The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to win the Stanley Cup for a third time in six seasons with the help of several new players throughout the lineup.
Changes were anticipated after the Penguins finished 40-23-6 (.623 points percentage) last season and then lost in four games to the Montreal Canadiens in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. In 2018-19, Pittsburgh was swept by the New York Islanders in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round.
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Finding a complement on the first line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel was a priority, and the Penguins feel they accomplished that with a trade for Kasperi Kapanen. The right wing, selected by the Penguins with the No. 22 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, was part of a six-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Aug. 25.
Kapanen scored 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 69 games for the Maple Leafs last season. The 24-year-old likely will fill out the top six with Crosby, Guentzel, Jason Zucker, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust.
"Crosby] wants to play with speed; he wants guys to hunt down the puck, and this gives Kapanen a great opportunity to be part of either Sid or [Evgeni Malkin's] line," Penguins assistant general manager Patrik Allvin said. "With [Kapanen's] speed, I think there's more too. I think he can really shoot the puck, so he could complement either [Crosby or Malkin
at even strength last season; Simon signed with the Calgary Flames on Oct. 22. The season prior, when Guentzel scored 40 goals and Crosby scored 100 points, Rust was their most common linemate. Malkin led the Penguins with 74 points (25 goals, 49 assists) last season.
"Even the fact that they think I can be in one of those two spots is a huge honor for me, obviously playing with one of the two better hockey players in the world," Kapanen said of possibly playing on a line with Crosby or Malkin. "… I want to be great. I want to come into training
and a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, which the Penguins used to select goalie
Joel Blomqvist
(No. 52).
Pittsburgh signed Jarry to a three-year contract Oct. 3.
"I thought that Tristan proved to us last season that he's ready for the next challenge," Allvin said. "Being the No. 1 goalie is definitely a big test, but I would think that, mentally and physically, Tristan is definitely up for it, for sure."
Jarry last season had NHL career bests in games (33), wins (20), goals-against average (2.43), save percentage (.921) and shutouts (three). He made his postseason debut in Game 4 of the Cup Qualifiers, allowing one goal on 21 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Canadiens.
"I feel like we're making headway," Rutherford said. "Other teams are making headway too. We're not just going to stop now. We'll continue to look at our team, inside and out, and all the different things that you need to win."
