We haven't seen exactly what new Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Johnston has in store for the team, but we can reasonably assume his style won't dramatically shift in just one summer as he transitions from the WHL to the NHL.
As the bench boss of the Portland Winterhawks, Johnston deployed a scheme that required defensemen to be able to skate well and make accurate first passes out of the zone. Moreover, his offensive system discourages dumping out of the defensive zone and calls for forwards to pitch the puck back to the blue line once the opposition has collapsed to protect the net.
With Kris Letang poised to return healthy and Christian Ehrhoff added during free agency, few teams in the NHL will be able to match Pittsburgh's offense from the blue line.
Letang struggled to stay in the lineup last season due to various ailments and setbacks, but he'll hit the 2014-15 campaign running this time around and should be considered a top-10 favorite to win the Norris Trophy next season.
That trophy is more of a testament to offensive output than defensive capability, and Letang has been am ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Franklin Steele
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