Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Ramblings: Prospect Rankings, Free Agency, Crosby, and More

At this point, we’re approximately 56 days from Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, and after the offseason that this team put together, it can’t come soon enough.

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Personally, I haven’t been this anxious to see a Pens team take the ice in a long time. I’ll venture to say that it’s been since the start of the 2008-09 season, which followed a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pittsburgh Penguins had a very successful offseason, and it’s now a waiting game to see if they can put it all together on the ice.

Are they completely done? I’m inclined to say that this is the team that we’ll see on opening night. However, I’ve said that before, and Jim Rutherford traded Brandon Sutter for Nick Bonino and then signed Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen. So, at this point I’ll simply say that another trade this summer will be extremely tough to pull off and very unlikely, but who knows what can happen?

If a trade were to occur, at this point it’s for no other reason than bolstering this young defensive group. I can go either way on that topic, as I’m excited to see what these young guys can do, but I also understand that they’re an injury or two away from a dismal blue line. That is, unless Tim Erixon, Adam Clendening, or Niclas Andersen prove to be more than most expect at this point in their careers. Speaking of bolstering this defensive corps…

It's August 11 and Christian Ehrhoff and Cody Franson still don't have NHL contracts. This is crazy.
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) August 12, 2015

It’s completely mind-blowing that Cody Franson is still on the market. As far as Christian Ehrhoff, I’m not all that surprised considering last season. His injury situation is questionable so no one wants to pay him top dollar or give him a long-term. He’s likely holding off to see what teams realize a serious defensive hole closer to training camp in order to maximize his salary.

I once believed the same thing about Franson, but at this point I can honestly say I have no idea what’s happening there. He looked to be the most highly sought after defenseman this summer but he’s currently without a team or any indication of who’s interested. Some have said that Fehr and the Pittsburgh Penguins had a deal in place long before the actual signing, but had to wait for the Sutter trade. Maybe there’s a similar situation with Franson?

Highly unlikely, but a guy can dream, right?

Sidney Crosby has been in his home town of Cole Harbour running a hockey camp and training with other NHL players such as Nathan MacKinnon. The video below is a must watch from those training sessions. Sid looks unbeatable on the puck while battling Brad Marchand.

Corey Pronman of ESPN.com ranked everyone’s prospects and placed the Pittsburgh Penguins last in the NHL. And, this is yet another example of why I had no issues with Jim Rutherford signing 38-year old Matt Cullen.

The Pens are one of the deepest teams in the league on offense, but once you get past that offensive lineup things drop-off quickly. While they have a few players in the AHL that may be able to play NHL minutes, there’s no guaranteed contributor there. And on defense, they’re young and inexperienced. As I said, I’m fine with going to battle with those young guys, but I also don’t disagree with ranking the Pens at number 30 here.

Thanks for reading. As we creep closer to the start of training camp keep it here and follow me on Twitter at @Michael29Angelo.

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