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Sunday, July 4, 2010
Serious questions remain for the Penguins, even after an impressive free-agent binge that saw them commit $45 million to defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek on Thursday.
The five biggest questions, in reverse order:
5. How will the leadership structure change?
Starting at the top, coach Dan Bylsma was critical of himself when I asked after the Montreal series how he'd grade his performance in his first full season. For one thing, Bylsma thought he could have been tougher on players. If it's in his DNA to be that way, he needs to set the tone in training camp.
In the dressing room, it's time for a passing of the torch. The young core — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik — already was providing plenty of leadership, but it's truly their team now that Sergei Gonchar and perhaps Bill Guerin are gone.
The Penguins also need an assistant to replace Mike Yeo, who oversaw the power play. It might be worth a call to see what Rob Blake is up to now that he has retired.
A long-time star defenseman, Blake knows a thing or two about running a power play, and the Penguins brass is familiar with him. Assistant coach Tony Granato was a teammate of Blake's and coached him in Colorado. Bylsma was a teammate in Los Angeles (and maybe those two, in a pinch, could coax Blake into suiting up at the trade deadline).
4. Who quarterbacks the power play?
This is where Gonchar's absence could really sting. The obvious candidates to replace him are Martin and Alex Goligoski, who happen to be friends and workout partners. Neither is Gonchar. Neither has to be. The Penguins need an efficient distributor who can consistently hit the net. The ability to gain the zone and keep pucks from escaping it would be nice, too.
Goligoski has more raw offensive talent. Martin has more experience and veteran savvy. He has run the Devils' power play in recent years. Though he hasn't put up monster numbers, his output has a chance to increase because of the elite talent that would surround him.
3. Wingers, anyone?
Fatigue, defense and goaltending were the biggest culprits in the Penguins' playoff demise. Lack of scoring on the wings wasn't far behind. The Canadiens game-planned to stop the Penguins down the middle. Nobody on the flanks made them pay. Montreal had a much different challenge against the Flyers and could not cope with Philly's strength on the walls.
It'll be an open audition at training camp, likely featuring has-beens and not-yets and players best suited for third- or fourth-line duty.
If not enough of them pan out, Shero will again break out his dart board at the trade deadline and fire away.
2. Can Malkin rejoin the best-player-in-the-world conversation?
This will be a fascinating story to track. It could be the pivotal season of Malkin's career.
Consider the challenge at hand: Malkin lost his mentor, Gonchar, and every other Russian-speaking player in the Penguins' dressing room. The team did not provide him with an impact winger, and he could be asked to switch positions, as his agent, J.P. Barry, suggested to me the other day during a radio interview.
That's a lot. Barry said Malkin, entering his fifth season, is OK with all the changes and prospective changes. We'll see. This is his chance to prove his maturity and desire to be great. He was one of the elite players in the world and can be again.
He must be, if the Penguins are to flourish.
1. Will goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury rebound from a dreadful season?
Those of us who defended Fleury deep into the Montreal series — saying he would salvage his pedestrian season by flourishing in the biggest games — were proven wrong when he failed to deliver in Game 6 and imploded in Game 7.
Having a better defense corps obviously should help Fleury, but there is no escaping the fact that he was pulled from more games (eight) than any No. 1 goalie in the league last season, that his numbers were among the worst in the NHL and that he failed at crunch time.
"I still want him in nets in the next big game," Bylsma said after the Montreal series.
I would, too. But, as with Malkin, the coming season is pivotal for Fleury. He took a step back last year. He has five years and $25 million left on his contract.
Fleury needs to make himself the least of the Penguins' worries, not the list-topper.
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