Pens Points: And Here We Go

2021 is officially upon us which means training camps around the NHL will all begin this week, with seven teams already in camp.

Happy New Years, Pensburgh! We all finally can put 2020 behind us and move on to better times in 2021. With the turn of the calendar to January, training camps will start in a matter of days and the regular season will begin in less than two weeks. With so much happening in a short amount of time, here’s some fresh links to get you ready before all 31 teams in the NHL will be in action!

Penguins News

Michelle Crechiolo gave a quick breakdown from each of the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders for the Penguins participating in training camp to get you reminded of what each player brings to the table on NHL.com. [Forwards] [Defense and Goalies]

Jonathan Bombulie from the Trib gives his prediction for the East Division from the Penguins’ perspective. While the Penguins did patch some holes in the lineup, they’re also in one of the most competitive divisions in the new alignment and a playoff spot is far from a guarantee. [Trib Live]

Mark Madden took a stab at his potential lineup for the Penguins. He came up with the general consensus among Pens fans with a top-six forward and top-four defenseman set in stone. Anything after that could be won or loss in the upcoming training camp. [Trib Live]

With the first Penguin games about to take place since last March, will PPG Paints allow fans to the games? That doesn’t sound likely based on the latest report from WPXI. [WPXI]

To wrap up the Penguins section this morning, here’s a good Tweet for all the mobile users looking for a nice wallpaper with the January schedule on it:

League News

The NHL announced that the league will indeed host several outdoor games this year, hosting two games at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, with the Avalanche and Golden Knights playing on February 20 and the Flyers and Bruins playing the next day. [USA Today]

In what could have been a difficult obstacle for the NHL, the Canadian government approved the start of NHL training camps and waived the mandatory 14-day quarantine for players who were outside of Canada before camps began. However, games are another issue the Canadian teams will have to deal with next. [SportsNet]

The latest news in the Olympics + NHL saga happened this week with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr on record as saying the league will still allow its players to participate in the next winter Olympics. [ESPN]

After a long and quiet offseason, Columbus and Pierre-Luc Dubois came to an agreement on a 2-year, $10 million deal just before training camp begins in a few days. [Jackets Cannon]

The New York Islanders also signed a few of their UFAs with the announcement of the signing Matt Martin and Andy Greene on Thursday along with former Devils goalie Cory Schneider. However, no news regarding their most prized RFA Mathew Barzal. [NY Post]

Bad news out of New Jersey announcing Nico Hischier was injured while training in Switzerland and will not be partaking in on-ice activities during training camp but is hopeful to be able to play in the first regular season game. [NHL]