FanNation

As we await the start of the 2008-09 NHL season, we can spend the next couple months pondering on which teams have what it takes to win. With the big names of free-agency all locked up (unless you count Mats Sundin, who just doesn't seem to be interested in winning the cup), it's speculation time on how the clubs fared. Which one will I be focused on? Obviously, the Penguins.

All the Pittsburgh/Crosby haters are surely delighted that the Pens lost Hossa, as well as quite a few other significant names (alot to the Tampa Bay Lightning for some reason). However, the response I'm looking for here is an actual educated one, not one of the "wish we had Crosby" Penguin-bashers. With that said, did the Penguins get better, or worse?

Being back-stabbed by Hossa was a big blow (we all wish he would have kept his mouth shut rather than claim he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh, because then it wouldn't really have mattered where he signed). But that wound will heal, because having two of the best players in the league locked up for the next few years definately will put a smile on your face. The way I see it, this team didn't get better, but it didn't get worse. The Penguins are still a legitimate comtender, and the valuable experience the young players learned in the playoffs will be a huge plus. Pens fans hoped that this team would get better, but fear not, because it's still just as good. Perhaps GM Ray Shero will pull another big deal out at the trade deadline, and maybe that one will win them just two more games then last year, and Sid the kid will hoist the cup. Whatever the case, the only good thing about summer ending, is hockey season beginning.