The Pittsburgh Penguins did the unimaginable! They took down the defending Champion Detroit Red Wings in 7 games and brought the cup to Pittsburgh with them. Most thought that last year's team had a better team, but the maturity of Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin was clearly better leading in point scorers in the playoffs. It turns out that the Pens didn't need Hossa after all. They just needed the young stars to experience disappointment last year to develop an all out approach that we saw this post season.
I had been watching this all season to experience the joy of seeing Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, etc. hoist the cup and skate it around for all to see. There are more to come. I can't help but feel like we just witnessed the passing of the baton on to a new dynasty of contenders. Lord Stanley, I look forward to the pursuit next year.
What should the Penguins do next year?
Believe it or not, there were more key pieces in free agency last year than this year. They made a wise move signing Gogo (Alex Gologoski) to a three year deal. He is going to be on the big team next year. He shows signs of offensive genious as a defenseman.
Here are some key People locked up for next year:
Malkin, Crosby, Gonchar (his last year...I would try to sign an extension), Fleury, Orpik, Kunitz, Staal, Mark Eaton, Dupuis, Godard, Letang, and my man of the future (Luca Capute).
Here are some key free agents next year:
Bill Guerin (offer him 3yr, $11 M), Satan (let him go), Sykora (consider letting him go, but offer 1 yr $2M), Fedetenko (get another 1 yr deal $2M), Boucher (Let him go), Gill (sign him 2yr $4 M), Rob Scuderi (got to sign him, offer 3yr $11M). To be honest, who really cares about the rest.
What else to look for:
They may have some hole filling at defense, but they are going to give Gogo a chance this upcoming year. They also may need to fill some holes on offense too. Sykora & Satan were unreliable late in the season and playoffs at best and may not like any offer the Penguins might give them. Look for them to test the free agent waters for another high caliber winger.
