. Both players were nothing but spectacular in the playoffs last year. Remember that one-legged save Scuderi made in the final seconds of game six during the Stanley Cup final to force a game seven? How about Gill’s great penalty killing? This is a huge void to fill, yet as an attempt to fill this void, Pittsburgh signed mega shot-blocker Jay McKee. Unless another defenseman steps up and plays a strong defensive role, Pittsburgh needs to sign one more stay at home defenseman if they want another dance with Lord Stanley.

3. The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

This may be a stretch, but guys like Crosby and Malkin may be playing a lot of hockey this upcoming season due to the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. Crosby, who is a lock to play for Canada, and Malkin, who is a lock for Russia, may be playing a lot of hockey throughout the 09-10 campaign, and its up to coach Dan Bylsma to keep a hard tab on that so that these guys don’t get worn out through the latter parts of the season. The same can be said to Marc Andre Fleury, who is fighting tough competition to play in net for Canada, and for Gonchar, who may be representing Russia too. All of the above players need to stay healthy and on queue if they want to repeat as champs.

            In the end, if the Pens look to repeat as champs, they not only need to overcome the above three factors, but like every other team, they need to have good health. For if they do overcome all of that, then as the great commentator Chuck Swirsky says “Bring Out the Salami and Cheese, this game is over!”