Penguins' stars Benn, Ladd ready to lead

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced veteran Andrew Ladd as the 1st captain in franchise history this week. Joining him will be alternates Jamie Benn and Ryan McDonagh.

"It's an honor to represent this franchise, and this awesome group of guys," Ladd said.  "There's so much character and will to win here that I know I'll have plenty of help from guys like Jamie and Ryan and Dustin," he added.  The Penguins boast 4 former NHL captains, with Ladd and Brown each the proud owner of 2 Stanley Cup rings.

"I fully support coach Q's choice in Laddy. He's a warrior. I've never played with a guy that wants to win as badly as him. But it's not just on him. Everyone here knows their role and knows that they have to lead by example," Benn stated matter-of-factly.

GM Mat Fargas weighed in on his team's chances in advance of Opening Night earlier today. "We feel that we're ready to win right now. We have a core that has all the attributes necessary to win multiple championships. We've got the high end skill from guys like Benn, Filppula and Letang. We've got the tenacity and poise to win the tight games with guys like Brown, Mitchell and Beauchemin who have all been there before.  It's Stanley Cup or bust for us."

Fargas made a bold move two weeks ago dealing his 1st round pick in what some are calling "the deepest draft in history". In exchange, he addressed a big hole in his top 4 with minute-munching defenseman Francois Beauchemin and emerging young forward Brayden Schenn, himself a former 1st round pick.

"Was I happy about giving up that pick? Hell no," said Fargas. "That player could very well be a superstar. With the scouting acumen of the Predators staff, I expect that pick to turn into a franchise cornerstone. That said, our time is now. Beauchemin was a guy that we needed badly. And Schenn could still turn into a star himself, so we pulled the trigger."

The Penguins had reportedly been in talks to acquire superstar defenseman Shea Weber as well. Fargas addressed those rumors on Thursday as well. "We've had some discussions about Shea. We recognize that he is an amazing player, who would make any team much better, but the cost is too high for us. Hopefully GM Auzins deals him out of the division instead" Fargas said, with a smirk.