Pens Points: First Camp Practice Underway

Good morning one and all,

The hockey season is officially upon us, as the Pens got their physicals and media availability out of the way yesterday and are set to kick of at 9 am today.

GM Jim Rutherford and HC Mike Johnston addressed the media as well. Here is a summary of their remarks. [Trib]

Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Pascal Dupuis were all cleared to play. Fehr is estimated to be at 60% in his recovery and is the only player not cleared thus far. [Pens Inside Scoop]

The Phil Kessel countdown has officially begun, as he will be in the lineup for the first preseason game against Carolina on Tuesday. [PPG]

We didn't talk much about David Perron over the summer. He was told by the team that his skating had to improve, and he put in work towards that in the offseason. [Trib]

Jonathan Bombulie sizes up the field of 8 defensemen and how that might shake out during camp. [Chipped Ice]

A few laughs as NHLers including Sid guess their NHL16 ratings. [NHL]

If you're looking for some tunes, Pens players provided some of their favorites. This is not a very impressive playlist. [Penguins]

Camps are kicking off all across the NHL. The most cameras and microphones were turned on at Notre Dame, where the Blackhawks trotted out Patrick Kane and tried to get back to the business of hockey. [Chicago Tribune]

Mike Babcock opens camp today at the helm of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They have a significantly changed makeup, but still they won't be competitive right away. How will he handle the losing in the near term? [Sportsnet]

Max Pacioretty was announced as the third American-born captain of the Montreal Canadiens, following in the footsteps of Chris Chelios and Brian Gionta. He was voted by the players, and Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban, Tomas Plekanec, and Brendan Gallagher will serve as alternates. [Canadiens]