The Next Era in Pittsburgh Penguins hockey begins. The rebuild or retool is in full swing. The speed of the rebuild depends on what Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas ultimately wants out of this season. The Penguins are a team that if Dubas decides to win now could make a run at a wild card. The Penguins right now are constructed not to bottom out. Dubas could also ship out talented veterans and the Penguins could fall into the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. The worst possible scenario for the Penguins is to fall short of playoffs but not bottom out.

Dan Muse takes over as Head Coach replacing Mike Sullivan. Sullivan won 2 Stanley Cups and had the most wins of any coach in Penguins history. While the trio with over 20 years of service and 3 Stanley Cups Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang remain on the team 2 rookie teenagers Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke will be on the opening night roster.

The Penguins forward group is certainly playoff caliber. The Immortal Sidney Crosby has shown no signs of slowing down. Hall of Famer Evgeni Malkin is not what he once was but is still effective. Crosby’s wingers Rickard Rackell and Bryan Rust, who will miss the 1st 2 weeks with injury, give the Penguins an elite 1st line. Malkin’s 2nd line wingers will be mix and match but definitely better than what he’s had to work with the last few seasons. 2nd year winger Ville Koivunen has top 6 talent and shows flashes of brilliance. Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau are huge men.  Gritty and skilled Rutger McGroarty places in the middle six when he returns from injury. The 3rd line is all ultra skilled youngsters getting a chance to prove themselves. #1 pick Ben Kindel centers Philip Tomasino and Tommy Novak who both came over from Nashville last season. The 4th line will be filled by Connor Dewar, Noel Accairi and Blake Lizotte. Accairi and Lizotte are holding spots until rookies Tristan Broz, Filip Hallander or Avery Hayes are deemed ready. All 3 appear ready now. Nuclear threat / enforcer Boko Imama will be the minors until he needs to be deployed.

The Penguins blueline is not playoff worthy. Veteran Kris Letang remains on the Penguins back end. Hall of Famer Erik Karlsson looks to regain at least some of his NorrisTrophy magic. Newcomers  Parker Wotherspoon and Caleb Jones have been underwhelming in camp. Also new to the Penguins, veterans  Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton have looked good in camp. It remains to be seen where they fit in the lineup. Holdover Ryan Shea is nothing more than a bottom 6. The real prize on the blueline is rookie Harrison Brunicke. He has been the best Penguin defensemen in 2 straight training camps. He will get to start the season on the opening night roster.

The Penguin organization’s best goaltender Sergei Murashov will start the season in the minors. He is definitely capable of starting in the NHL right now. The organization wants him to get more professional seasoning. The next best goaltender is Marc- Andre Fleury. Just kidding although he did shine in his 1 period retirement exhibition. Penguins fans will have to start another season on the goaltending roller coaster. Tristan Jarry will once again be the Penguins starting netminder. No one denies Jarry’s talent level. Everyone questions his compete level. Jarry’s ability or lack thereof to give up the 1st goal on the 1st shot is remarkable. Jarry’s leash will be short. Arturs Silovs is more than an adequate backup. Something Jarry has not had in years.

The Penguins have a very good powerplay. Dan Muse is known for coaching penalty kill. How quickly the young kids progress and of better than average goaltending i.e. a Murashov callup should have the Penguins sniffing the playoffs. Where Rust, Rackell and Karlsson are after the trade deadline will ultimately decide where the Penguins end up. Penguin fans are playoffs or compete bust not the alternative.

The Pacific Division sent a team 3 years in a row to the Stanley Cup Final.The Edmonton Oilers have lost in the Final the last 2 years. The Vegas Golden Knights won the Cup 3 years ago. The Los Angeles Kings join those 2 teams as the only teams with a chance to win the Stanley Cup from the Pacific Division this season.

