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Penguins name Bales goaltending coach

Eric Hartzell, Mike Bales

After whittling the field down to three, the Penguins have picked their man and he’s a guy familiar with the team already.

The team named former NHL backup Mike Bales as their new goaltending coach and he’ll have his work cut out for him in trying to restore Marc-Andre Fleury’s game to a level fitting a No. 1 guy. He spent the past two years as the team’s goaltending development coach working with guys in the minors.

Penguins GM Ray Shero tells Michelle Crechiolo at the Pens’ website he’s confident Bales can get the job done.

“I’m very happy that we hired him a couple years ago to get him to this point, because you can see what he’s done for our organization and what he has brought,” he said. “So I think it’s a good hire for us and a real good opportunity for Mike.”

If he can get Fleury back into being a top goalie, that’ll go a long way to establishing his credibility. After the way the Pens have seen him play the past two years in the postseason, any kind of help would be appreciated.

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