So, that was pretty much a standard season for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sidney Crosby had five points in October, they fired their coach and won 18 of 23 down the stretch under new head coach Mike Sullivan. Then, with a rookie goalie who had spent most of the season in the American Hockey League, they never looked back, beating the San Jose Sharks in six games to win their first Stanley Cup since 2009. As for Crosby? All he did was finish third in NHL scoring with 85 points and then dominate the playoffs at both ends of the ice en route to a Conn Smythe Trophy win as playoff MVP. He enters this season fresh from an MVP turn at the World Cup of Hockey, where Canada went undefeated and Crosby led all players in points.
So, what's the problem? History. And history tells us that it really doesn't matter how good you are after winning it all, the rest of the field always catches the defending champion. No NHL team has won back-to-back championships since the Detroit Red Wings did so in 1997 and 1998. And history tells us it's virtually impossible, even if you're as good as the Penguins. Are they any more poised to defy history? Well, that's part of the adventure of the coming season.
Best new faces
Does goalie Matt Murray count as a new face? Murray, 22, will start the season on the injured reserve list but will push Marc-Andre Fleury for starts after Murray gets over his broken hand suffered playing for Team North America at the World Cup. Other than the departure of top-six defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who signed with the New Jersey Devils, the lineup will essentially be the same one that celebrated at the Shark Tank in San Jose after Game 6. While many Cup champions do turn over a big portion of their lineup, it's worth noting the Penguins relied heavily on rookie forwards Tom Kuhnhackl, Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust throughout the playoffs, even though they had spent considerable time in the AHL last season. So in some ways, they too can be considered new faces. Defenseman Justin Schultz, obtained from the Edmonton Oilers before the deadline, and Trevor Daley, who came over from the Chicago Blackhawks midseason and then missed the latter part of the playoffs with a broken leg, count as new-but-not-new faces.
Biggest unknowns
How does Phil Kessel rebound from a hand injury that bothered him in the playoffs? (Though he still finished with 22 points in 24 games). Can the rookies carry on their evolution after answering the call so ably in the playoffs? Can Brian Dumoulin continue his impressive ascendancy as a top-four defender? But no unknown will be more persistent than how GM Jim Rutherford handles his goaltending. The pressure is off to start the season with Murray on the shelf. But at some point, Rutherford is going to have to determine whether he rides out the season with Murray and the much-loved Fleury sharing time in the hopes the tandem can bring home a second straight Cup, even if it means potentially losing Fleury in the expansion draft in June. Or does Rutherford try to maximize the asset by moving Fleury midseason?
Sure things
Is there anything more sure than Crosby? Seems funny to think that people were prepared to write off Crosby after his tepid start to the season. Yet by the end of the playoffs, it's fair to say he was playing as well as he ever had, his attention to detail unparalleled. He then followed up with a dominating performance at the World Cup. If there is one leader who might be able to coax a second straight championship out of this group, it's Crosby. As for the way this team will play, that's a given too: fast. Don't expect Sullivan or the Pens to take their foot off the gas.
Prediction
The Penguins are as close to a lock to go to the playoffs for the 11th straight season as any team, but that still might not be good enough to get them the Metropolitan Division title. Second in the Metropolitan.