1. Vegas Golden Knights – The Vegas Golden Knights were a great team before they added 100 pt scorer Mitch Marner. Marner may disappear in the playoffs but he will be seen all season lighting the lamp with the great Jack Eichel . Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl, William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev lead a supporting cast that have no weaknesses. They have size, skill and grit. Shea Theodore , Noah Hanifin and depth on the blueline allows Alex Pietrangelo time to return from injury. Adin Hill is a Cup winning goaltender.

2.  Los Angeles Kings – The Los Angeles Kings have been a very good hockey team for 3 years. They just can’t beat the Edmonton Oilers. The Kings Captain, 2 time Stanley Cup champion  Anze Kopitar announced this is his final year. The Kings are built to send him out in style. Kopitar’s right wing Adrian Kempe is the most underrated winger in the NHL. Andrei Kuzmenko fit right in on the left side of that line. Quinton Byfield is ready to take over for Kopitar after a wonderful 2024-25 season. Big Q’s right winger Alexis Laferriere is ready for a breakout season. 2 time Champion defense Drew Doughty is healthy. His top pairing partner  Mickey Anderson is as steady as they come.  Brain Dumoulin and Cody Ceci have been added for their experience. Darcy Kuemper is not flashy but wins games in net.

3.  Edmonton Oilers – The Edmonton Oilers have been to the last 2 Stanley Cup FInals . Only to come up short. Edmonton has the best player in the world Connor McDavid. Leon Draisaitl is one of the 5 best players in the world. The Edmonton Oilers rely too much on them . Power forward Zach Hyman pulls his weight. So does longest serving Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. This  season the Oilers are depending on Kasperi Kapanen and Trent Frederic to do some heavy lifting. Defenseman Evan Bouchard looks like a Norris Finalist in the playoffs but not in the regular season. Grizzled veteran Mattias Ekholm is hoping to stay healthy. Darnell Nurse is a good defenseman just not worth his large contract. Much maligned goaltender Stuart Skinner has been only 3 wins away from winning back to back Stanley Cups

4. Anaheim Ducks – The Anaheim Ducks will be exciting to watch this season. Leo Carlsson , Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier are exceptionally skilled young forwards. Troy Terry is an underrated proficient scorer. Kris Kreider and Mikael Granlund have been brought in for leadership.  Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba provide leadership on the back end. Blueliners Jackson Lacombre, Olen Zellweger and Drew Helleson are ultra talented kids.  Lukas Dostal has finally been given the net in Anaheim. He will be a cornerstone of this franchise for many years. Hall Of Fame head coach Joel Quinneville knew which team to return to the NHL with because the Ducks are on the rise.

5. Vancouver Canucks – The Vancouver Canucks were a soap opera last season.  The Canucks 2 best forwards Elias Pettersson and JT Miller could not get along. To solve the problem GM Jim Rutherford traded the better JT Miller. He also let respected head coach Rick Tocchet leave. Then he brought in renowned club house cancer Evandrer Kane. Pettersson remains along with consistent scoring winger Brock Boeser. Canucks captain Quinn Hughes is the 2nd best defenseman in the NHL. There is a countdown clock on when he will relocate to play with his brothers in New Jersey. Thatcher Demko is a top flight goalie on the rare occasions he’s not injured.

6. Calgary Flames – The Calgary Flames play hard but they don’t score enough goals. Dustin Wolf is the best young goalie in the NHL. Wolf has a mishmash  blueline in front of him. MacKenzie Weeger is one of the best in the NHL. Calgary 2nd best defensemen Rasmus Andersson always has one foot out the door.  The Flames are also a mishmash upfront. Nazem Kadri is miscast as a number 1 center. Jonathan Huberdeau has never regained his Florida form.  Connor Zary and Matt Coronato are skilled wingers but they don’t have centers who can consistently get them the puck.

