Knowing, understanding and accepting that his team is now the NHL's hunted, Penguins general manager Ray Shero can hardly wait for Sunday's first practices of training camp.

On that day and the ones that will follow before the Penguins open the regular season on Oct. 2 against the New York Rangers at Mellon Arena, Shero will have his eyes focused on head coach Dan Bylsma.

"I'm looking forward to Dan having a chance to teach," Shero said. "With the situation he came into last season, there wasn't a lot of time for teaching, at least in the way that Dan can teach."

Bylsma's first four months with the Penguins rate as perhpas the most remarkable stretch in the franchise's history. That's a great accompomplisment considering the franchise has seen performances such as Mario Lemieux's late charge to win the scoring title after returning from treatment for Hodgkin's disease in 1993 and his 76 points in 43 games after ending a retirement of three-plus seasons midway in December 2000.

After all, the Penguins didn't win the Stanley Cup in 1993 or 2001.

They wouldn't have won it last season without a stunning 18-3-4 finish to the regular season after Bylsma jumped from the American Hockey League to replace former coach Michel Therrien on Feb. 15. That run secured a playoff spot for the Penguins, who were in 10th place and five points out when Bylsma was promoted and finished the regular season as the fourth seed in the East.

"It was a wakeup call for everybody," goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said of Bylsma replacing Therrien. "We didn't have to say anything. Everybody knew we had a new coach because we weren't doing very (well), and it was up to us to do better."

Added center Jordan Staal: "The pressure was on us as players at that point. It wasn't on Dan. But the great thing about him coming in was he didn't put any (added) pressure on us. He just settled everybody down. He didn't try to make it his team, which is what a lot of coaches would have done."

Bylsma admits his job last February was mostly to hit the reset button for a talented but underachieving team whose players appeared uninspired at the end of Therrien's mostly successful three-year reign. Bylsma changed a few things, specifically replacing Therrien's version of the transition-generated offense with an attacking style. But mostly, Bylsma helped the Penguins feel good again, which was what they most needed.

With all but three players from the Penguins' lineup in Game 7 of the Cup Final returning for their title defense, Bylsma promises to retain his hallmarks from last season: patience, attention to detail and positive reinforcement.

His staff differs by one from the group that helped the Penguins win the Cup. Tom Fitzgerald, who joined Bylsma's staff on an interim basis after spending the previous 19 months as director of player development, returned to the front office as assistant to Shero. Longtime NHL player Tony Granato, with previous experience as both a head ooach and assistant for Colorado, is Fitzgerald's replacement.

Bylsma stressed that even the most talented players should consider his first camp as Penguins head coach an example of a philosophy that will permeate throughout the season.

"The chances are pretty good that I can't teach Sidney Crosby or (Evgeni) Malkin anything about scoring, or Sergei Gonchar how to be a better power-play quarterback or Marc-Andre Fleury how to make big saves in crucial moments," Bylsma said. "But every day is an opportunity for all of us to learn from one another and improve something. That has to be what we're always thinking."

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