The sights and sounds Thursday at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ opening day of training camp were reflective of the organization’s new direction, but so was what wasn’t seen or heard.
Gone was the familiar presence of Mike Sullivan, whose rough New England accent always boomed from the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex ice for the last decade.
Instead, it was first-year coach Dan Muse’s show, Muse having been hired in early June after the Penguins parted ways with Sullivan, who promptly landed with the New York Rangers.
Under the watch of Muse and his new-look staff, 69 skaters and goalies took to the ice, as the Penguins began the process of formally molding their 2025-26 roster into form.
While attendees at camp ranged from franchise pillar Sidney Crosby to $10 million defenseman Erik Karlsson to young bucks, past draft picks and hopefuls on professional tryouts, all involved got the opportunity to size up Muse.
“It’s been good,” Karlsson said. “I think everything has been very clear and it’s Day 1, but even yesterday was very organized and easy to move around and do your usual business. At the same time, obviously, a lot of new things and new voices. Today was a good day. It was probably one of the harder first-day training camp skates I’ve done in a long time.”
Added fellow defenseman Kris Letang: “You could feel the energy. It’s through the roof. … You kind of see the emphasis on what we’re trying to do out there, (which) is battle and play the game situationally in every single drill. It was pretty intense out there, pretty hard.”
Justin Brazeau, a 6-foot-7 winger signed to a two-year, $1.5 million deal over the summer, was among the Penguins’ latest class of free-agent acquisitions to turn in a first day of work with his new employer.
Brazeau, who split last season between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild, posting 11 goals and 11 assists in 76 games, spoke with Muse a few times after signing to go over some basics as to how the Penguins envisioned deploying him.
But phone calls don’t compare to actually hitting the ice in a live practice setting.
Having now done so with Muse for a day, Brazeau was impressed, echoing Karlsson’s remarks about Muse’s practice structure.
“I thought it was really good,” Brazeau said. “It was organized. Practice had a good flow to it. There weren’t too many lapses here or there, so I thought he ran a really good practice and did a good job of getting ready for us to go.”
Defenseman Jake Livingstone is one of five players at camp on a professional tryout (not counting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who inked one in a ceremonial capacity after retiring from the NHL at the conclusion of last season).
Livingstone, 26, does not have the luxury of security that comes with an NHL contract.
He’ll have to fight for that, earning a role within the organization via a strong performance in camp.
As he works towards that, Thursday allowed a chance to soak in his new environment under a coach he’s yet to deeply get to know.
“It’s obviously one day, and I just met him (Wednesday), but he’s really high-energy, he demands a lot in the details and that’s what it takes to win,” Livingstone said. “It also keeps it fun out there even when you’re doing the hard stuff. For Day 1, I thought he did a great job.”
For Muse, Thursday represented the culmination of efforts dating to June 4 when he was hired to lead the Penguins.
Since then, it’s been a busy several months, as Muse has gone about introducing himself to players, navigating the NHL Draft, filling out his assistant coaching staff and laying the groundwork for the start of the preseason.
As that work continues, a new chapter of Penguins hockey begins.
“It’s a new voice and sometimes it’s different,” Letang said. “Last night, I came and grabbed dinner here at the rink and when I left at 8 o’clock, Dan was still here on his computer working on some stuff. You see the passion he has for the game in trying to work on every little detail to make us better and improve every single guy out there. I think the attention to detail, intensity, emotion — there are things that he brings every single day.”