Penguins Season Preview: Kessel, healthy blue line provide major boost

In an offseason featuring plenty of splashes, the Pittsburgh Penguins landed the biggest prize.

The Penguins acquired Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, dealing away prospect Kasperi Kapanen, forward Nick Spaling, and defenseman Scott Harrington in a six-player deal. Kessel gives the Penguins an elite scorer on the wing to complement their All-World duo of centers, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

The five-time 30-goal scorer will likely play alongside Crosby initially, and regardless of whether he remains there, Kessel makes a potent top-six even more explosive.

One prize Pittsburgh hasn't captured since 2009 is the Stanley Cup, but the team enters the 2015-16 campaign much healthier than it was at the end of last season.

The Penguins were forced to play without two of their top four defensemen for the season's final month. Kris Letang suffered a concussion in March and didn't play another game, while Olli Maatta's tumultuous campaign ended with shoulder surgery in January.

Veteran forward Pascal Dupuis' blood clot diagnosis ended his season last November, but he was cleared to return over the summer after six months of treatment. Earlier this month, Letang and Maatta were also cleared to take part in training camp.

The Penguins are healthy on the blue line and deep down the middle. They added Nick Bonino in a cost-cutting trade with the Vancouver Canucks for Brandon Sutter and signed Eric Fehr, who may miss time early in the season after having offseason elbow surgery.

One of the club's biggest question marks over the years has been goaltending, but the crease is no longer a concern. Marc-Andre Fleury silenced the critics with one of the best seasons of his career, going 34-20-9 with a 2.32 GAA, a save percentage of .920, and a league-best 10 shutouts in 2014-15.

All four playoff losses in the Penguins' first-round series against the New York Rangers came by a score of 2-1, and Fleury was hardly to blame.

Barring more misfortune on the injury front, Pittsburgh should once again be one of the Eastern Conference's most dangerous teams.

Projected Depth Chart

X-Factor

The Kessel acquisition was the Penguins' biggest offseason move, but the signing of Sergei Plotnikov was their most interesting transaction.

The 25-year-old forward paid $500,000 to terminate his contract with the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, signing a one-year deal with the Penguins on July 1.

He spent six seasons in the KHL, earning two All-Star nods and scoring 15 goals in each of the last two campaigns.

Plotnikov and Malkin won gold with Russia at the 2014 World Hockey Championship and returned to earn silver in 2015, when Plotnikov racked up 12 points in 10 tournament games.

He could play on Malkin's wing for the Penguins, and if he does, the pair's familiarity could make Pittsburgh's dynamic top-six even more effective.

Player to Watch

The Penguins let veteran defensemen Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff leave in free agency this summer, opening the door for Derrick Pouliot.

The 21-year-old was inconsistent in his rookie season, but he scored seven goals and added 17 assists in 31 regular-season games with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, adding three points in six playoff contests.

Pouliot will likely be given more opportunities at the NHL level in 2015-16, and the eighth-overall pick in 2012 appears primed to carve out a top-four role.