7.  San Jose Sharks – The San Jose Sharks are ready to leave the Pacific basement. Rookie sensation Macklin Celebrini will have a super sophomore season. Celebrini is Superman. The Sharks have 2 skaters auditioning to be Batman. Celebrini’s super skilled winger Will Smith and rookie 2nd line center Michael Misa. Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Skinner will benefit from the young play makers .The Sharks talented kids will be protected by Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves. The Sharks defense employs veterans Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg. Each of whom will be auditioning for a playoff team at the deadline. It’s goaltender Yaroslav Askarov’s time to live up to the hype.

8. Seattle Kraken -The Seattle Kraken have been treading water their entire existence. The Kraken acquired superb young winger Mason Marchment but he is not enough to keep them from sinking. Jared McCann gets his goals but doesn’t win games. Seatltle’s young centers Matty Beniers and Shane Wright have not met their lofty expectations. Chandler Stephenson is an overpaid 2nd line center. The Kraken defense is led Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour is above average  Goaltenders Joey Daccord and Phillip Grubbier are good enough to lose close games.

The two best teams in the Western Conference reside in the Central Division. The only team better on paper than Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche are the Florida Panthers. Since a brutal injury bug hit the Big Cats, Dallas and Colorado are strong choices to hoist the Stanley Cup at season’s end. The rest of the teams in the division are playing for the bronze in the Central.

1, Dallas Stars – The Dallas Stars have an embarrassment of riches upfront. Dallas was loaded before they acquired Colorado’s 2nd best forward via Carolina Mikko Rantanen. Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston are studs in the prime of their career. Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene are still putting up solid offensive numbers. Captain Jamie Benn will be poised for one final ride after he returns from a collapsed lung. The Dallas defense is superskilled. Number 1 defenseman Miro Heiskanen is healthy. Last year’s breakout defenseman Thomas Harley would be a number 1 on all but a few teams. The rest of the defense is rugged with a nasty streak. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is top notch but seems to fade in the playoffs. He could use a better back up than Casey DeSmith. New head coach Glen Gulutzan has been given the keys to a sportscar after Peter DeBoer wore out his welcome in Big D.

2.  Colorado Avalanche – The Colorado Avalanche are always among the preseason favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They have 2 of the top 5 players in the world on their team. Center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar are already Stanley Cup winners and sure fire Hall of Famers. Big Mac is more motivated than ever and that is scary for the rest of the league. Captain Gabriel Landeskog needs to stay healthy. Sensational Valeri Nichushkin is an incredible talent who just needs to stay out of trouble. Martin  Necas,  Brock Nelson and Artturi  Lehkonen are an impressive supporting cast. Cale Makar is this century’s Bobby Orr. Makar’s partner Devon Toews is an all-star himself. The Avs added Brent Burns to the blueline. Will Burns be this generation’s Ray Bourque ? The goaltending tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood are good but are they championship caliber?

3. Winnipeg Jets – The Winnipeg Jets are the Carolina Hurricanes of the Western Conference. A great regular season team that doesn’t have enough top end talent to win a championship. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele are stars. Who scores a big goal if not them?, Gabe Vilardi and Cole Perfetti could. 3 time Stanley Cup Jonathan Toews was resurrected to. Josh Morissey leads a defense that is better on ice than it is on paper. Much decorated goaltender Connor Hellerbuyck gets the job done unless it’s the playoffs. Hellerbuyck is a sieve on the road in the playoffs.

4. Utah Mammoth – The Utah Mammoth will make the playoffs this season. Utah’s forward core is young and ultra talented. Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka are lethal scorers. Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are now experienced veterans. The bottom 6 are big and rugged. Utah’s blueline is deep and versatile.  Mikhail Sergachev and Sean Durzi bring offense from the backend. Karel Vejmelka is an underrated netminder. Backup Vitek Vanecek is coming off a season when he was the backup on Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.

