Pens Full Of Sleepers In 2008-2009

Club: Pittsburgh Penguins
Fantasy Impact Rating: Warm

Superstars: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Big Producers: Petr Sykora, Sergei Gonchar
Mid-Level Flyers: Ryan Whitney
Rookies/Prospects: Alex Goligoski
Sleepers: Miroslav Satan, Pascal Dupuis, Kristopher Letang, Jordan Staal
Avoid the Hype: None

Analysis:
The Pittsburgh Penguins are poised to make another Stanley Cup run in 2008-2009 and despite being Hossa-free this season, fantasy managers should still have plenty to buzz about.

Starting with the obvious, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should easily render first round picks in any format of fantasy hockey. In early drafts, it appears to be a tossup between Crosby and Ovechkin with the first overall pick, but when it comes down to it, if you’re looking for more total points this season, you’re going to want to look the way of Sid the Kid. If he remains healthy this season, expect a 100+ point performance easily. When healthy, Sid and crew should put together a dominating power play that consists of the four core players of Malkin, Gonchar, Whitney and Sid himself. Miroslav Satan and Jordan Staal are two monster sleepers in this years deeper drafts and if all pans out with this first line like Therrien hopes it will, both Satan and Staal should be huge beneficiaries to one of the best players in the league. It’s hard to pin point where Staal and Satan will end up point wise, but if they can maintain that first line status for the majority of the regular season, that late round sleeper pick could turn into a plethora of points.

Getting back to Malkin, he’ll be heading up the 2nd line in Pittsburgh, and should be in some pretty unsuspecting company himself. We know that Malkin is certainly capable of putting up 90+ points himself, but does that really improve Pascal Dupuis and Petr Sykora’s chances of benefiting like Sid’s line mates? To a certain extent, yes. Sykora had a solid season in 2007-2008 notching 28 goals and 35 assists, spending significant time on the potent Pittsburgh power play. He provides veteran leadership to a younger 2nd line and should be considered as possibly a 2nd, but more so a 3rd option at right wing for fantasy squads this year. Pascal Dupuis, who has been bounced around the past few years, may finally get a chance to prove what he’s made of. He only had 27 points last season, but he could become a significant shorthanded threat for the Penguin’s penalty kill this season. Only consider Dupuis as a starter in the deepest of leagues and until he proves himself as a viable option at left wing for the Pens, use him as a stopgap winger in average sized leagues.

With Ryan Whitney not being available until January at the earliest because of an injury, and Sergei Gonchar possibly nursing a shoulder injury heading into the start of the season, the Penguins will be looking for help from their back end to help quarterback the power play. Kristopher Letang may be the answer the Pens need until they get their top blue liners back in action. Letang is the most offensive minded defender the Pens have in their arsenal behind Whitney and Gonchar, and could see significant power play time until we see Whitney or Gonchar return. As for Whitney, he could be a nice bench stash especially if you’re drafting a keeper team this year. He hit his sophomore slump fairly hard, but has the potential to bounce back nicely and contribute to this dynamite Pens power play over the next several years. Gonchar has put up consistently great numbers for a defenseman and should be considered as a number one option in any format. The injury does not appear to be long term at this point in time, so draft him as you normally would and monitor the situation until the start of the season. These injuries have also opened the door for rookie Alex Goligoski to try and step up and make a splash from the blue line early on this season. Goligoski has a mind for running a power play, and has put up respectable numbers with Minnesota of the WCHA. If he makes the team to start the season, have a look and see where Therrien uses him in the first week or so to get an idea of whether he could make a fantasy impact this year of not.

Goaltending:
Situation: Rock Solid
Grade: B+
1. Marc-Andre Fleury
2. Dany Sabourin

We finally got a glimpse of the potential of Marc-Andre Fleury at the end of last season, and it appears good things lay ahead for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fleury battled an ankle injury in 2007-2008, but came on strong down the stretch to show the franchise that he’s their guy for the long run. Expect Fleury to have a career year if he remains healthy, and expect little pressure from Dany Sabourin for starts. He’ll see a relief start here and there, but expect Fleury to get the majority of the work load.

Fantasy Hockey Team Breakdowns List