NHL Season Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

Who's In: G Ty Conklin (FA-BUF); G Dany Sabourin (FA-VAN); D Darryl Sydor (FA-DAL); RW Petr Sykora (FA-EDM).

Who's Out: LW Nils Ekman (FA), RW Michel Ouellet (FA-TBL), G Jocelyn Thibault (FA-BUF).

What's Changed: He's a habitual whiner. He dives way too much for an individual who has more talent than many NHL teams have on their entire roster. He's over-hyped, overexposed and lucked his way onto what might become this generation's answer to the Gretzky Oilers.

Despite Sidney Crosby's unquestioned -- and unrivaled -- ability on the ice, there are people who detest him simply because of who they believe he is; like a table full of frumpy goth kids sneering at the head cheerleader in a high-school cafeteria. Entire Web sites are dedicated to loathing Sidney Crosby, while other fans resent everything from the way he plays the game to the way he's inadvertently affected Western Conference realignment (yes, seriously).

It's tempting to buy into that group-think, to ask for citizenship in Hater Nation. But then you hear something that reminds you what an incredibly special player this kid is, and why he's going to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup sooner rather than later.
Like, for example, how a first-line center who collected the Hart, the Pearson and the Art Ross during the off-season is eager to try his hand at killing penalties this season for the Penguins. "I did it in junior. And even the last two years here, I've been involved in the penalty-killing meetings," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I tried to make sure I was learning as much as I could."

I'm not saying Crosby's a Boy Scout -- neither was Mario -- but the overall quality of his character shouldn't be in question. There are reasons beyond his 120 points last season as to why he was named the youngest team captain in NHL history, after rejecting the captaincy twice because he didn't consider himself ready. Like, for example, when Crosby signed his first post-rookie contract this summer and gave the Penguins the financial wiggle room to ink some of his teammates. As General Manager Ray Shero said when Sid was given the 'C,' the 20 year old has "got the respect in the room."

For the most part, Shero kept that room intact during the off-season. Evgeni Malkin's 33 goals and 85 points were a little overshadowed by his cloak-and-dagger back story, but he had the kind of stunning impact that's usually reserved for Alexander Ovechkin's fist and an agent's face. (Allegedly, people...allegedly.) Besides being involved in the most famous bachelor party that didn't involve Tom Hanks, Jordan Staal was a legit Selke candidate last season with an outstanding seven shorthanded goals. Jarkko Ruutu is a royal pain the ass in a league that needs more of them. Because someone needs to get the kids into the bars, Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts are back; and someone needs to watch all of their asses, so Pittsburgh will continue to smell what Laraque is cooking.

Besides the addition of Petr Sykora's maddeningly inconsistent offense, the biggest off-season catch for the Penguins was Darryl Sydor, a free agent rescued from Dallas who immediately becomes the elder statesman on the Pittsburgh blue line. I don't want to say Sydor is a veteran, but Jordan Staal was four years old when Darryl debuted with the L.A. Kings.

Gotta like the way the Penguins defense is shaping up, with Sergei Gonchar's 48 power play points and Ryan Whitney's breakout season and Brooks Orpik's more disciplined play after his adventures in chiropractory in 2006. It's an improving group, if not one with a ton of defensive depth.

Marc-Andre Fleury had a solid regular season, but was torched in the playoffs. His backup may be Ty Conklin; with Jason Smith playing for the Flyers, we could have a nice little Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals reunion in the Atlantic Division.

Who's On The Hook: I'm not a Michel Therrien fan. Didn't think he should have been a Jack Adams nominee, didn't think he should have gotten the credit when the Penguins turned their season around -- congratulations, you didn't screw things up when the kids figured out how to play together. If this team has a massive regression, I can't imagine Therrien won't be back on the same chopping block he was on last winter.

Where They'll Finish: Ian Mendes of Sportsnet believes the Penguins will miss the postseason because the 1993-94 Quebec Nordiques did the same thing after their young stars' first trip to the playoffs. Yes, the same Nords team that had Alexei Gusarov as its No. 1 defenseman. Yes, the same Nords team that had Stephane Fiset as its top goaltender. No, I don't know what Mendes is smoking.

Pittsburgh is going to win the Atlantic Division, and challenge for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. And then it's on to the games that really matter for Sid the Kid and his legacy.

Blogs To Watch: First and foremost is a site that plays like a Larry King column on crack, The Pens Blog. It's a must-read. See also:Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic, LetsGoPens.com and The Sidney Crosby Show, although its editor is a punk.

Gratuitous YouTube Embed: "Die Hard" in the arena! "Snakes on an Igloo!" Van Damme-it, it's the trailer for "Sudden Death," starring Ian Moran as Chris Chelios!