5. St Louis Blues – The St Louis Blues have all the makings of a playoff team. If the Central gets 5 teams in, they are a playoff team. Center Rob Thomas has become a legitimate number 1 center. Brayden Schenn is a textbook 2nd line center. Jordan Kyrou is a superstar when he’s in the right headspace. The rest of the Blues forwards play winning hockey. The defense is led by Colton Parayko. Parayko is a monster. Veteran blueliner Cam Fowler was a nice mid-season acquisition. Goaltender Jordan Binnington is a big game performer. He has a Stanley Cup and a Four Nations championship on his resume.  Joel Hofer is one of the best backups in the NHL.

6. Minnesota WIld – The Minnesota Wild are not your daddy’s Minnesota Wild. The Wild have a superstar. Kirill Kaprizov is one of the best and most dynamic wingers in the NHL. Matt Boldy is also a fabulous winger. After those 2 dynamos it’s scoring by committee. The WIld have decent centers but the Central is littered with centers better than Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek. Brock Faber is a young stud on the backend. The rest of the defense is steady but not dynamic. Filip Gustavsson is a better than average goalie.

7. Nashville Predators –  The Nashville Predators were last season’s trendy pick to win the Stanley Cup. This season they have a decent chance to win the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. Last year’s offseason acquisitions Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault played reasonably well.The supporting cast lost their ability or will to play Predator hockey.  Filip Forsberg remains a top winger. The rest of the roster needs an overall. Roman Josi remains an all- star defenseman. The rest of the defense is not a vintage Nashville squad. If Juuse Saros doesn’t regain his status as a top 5 goalie GM Barry Trotz will be behind the bench.

8. Chicago Blackhawks – The Chicago Blackhawks last won the Stanley Cup in 2015. The tear down and rebuild started soon after. It has barely progressed in a decade. Other than Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar the Blackhawks look like a 90’s expansion franchise upfront. On the backend Connor Murphy is their best defenseman. Spencer Knight is a goaltender with a bright future who will see a ton of shots.

LOS ANGELES – The Metropolitan Division hockey teams in many ways mirror the cities the teams play in. The Metro is filled with historical monuments and national treasures. Ok, not America’s but Canada’s and Russia’s. It’s filled with franchises trying to hold on to the past or return to their glory days. Old teams trying to rebuild and young teams trying to make their own history. The Metropolitan, like many of its cities, is in transition.1. New York Rangers – The New York Rangers 2024-25 season was a disaster. 2025-26 will not be for many reasons. The Rangers fired head coach Peter Laviolette and hired 2 time Stanley Cup champion and US Olympic coach Mike Sullivan. Sullivan will motivate this underachieving team. Sullivan hasn’t worked with good goaltending in years. Now he has one of the best in the game (Igor Shesterkin) and a future Hall of Famer (Jonathan Quick). Sullivan has not coached defensemen who actually play defense in half a decade. New Yorks’s top pair includes newly acquired Vladislav Gavrikov Gavrikov is underrated. He is a stalwart on the backend and will help  overrated Adam Fox. New York’s 2nd pair Carson Soucy and Will Borgen are defense first blue liners. The Rangers top 2 centers are the duo of Vincent Trocheck and JT Miller. Trocheck and Miller are Pittsburgh bred kids who play and e enforce Sullivan style hockey. Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad will flourish in the Blueshirts new uptempo style.

2. New Jersey Devils – The New Jersey Devils are poised to have a huge season. They limped into the playoffs last season. Jack Hughes is healthy. Hughes’s scoring flash and Nico Hischier’s complete game give the Devils a lethal 1-2 combo down the middle. Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier are elite scoring wingers. Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer give the Devils ample secondary scoring. Dougie Hamilton is healthy. Hamilton is a big boost to the blueline. Brett Pesce , Jonas Siegenthaler and the rest of the defensive core is steady. Hamilton gives them an offensive dynamic. Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen are one of the better goaltender batteries in the league. Markstrom being a top 10 goalie. Allen being a top notch backup.

