Penguins fans excited for hockey season, cautiously optimistic about club's prospects

Two seasons ago, when the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs by a single point, ending a 16-year streak, Stan Chapp took the setback to his beloved franchise hard.

Chapp didn’t exactly feel motivated to attend any games the following year given the club’s decline.

“We’ve been fans for years,” said Chapp, a New Kensington native. “We’ve been going for a long, long time. We took last year off. It was probably the first time in a long, long time — just because the team was going downhill and we had some other things going on in our lives.”

However, Chapp couldn’t continue to stay away.

He was in the house Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena as the Penguins hosted the New York Rangers for the season opener for both clubs.

Reinvigorated in mid-September by the Penguins re-signing franchise pillar Sidney Crosby for two additional years, Chapp believes better hockey is on the horizon in Pittsburgh.

“We missed hockey,” he said. “We missed being here. There’s a difference from watching it on TV and being in the stands. We’re excited about the team. We think they have a good chance of building the team up and making the playoffs again to get back on track.

“We think they’ll do well. I’m glad that they were able to get (Crosby) back on contract and I think it’s going to be a good season. I’m excited about it.”

Melissa Huff, a Mercer native now living in Ohio, attended the Penguins opener on her birthday.

While disappointed by the recent lack of success, she cheers the team on through thick and thin.

“Whether they make the playoffs or not, I’m still on the boat,” she said. “I follow them and support them, win or lose. I’m going to support them either way. I’m confident this year is going to be our year.”

Huff not only expressed confidence in the Penguins topping the Rangers, but that 2024-25 would be a season to remember in Pittsburgh.

“It’s going to be a start to getting another (Stanley Cup) trophy,” Huff said. “They’re going to bring it home.”

For the Penguins, Crosby is joined by fellow forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang for their North American sports-record 19th season together as teammates.

Chapp admitted that the trio may have lost a step when it comes to pure speed.

But he still believes the three can help the team win every night.

“They’re slower, but they still have the skill set — is what it is,” Chapp said.

Whereas the Penguins made a splash in free agency two summers ago, bringing in generational talent Erik Karlsson, this offseason by comparison was lacking in big-time acquisitions.

With Tristan Jarry back in net and a slightly modified bottom six and blue line, the Penguins’ on-ice recipe remains largely the same.

For Huff, the Penguins’ cast of characters that will look to lead the team back to the postseason are worthy of her confidence.

“The belief is in everybody,” she said. “It’s a whole team effort. I feel that it takes a whole team.”