Pens Points: Hockey Come Soon

In less than a weeks time, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be back on the ice together in an official capacity as training camp gets underway. This will be our first look at the new look squad now under the direction of Kyle Dubas. There are still many questions surrounding the Penguins as they enter the 2023-24 season, but for the first time in a few years, it feels like excitements levels are off the chart.

Pens Points...

There was some controversy with how Kyle Dubas handled the goaltending position this offseason, but like it or not, Tristan Jarry is the Penguins No. 1 in net. [Pensburgh]

There is incredible talent in the Metro division at the moment, especially at forward. Even now at 36 years old, Sidney Crosby remains the cream of the crop among Metro forwards. [Pensburgh]

O fall the new faces coming to the Penguins this season, none carry more anticipation than defenseman Erik Karlsson. The addition of Karlsson changes the entire complexion of the Penguins blue line and their power play plans. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Kyle Dubas continues to fill out his front office staff as the season approaches. On Thursday the team announced the addition of several individuals in the equipment, high performance, and player development departments. [Penguins]

While Dubas has been building his front office team since coming over his most important work has been what will be on the ice this season, including a complete reworking of the defensive corps from top to bottom. [The Hockey News]

Sidney Crosby has reached the point in his career where new players coming into the NHL grew up idolizing him. One of those players is 2023 first overall pick Connor Bedard, who will likely make his NHL debut against Crosby in a few weeks. [NBC Chicago]

Many Penguins players are already back in Pittsburgh and have been participating in informal workouts with their teammates. One player still soaking in the last days of the offseason at home is Kris Letang who spent Thursday with the Montreal Canadiens. [The Hockey News]

News and notes from around the NHL...

When the NHL introduced virtual billboards last season the decision was met with anger from fans across the league. This offseason, the NHL listened to fan complaints and decided they don’t care what anyone has to say. [ESPN]

Back in May, the Colorado Avalanche announced that captain Gabriel Landeskog was expected to miss the entire 2023-24 season recovering from knee surgery. Having already missed all of last season, there is now hope Landeskog could return for the playoffs. [TSN]

Executive Directors of the NHL Players Association were in Columbus on Thursday to investigate allegations against Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock. Babcock has been accused to asking players to see their phones and share pictures off their devices. [Sportsnet]