3. Carolina Hurricanes – The Carolina Hurricanes will make the playoffs again this season. They might win a round but then ultimately lose to a more talented team. Rod Brind’ Amour’s teams play hard but are always a cut below. Number 1 center Sebastian Aho is a star but not a superstar. Most Carolina forwards are slotted 1 rung on the ladder higher than they should be. The Carolina blueline is anchored by All- World Jaccob Slavin. lavin’s partner Jalen Chatfield is a star in the making. The Canes hope a change in scenery can revive K’Andre Miller’s once promising career. Carolina’s goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov never win a big game.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets – The Columbus Blue Jackets had a remarkably successful season last year. Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death brought the team together and yielded positive effects. Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov and Kent Johnson lead an
impressive young core of forwards. Sean Monahan, Boone Jenner and Charlie Coyle will provide leadership upfront. Mathieu Olivier and Miles Wood provide the toughness. Norris Trophy finalist Zach Werenski leads an unheralded group of defensemen. Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves make a nice goaltending tandem. Head coach Dean Eavson did a masterful job last season. Let’s see how he does with a team with expectations.

5. Washington Capitals – The Washington Capitals shocked the hockey world last by winning the Metropolitan Division. Spencer Carbery won the Jack Adams award as the NHL’s best coach. Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s all time goals record. The Capitals ran out of steam at the end of last season. The Capitals seem destined to take a dip this year. Last season Ovi played like Ovi of 5 years ago. Will age and nothing to chase affect him this season. Tom Wilson did not play like Terrible Tommy of 5 years ago. Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael are coming into their own. They are both big and skilled. Can Dylan Strome play great 2 years in a row ? Pierre- Luc Dubois won’t . Jacob Chychrun is the leader of the blueline. He finally found a home and is playing up to the level that has always been expected of him. John Carlson is aging but still effective in less minutes. The rest of the defense is adequate. Goaltenders Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren were stellar last season. Can they both be on top of their games 2 seasons in a row.

6. New York Islanders – The New York Islanders are fading. Mathew Barzal has not become the superstar he was supposed to be. Bo Horvat has not been Vancouver Horvat. JG Pageau has not been Ottawa Pageau. Anders Lee, Jonathan Drouin and Kyle Palmieri are not showing their age but are old. The Fishermen traded their best defenseman Noah Dobson. They still have the well worn veteran pair of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock. Brilliant netminder Ilya Sororkin will keep Patrick Roy’s team in more games than they should be.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins – The Pittsburgh Penguins are slowly rebuilding. Dan Muse is the new head coach replacing Mike Sullivan. 3 time Stanley Cup champion and 1st ballot Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin remain. 2 time Cup winner Bryan Rust does too. If Rust and veteran winger Rickard Rackell don’t get traded the Penguins will have a potent offense. Young forwards Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen , Phillip Tomasino , and Tommy Novak will be vying for playing time with a host of other young promising prospects Avery Hayes Tristan Broz. Offense has historically never been the Penguins problem. Defense has been. Veterans Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang remain but their best defenseman  is 20 year old Harrison Brunicke. He may not play this year in Pittsburgh. The franchise’s best goalie is 21 year old Sergei Murashov. He also might not play in Pittsburgh this season. The Penguins and their fans will have to endure another season of Tristen Jarry in net. The Penguins will not finish last in the Metro because Sidney Crosby will not let the Flyers finish ahead of the Penguins.8. Philadelphia Flyers – The Philadelphia Flyers hired former Flyer legend Rick Tocchet to be their head coach in the hopes of returning the Flyers to the glory years. Tocchet is an excellent coach but he needs more to work with. Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny are excellent forwards. Sean Couturier is no longer a number 1 center. Is Trevor Zegras a center ? Nicolas Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway ensure Philly will be Bullies just not winners. Travis Sandheim is an Olympian on the blueline. The rest of the D is mid. Dan Vladar was acquired in the summer to compete with Samuel Ersson for the goaltending job. The Flyers need him to win the job