This off-season was a big one for the Pittsburgh Penguins with two key unrestricted free agents in
Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Ultimately, both players re-signed with the Penguins. Malkin inked a four-year deal, while Letang penned a six-year contract.
With those two under contract, the Penguins will look to make a deep playoff run next spring. Captain
Sidney Crosby believes that Pittsburgh's window to win another Stanley Cup and that this coming year isn't a "Cinderella story".
"It's not about, necessarily, the Cinderella story," Crosby said. "It's about winning hockey games. I think those guys play a big part in that. Hopefully we can all, collectively as a group, do our part and help the team win."
Beyond the big three, the Penguins depth, for the most part, remains in tact. On the blue line is where the biggest change comes, with the additions of
Jeff Petry,
Jan Rutta and
Ty Smith. With those additions, the Penguins also lost a pair of reliable defenders in Mike Matheson and
John Marino.
ADS
On forward, the biggest lost for the Penguins is
Evan Rodrigues, who signed a one-year deal with Colorado nearly two weeks ago.
Drake Caggiula and Josh Archibald, who both signed one-year contracts on the opening day of free agency, will help fill out Pittsburgh's bottom-six forward group.
When asked about his desire to win, Crosby said : "Every year, you have to have that mentality. It's a new team. It's nice to have some guys that were here last year that went through that, for sure. But it's a new group and we have to prove ourselves again. I think experience is nice, but it's what you do with it."
Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will begin their pursuit of a sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history at home on October 13th against the Arizona Coyotes.
Source:
NHL.comADS
RELATED ARTICLES
ADS
