Taking Over
Penguins Follow Crosby's Leadership
By Bob Grove

Building a team that's perennial Stanley Cup playoff material never has been easy, but it's never been a bigger challenge than it is today. Parity is no longer a pipe dream in the National Hockey League, thanks in part to the salary cap, more extensive scouting and improved coaching.

Twenty-five of the league's 30 teams have been to the playoffs at least once in the past three seasons, and among the other five, Florida missed the post-season by a single point this spring while Edmonton is only three years removed from playing Game 7 of the Cup Final.

That's why Penguins' general manager Ray Shero, when he was hired in the summer of 2006, talked about putting together his team the right way, building it on a foundation that would keep Pittsburgh in the playoffs year after year. The Penguins haven't missed the post-season since, and today they find themselves in the Finals for the second consecutive year.

Part of that foundation, of course, was set a few years ago with the drafting of Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal. The skills of those players explain a lot about what Pittsburgh has been able to accomplish under Shero, but the leadership provided by Crosby and Malkin were just as critical to giving the Penguins another shot at the Cup in 2009 - and promise more shots in the future.

So while the Penguins are hoping the summer of 2009 includes lots of celebrations with a big, shiny trophy, they know it won't necessitate any dramatic restructuring. Crosby and Malkin are under contract for another four and five years, respectively, and it's impossible to quantify how much pressure that takes off Shero as he fills in the spots around them.

Crosby's laser-like intensity throughout the 2009 playoffs caused even Pittsburgh hockey fans to step back to take a little inventory of their good fortune. Completely healthy in the post-season for the first time and displaying a scoring touch that went beyond anything he had shown the previous two springs, Crosby at times seemed to be willing his team to victory as the Penguins put away the Flyers in six games and then Washington in seven dramatic games - rallying from a 2-0 series deficit to do so - before dispatching Carolina.

"He can just take over a game," said teammate Mark Eaton. "In particular you could see it the last games of the Washington series, where he just kind of tried to put the team on his back. He's our leader, and you can tell from the get-go he wants to go out there and lead by example.

"When he's on the way he's been, he's tough to stop. He's inspiring all of us in the dressing room, to see him go out there every night and throw it all out there on the line, you can only try and do the same." Both Eaton and Rob Scuderi, however, point out that Crosby's focus in the cauldron of the playoffs really isn't anything different than they see every day once training camp starts.

"Pretty much from the first day I've played with him, he's been the same," Scuderi said. "He's grown as a player, but as far as the way he works and the way he practices, I don't think anything has changed. It's all about leadership. You want your leaders to go out there and play the same way, whether it's a practice or a game, you want them to try hard, you want them to do the right things and play the right way, and he's certainly done that since the first day he's been in the league."

Meanwhile, Malkin displayed a flair for the dramatic that hadn't been seen in his previous playoffs, winning Game 5 in Washington with his first playoff overtime goal, then delivering his first post-season hat trick in Game 2 against Carolina - including two third-period goals that broke a tie and helped push the Penguins to the Finals.

In this environment, the Penguins developed a confidence that was impossible to miss. It helped save their season when Dan Bylsma replaced Michel Therrien in mid-February and overhauled their approach to the game, setting the stage for their memorable run.

"We've had some challenges and gone through different things. When I look back to last year," Crosby said, "pretty much every game we played well in the playoffs and we found a way to win. At different times in these playoffs, we've played some good hockey and haven't got breaks, and that can be frustrating and that can force you to change things. But we really stuck by what we need to do to play well and be successful, and going through those things builds confidence."

Only two of the Penguins' top nine forwards, Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko, are unrestricted free agents this summer, and there are reasons to believe the team and the players will have an interest in extending the relationship. Guerin won't replicate his $4.5 million 2008-09 salary next season, but he proved to be a good fit with Crosby and Chris Kunitz. Fedotenko, likewise, worked out nicely on a line with Malkin and Max Talbot in the playoffs.

Fourth-liners Pascal Dupuis and Eric Godard are both signed for two more seasons, while Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan and Craig Adams are unrestricted free agents. Adams gave the Penguins some valuable minutes in the playoffs and at just $600,000 this season could get a raise and still fit nicely into the Penguins' challenging budget.

Among the other forwards who are unrestricted free agents this summer are faceoff specialist Mike Zigomanis, Janne Pesonen and Jeff Taffe.

There are more questions on defense, where Scuderi, Hal Gill and Philippe Boucher are all unrestricted free agents. While Boucher is not expected back, Scuderi and Gill combined to become the Penguins' shutdown pair in the playoffs and were invaluable as penalty killers. Scuderi, in particular, will attract interest around the league after earning just $712,000 this season.

Defensemen Alex Goligoski and Ben Lovejoy are getting closer and closer to having played their final AHL games, and both are restricted free agents this summer. Eaton and Sergei Gonchar have just one year remaining on their contracts before becoming unrestricted free agents, while Kris Letang has one more year under contract before becoming a restricted free agent.

The Penguins might be in the market for a backup goaltender, as Mathieu Garon is set to become an unrestricted free agent. John Curry, who's had two promising AHL seasons since signing with the Penguins, is a restricted free agent this summer but could challenge to become Fleury's backup next season.

Shero won't be looking for a coach after Bylsma's amazing run in his first NHL head coaching job. And it was amazing, too, even with all that talent. Shero knows the ease of coaching special players is often overstated.

"When you have so many young guys, and they're talented players… I go back to the Montreal Canadiens and Scotty Bowman. Everybody thought, when they were losing eight games a year, that it was so easy for Scotty Bowman," Shero said. "I know my father was coaching against him and he said Scotty probably has the hardest job trying to satisfy the players in terms of their roles and ice time. It's the same thing with us.

"To satisfy these players… some of these guys are top offensive guys; they want to be in certain roles or need to be in certain roles. You have to manage that and have to manage their expectations and let them realize this is a team game. Our guys have been great understanding that, and that's why we've had some success here."

And a road map for more.