Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has been hard at work these past few months retooling the roster in preparation for the 2020-21 campaign.
Now that hockey is officially back, as the NHL and NHLPA
came to an agreement on Sunday on a return-to-play plan
, Rutherford is ready to start a new year and a new season with the group he's assembled in pursuit of the same goal: win the Stanley Cup.
Rutherford Ready to Get Started
"It's time to be excited, but also time to see what we really have," said Rutherford, who said that no player has asked to opt out.
There are lots of reasons to be optimistic, starting with new additions Kasperi Kapanen, Mark Jankowski, Colton Sceviour, Mike Matheson and Cody Ceci, who bring youth, energy and speed and help the Penguins play to their identity.
They'll surround a core leadership group of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, who provide invaluable experience and perspective and are incredibly motivated to put the playoff disappointments of the past couple of years behind them.
"We have some new guys that are coming in that have had good years and are good players," Rutherford said. "Some are coming off of (down) years for them, so, it'll be interesting to see how their games play out. We have our fingers crossed that they all get back to the level where they were at their best. We like the group of guys that have been here for a while. We like our core guys."
The Penguins also have talented, promising young netminder Tristan Jarry ready to take over between the pipes as the starter.
"Tristan had a terrific year last year," Rutherford said. "He's ready to take that next step."
This Penguins team will be heading into a truly unique and unprecedented season, which will begin on Jan. 13 and consist of 56 games, shortened from the typical 82.
The NHL will be doing a temporary realignment with exclusively intradivisional play due to the ongoing closure of the U.S.-Canada border and to minimize travel as much as possible.
There will be four total divisions, with Pittsburgh in the East facing off against the Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers and Capitals eight times each.
Not only will the Penguins' schedule be intense from a rivalry standpoint, it will also be intense from a competition standpoint as Boston (1st), Washington (5th), Philadelphia (6th) and Pittsburgh (7th) finished as four of the NHL's top-seven teams last season.
"Certainly, the East is a very strong division," Rutherford said. "It will obviously be very competitive. It's teams that are used to each other. We've got good rival teams in there. Certainly, it's exciting for our fans. I hope the fans can get the opportunity to get back seeing the games live as soon as possible, as soon as it's safe enough."
Rutherford acknowledged that while goaltending will be especially important in a shortened season, every single player is going to have to pull their weight in these circumstances.
"When we're playing the teams that we're playing, the really good rival teams, the intensity will be like playoff games," Rutherford said. "Goaltending is going to be an important part of a shortened season because there's not a lot of margin for error. At the same time, everything is going to be important here. Everybody has to do their job."
Before the season begins, the Penguins
will have a 10-day training camp at PPG Paints Arena set to open on Jan. 3
. The roster will be released in the next few days and will feature a maximum of 36 skaters (forwards and defensemen) and no limit to the number of goalies permitted to be invited, is mostly set at this point.
Rutherford said that in addition to Jarry and Casey DeSmith, goaltenders Maxime Lagace and Alex D'Orio will be in the mix and that Emil Larmi will stay in Europe for development purposes. So will prospects Joel Blomqvist and Calle Clang.
Rutherford also noted that Jordan Nolan, who signed an American Hockey League contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, will be getting an invite.
"At any time, we can flip his AHL deal to an NHL contract," Rutherford said of the 31-year-old forward, who won two Stanley Cups with Los Angeles in 2012 and '14. "We like him as a player. He brings a dimension to his game that's important for teams, and we want to see him play."
The Penguins won't get the chance to see players like Nolan, Drew O'Connor and Cam Lee (who signed in March as college free agents) in real game action, as there will be no exhibition contests before the season starts.
They'll have to do their best to make evaluations in a short period of time, especially when it comes to their 4-6 man taxi squad. Each team will be permitted to have one in an effort to minimize any roster shortages due to COVID-19 protocols, and Rutherford said the makeup of that will be discussed as training camp progresses.
"We'll see how guys are playing and where they're at and the level of their game," Rutherford said. "We have some prospects that are capable of being on the taxi squad. We have some guys here that are going to be knocking on the door to make the team. We're going to have a pretty competitive camp."
And they can't wait to get started.
