The 2025 Penguins season is upon us. The weather outside is now cooler, you start to feel that breeze in the air. It is hockey season. The penguins are coming into this season determined to be better and prove themselves to the fan base. Last season the Penguins struggled throughout the season and finished 34-36-12 for a disappointing total of 80 points. The team did not qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season. With aging vets and in the process of rebuilding the team the Penguins parted ways with their long-term head coach Mike Sullivan. Sullivan who was the coach for the penguins for 10 seasons, won 2 Stanley Cups, and had 409 wins which is the most in franchise history.
This was a sign that the Penguins were ready to flip the page and try and start building the team to become that contender they once were. The team hired a new coach in Dan Muse who is determined to help the development of the players on the penguins, in particular the young players in the system, to try and jump start the future of the team. Training camp has started and so has the preseason. From everything that has come out about Muse he seems to be the perfect fit for the penguins. He has been extremely vocal during camp and there have been some of the most intense practices and drills the fans have seen in years. This goes along with Kyle Dubas’s comments about wanting to return the team to a contender as soon as possible and part of that includes outworking other teams from the jump.
It will be an interesting season with vets who may get traded and young guys pushing for spots. The future look of the team is a question mark. This season there are almost no guarantee roster spots besides the stars of the penguins. With young guys in the system such as Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, Joel Blomqvist, Sergei Murashov, Tristan Broz, and a few others all looking to crack a roster spot. Benjamin Kindle is another guy to look at for the future. The likelihood of him making the NHL roster is almost zero, however he has looked promising so far and can be a great addition soon.
The biggest question we can look towards as the season goes on is who stays who goes? With vets such as Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson and others on the team it does raise the question how many will get traded? The idea of none of them getting traded is unrealistic, especially given the status of the penguins. It was a quiet summer when we expected some trade, but it ended up being next to none. The biggest moves they made this summer were taking on expensive unwanted guys from teams for draft picks. They did something like this last year as well when they took on Kevin Hayes’s contract and got a second-round pick in return for doing so.
Regarding the preseason and news, closer to that one move stands out more than the rest. The Penguins signed Marc-André Fleury who isn’t just a penguin’s legend but a hockey legend. Fleury, who is retiring, decided to sign with the team to provide the fans with a full circle moment. He will play parts of the preseason game against the Columbus Bluejackets on Saturday the 27th. As expected, tickets spiked through the roof as many fans got their final chance to see Fleury dress up in a penguin’s uniform before he retires from professional hockey.
There’s excitement in the air and its fair considering we haven’t seen penguins’ hockey since April! Saturday, we got the opportunity to see the penguin’s legend one last time play in action with his buddies. Moments like this make you cherish the opportunity we still get as fans to watch hockey legends play every game and make it look effortless.
It’s now Monday and the game is over. Everything about it was special as he did warm-ups and the crowd erupted. As the third period started chants came yelling down on the ice from the fans. “ONE MORE YEAR!” chants were heard, the fans would cheer every second he would touch the puck regardless of the situation. Once the game was ending the fans gave one last chant saying, “THANK YOU FLEURY.” Fleury ended the game, stopping every shot that came his way and ended his last game in style with a 4-1 victory over the Bluejackets. He took laps around the ice as he saluted the fans and thanked them for their support. It was fun and this was how it was supposed to be. Flower at last got his farewell.
Even with the retirement of Marc-André Fleury we will never forget the pranks and joys he gave the penguins. Speaking of pranks, it wouldn’t be a farewell without some pranks. Fleury of course couldn’t leave without some pranks. His son hid a fart machine in Sidney Crosby’s locker on Friday as well as Fleury himself redecorating some of the players’ cars with stickers. I am sure there were more not reported during his last moments with the penguins. Ultimately, we got the proper goodbye, and the hope is this can be a kickstart to a special season for the pens.
