My next series of columns will be a four part series reviewing what each Atlantic Division team has done this offseason to date. The first part will focus on the Penguins.
Notable players lost: Jordan Staal, Arron Asham, Zbynek Michalek
Notable players obtained: Brandon Sutter, Tomas Vokoun
Drafted: Derek Pouliot- 1st round, 8th overall // Olli Maatta- 1st round, 22nd overall
The Pens were ousted in a highly entertaining six game series to the Flyers in the Eastern quarterfinals. It was quite obvious the reason the Penguins were quickly outed was the Penguins inability to play any kind of defense in front of Marc-Andre Fleury and routinely left the goaltender hung out to dry. At the end of the six game series with the Flyers, Fleury's goals against was a brutal 4.63, a far cry of what should be expected from the former first overall pick. In an effort to shore up the back end, Pittsburgh was forced to trade Jordan Staal after declining an extension offer from Pittsburgh, to the Carolina Hurricanes for high end prospects that included Boston College alum Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin could quickly become a fixture in Pittsburgh as early as this season, although a stint in the minors is his likely course of action. In addition, the Pens do have decent defensive depth in their system that also includes former first rounders. 2009 first round pick Simon Despres will likely start on the Penguins roster this upcoming season after being one of the lone bright spots in the Penguins short playoff run. 2011 first rounder Joe Morrow is signed to a professional contract but loses junior eligibility after this upcoming season. The Pens also had the fortune of two first round selections and used both on defense. Pittsburgh selected Derek Pouliot 8th overall, and Finnish defenseman Olli Maatta 22nd overall.
With the majority of their defensive prospects at least 2 years away, it does not address their defensive struggles now and the Penguins next season once again are going to have to depend on outscoring the competition. James Neal and Chris Kunitz are both coming off career seasons with the Penguins and are entering their prime years. Of course we have to mention the Pens still have newly re-signed Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way.
The Penguins have won just one playoff series in the last three seasons since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Their lack of recent playoff success to me begins and ends with Marc-Andre Fleury. As good of a regular season goaltender Fleury has been, he has been downright brutal in the postseason since the Penguins had back to back appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. Fleury's GAA in the past three postseasons has been north of 3.00 and his save percentage is well below 90%. The Penguins are still major players for the Stanley Cup, but the under-achieving Fleury needs to be much better for the Penguins if they wish to advance deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the immediate future.
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