Staal Out Five to Six Weeks
The big Penguins news of the day is that center Jordan Staal had yet another procedure performed on his injured foot this week. The problem is not with Staal's foot tendon, but with an infection that has plagued his recovery. Hopefully this latest surgery will clear up this mess. However, Staal will now miss the start of the regular season, with his recovery time projected at 5-6 weeks.
Replacing Staal will now be a major theme of the team's upcoming training camp. Certain players will get an opportunity that they wouldn't have had if Staal was ready to go. Head coach Dan Bylsma mentioned Mike Comrie, pointing out his ability to play both center and wing, when he spoke about replacing Staal.
Bylsma also said that players like Mark Letestu, Nick Johnson, Ryan Craig, Brett Sterling and Tim Wallace all have golden opportunities now. One-less forward also bodes well for top-prospect forwards Eric Tangradi and Dustin Jeffrey.
The Penguins' plan was to move Staal up to the second-center slot and move Evgeni Malkin to his wing. The team will experiment with Evgeni Malkin at wing during camp despite Staal's absence. Bylsma said that Malkin will see some time at wing "right from the first exhibition game."
The Penguins will also have to make up for Staal's world-class penalty killing, but the re-vamped defense should be able to handle this with players like Matt Cooke and Craig Adams working the PK up front.
So the dream of opening up the season with a completely healthy team has been dashed. Hopefully Staal can get this foot infection completely cleared up in the next five to six weeks and return quickly to good form. And, although it's a bummer that Staal will miss the start of the season, I would much rather have the big man out of the lineup for the beginning of the year than be nursing an injury come playoff time.
A New Power Play
The Penguins will be looking to vastly improve the power-play numbers for the 2010-11 season. Assistant coach Mike Yeo, who previously ran the power play, is out and head coach Dan Bylsma will now be taking a majority leadership role when it comes to the man advantage.
Two former power-play regulars, Sergei Gonchar and Bill Guerin, will not be wearing the black and gold this year. Gonchar played the role of power-play quarterback, while Guerin was often planted in front of the net.
The responsibilities of making up for Gonchar's services will be put on the shoulders of defensemen Alex Goligoski, Paul Martin and Kris Letang. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I really believe that Goligoski could be one of the keys to the power play this season. He has shown flashes of offensive brilliance. If he can stay healthy, build some confidence, get in a groove and play some consistent hockey look for Goligoski to put up some solid numbers.
The right-shooting Letang also has the potential to be an offensive threat. He possesses a very heavy shot that has proved to be quite inaccurate at times. If he can hone this skill it will be a deadly weapon. Letang may want to consider taking a little heat off the shot while he works on accuracy and then gradually build the speed back up.
Martin's puck-moving skills will help the Penguins maintain control of the puck, and his veteran presence will be helpful with the youngsters Letang and Goligoski on the PP unit.
The net-front responsibilities could go to a number of players at this point. Chris Kunitz filled the role on the second power-play unit last season. And while Kunitz can definitely get in there and bang around, it would be nice to have a player larger than 6-feet, 193-pounds planet in front of the net, but the Penguins don't have a whole lot of options when it comes to large forwards with offensive prowess.
Any way it shakes down, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be on the ice and the Penguins will have no excuses for a dismal power play with the kind of talent the team has. Maybe just the power-play coaching change will be enough to light a fire under some players.
Other Quick Questions
What kind of season will Marc-Andre Fleury have? The Penguins goaltender should have more confidence this year with a stronger defense, but it will be up to him to put forth a consistent effort every night.
How will the defensive pairings pan out? Will Ben Lovejoy make the roster? If Lovejoy is on the roster come opening night the Penguins will have three left-shooting defensemen and three right-shooting defensemen, giving the team the opportunity to put out a lefty and a righty on every shift. The possibility of bringing in a veteran defensemen at or around the league-minimum salary is also not out of the question.
Who will skate with Sidney Crosby? Chris Kunitz seems to be a lock as one of Crosby's wingers, but who will the other one be? Players like Mike Comrie and Pascal Dupuis are possibilities and the absence of Jordan Staal could open up the door for a prospect to take a spot next to Crosby.
Training Camp Coverage
The team will converge on the CONSOL Energy Center on Friday for fitness testing, marking the beginning of my 2010 training camp coverage. I'll be posting blogs from camp starting on Saturday, when the team takes the ice, with news, lineup updates, player evaluations, sound bites and video. I'll also be updating on Twitter in between blog posts. It's time for hockey once again!
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