It’s no surprise who will be the most exciting player to watch on the Penguins this season.
It didn’t take long for Kyle Dubas to make his mark on the Penguins, a team that has a chance to be crowned the most turnover-prone year after year.
All these movements brought a new energy and a different atmosphere to the Pittsburgh hockey club.
What had settled into a stale amalgam of a team gradually drifting away from competition has now been rejuvenated.
No one really knows if it works perfectly or if its best days are behind it, but it’s a bold attempt to create something new.
And this is the person we most want to meet.
Erik Karlsson
Uh.
Must be number 1 on everyone’s list, Karlsson is the biggest name to change teams this season and now he’s a Penguin.
He scored 100 points last season for a terrible team.
What can he do to adjust to playing with top talents like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?
How reckless will his defense be?
How much fun would the power play be?
There are too many conspiracies here.
Ryan Graves
Still on the blue line, “other” additions to the pen will be important.
Literally.
Graves, at 6’5″ and 220 pounds, will be one of the biggest defenders Pittsburgh has had in quite some time, outside of Jamie Oleksiak.
Despite his stature and reputation, Graves may be a player with a different playing style than you might think.
He’s not a Brooks Orpik or Brian Dumoulin type, who is solid in his own territory and a non-factor in the offensive zone.
Graves doesn’t have superhuman athleticism (although he does use his stick to block a lot of shots) and he looks to have his way with the game.
He’s a defenseman the Pens need to stabilize and compliment Karlsson or Kris Letang.
How these pairs stand out will also be an interesting development.
Reilly Smith
Jason Zucker left some big skids to fill after a 27-goal season last year.
But the last time Reilly Smith was on the ice, he held the Stanley Cup above his head and that was one of the many reasons Vegas won the title.
Smith is an exciting player, and his pace and transition game to move quickly north seems tailor-made to run alongside Evgeni Malkin.
Smith is a professional, he creates points.
He has amassed more than 50 points throughout his six-year career, including last year.
He’s been very reliable and steady, and it’s even better to realize that Dubas acquired him for next to nothing (a third-round pick) to help Vegas get out of its draft slump.
wage.
Acquiring an asset for cheap will make it even sweeter to witness its success.
Bryan Rust
Rust had a season to forget in 2022-23.
In a team frustrated by their inability to convert chances into goals, no one was more illegal than Rust.
By Moneypuck:
Is this decline the result of one mistake in one year, of bad luck mixed with a decline in confidence?
This tool often reverses and bounces.
Or is Rust’s skills also decreasing and will scoring goals become more difficult for him at this stage of his career?
Rust doesn’t have much to prove at this point and is secured on a long-term contract, but will still be a player to watch this year.
Noel Acciari
I believe Noel Acciari will be the face of the bottom-six rebuild that Kyle Dubas has undertaken this season.
Dubas brought Acciari back to Toronto and liked him enough to sign the 32-year-old to a three-year contract.
Quite a big term for a shortstop, but there’s a reason Dubas was willing to gamble on acquiring Acciari’s services as a free agent.
Acciari would be more “Brandon Tanev” than “Brock McGinn.
” It will be music to the ears of Pens fans to see some energy, passion and enthusiasm return to the ice.
McGinn isn’t even bad, he’s just there like vanilla ice cream and has the unenviable task of being Tanev’s artillery successor.
Acciari won’t have those kinds of problems and like Tanev, he tends to score timely goals, which should also endear him to the Pittsburgh faithful.