10 NHL Teams To Watch This Season

3. Pittsburgh Penguins

It goes without saying that the Penguins, who’ve hoisted the Stanley Cup for the past two consecutive seasons, possess an abundance of world-class talent that the rest of the league is itching to finally topple. Franchise star Sidney Crosby remains the king of the NHL, and has shown no signs of slowing down, and the prolific Evgeni Malkin would likely be the best player on any other team in the league.

The addition of Phil Kessel has proven a masterstroke, giving Pittsburgh a truly lethal offense rolling across multiple lines. With Kris Letang on defense and Matt Murray (a man with the unprecedented honour of having won the Cup in each of his first two seasons) in net, the Penguins don’t lack for talent in any position.

Thanks to the supreme coaching of Mike Sullivan and the dominant play of their superstars, the Penguins have established themselves as the team to beat for the rest of the NHL, and it’ll be fascinating to see how they rise to the challenge with targets on their back from 30 directions.

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Chest thumping James Bond and Haruki Murakami fanatic living in China. Once had a fever dream about riding a rowboat with Davos Seaworth. He hasn't updated this section since Game of Thrones was cool, and boy does it show.