Will the Penguins Benefit From NHL's Off-Season Changes?

The Flyers making it to the Finals was the most bizarre story for the Cup Finals in a very long time.

They had to beat the Rangers in a shootout just to get into the playoffs before ousting the Devils, the Bruins and finally, the "dream team" Canadiens.  That is one hard road to travel to get to the Finals.  They were a team that wasn't even picked to go to the playoffs and now they are the runner-ups. 

I don't see the Flyers becoming a team to make it to the Finals again next year.  They were running on straight energy and passion. This made even Penguin fans realize that they were doing the unthinkable, and if you are a big underdog supporter, you were rooting for the Flyers to beat the Hawks. 

This off-season is going to be big. Extremely big.

The NHL is upping the cap by about $2 million because of the increase in sales and viewership. 

That means that more people are watching hockey, which means that teams want to capitalize on that and get more fans. 

But you need one thing in order to get that:

Wins.

Teams during this off-season are going to be desperate. They are going to want to produce a playoff-quality team to get ratings up.  

Big changes are going to come from all of the teams in the NHL, and I am more than thrilled about it.

As a Penguin fan, I know that we will most likely lose Sergei Gonchar to free agency along with Mark Eaton, but I also know that Ray Shero isn't happy with how the season ended and saw what changes need to be made.

Last summer we were on the high of winning the Cup and even after losing Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, fans were still optimistic about their team.

This season was stressful, to say the least.

The ups and downs were enough to make you want to pull your hair out. The word "consistency" became our daily vocabulary word after hearing Coach Dan say it repeatedly.

But this off-season is going to be different. Shero will be more aggressive in getting wingers as well as better defense to get the Penguins on that consistency level. 

The draft is more than a week away, but talks should be circulating this week as to who is leaving and who's going. 

Matt Cooke will be in a Penguins uniform next year. There hasn't been one negative discussion between either side about bringing Cooke back in.  He'll get three years to continue to play with Jordan Staal. 

One player that I don't see playing alongside Jordan Staal is Tyler Kennedy.  He had his ups and downs as well, but more downs than ups.  He is an energy guy on a team with wingers who could outshine him.  If Shero was looking to get a good deal with Kennedy, I see him taking it. 

Kennedy would shine on another team and could compete for a second line winger spot, but with the Penguins being so built down the middle, it's hard for him to compete with the Penguins roster. 

Right now, Bill Guerin is at a 50/50 with coming back. The Penguins will re-sign him if he takes yet another "hometown discount".  He's not ready to put the skates up and with his relationship with the management and team, I see them giving him his last year.

If Guerin stays, I see them putting him on Crosby's line and seeing how that goes at the beginning. He'll get scratched some games to rest. He's not capable of another 82-plus games this season. 

I've already discussed what wingers we should try for and what defensemen we should try for in my other posts. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins will benefit from this off-season with so many teams looking to jump at the increase in fans.  

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for July first. 

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