Captain Sidney Crosby, entering his 21st NHL season, desires winning the Stanley Cup a fourth time. Center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang, each set for his 20th season, do too. Muse, hired June 4 as Penguins coach, gets that. But rushing won't work, he said.

As Muse stepped onto a podium at PPG Paints Arena for the first time, took a seat next to president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and the two started to talk, it quickly became evident that this unexpected partnership was more about passion and people skills than it was putting in place the right neutral-zone forecheck.

As has happened countless times over the previous decade, a guff Boston accent fielded questions during a press conference at the dais within the media room at PPG Paints Arena. And as has been the case since 2015,