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Latest On Pittsburgh Penguins Roster

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The Pittsburgh Penguins finally found a goal scorer in their bottom six forwards as Radim Zohorna lit the lamp in the final minutes of the Penguins’ 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues last night. Zohorna was playing in his first game of the season after being sent down to the AHL after a strong training camp and formed a unit with fellow winger Drew O’Connor and center Lars Eller.

After the game, Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan was visibly frustrated with his team’s play, and while he didn’t talk about roster decisions going forward, General Manager Kyle Dubas has been. Dubas spoke with NHL On TNT just a few nights ago and said he wanted the bottom six forwards to be tougher to play against and added that he didn’t feel the group was there yet. Dubas’ comments sparked speculation that the Penguins could be looking to make a move in the bottom six and they did by waiving Jansen Harkins and re-calling Zohorna before last night’s game. The Penguins also health-scratched defenseman P.O. Joseph in favor of Ryan Shea who made his NHL debut on the Penguins’ third pairing.

Kyle Dubas stocked up on fringe NHL talent in the offseason and has stashed many of those options in the AHL specifically for a moment like this. The Penguins AHL affiliate has so many veterans in fact that Alex Nylander and Andreas Johnsson had to be veteran scratches for last night’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins game. On top of Nylander, Johnsson, and Harkins, the Penguins also have Vinnie Hinostroza, Rem Pitlick, and Colin White as former NHLers who could be called up to shuffle the furniture in the Penguins bottom six.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote in his 10 Postgame Observations piece that Sullivan typically doesn’t make major changes after a loss, but given the team’s recent record and his comments, he implies that it could happen. The Penguins third line of O’Connor, Eller and Zohorna was very good last night, however, the fourth line of Matthew Nieto, Jeff Carter and Noel Acciari has offered very little to the team and appears to be constantly chasing the play. That group is at the bottom of the Penguins lineup in almost every analytical statistic and has a combined zero points in five games together. Sullivan has been apprehensive about scratching Carter in the past and became defensive with the media last season on multiple occasions when the topic was asked about.

It might be just five games into the season but given that the Penguins are 2-3 against five teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season, there could be big changes brewing in Pittsburgh as Dubas and company try to find an identity for the bottom six forwards. A competent bottom-six has been something the Penguins have lacked since they lost Brandon Tanev (and Jared McCann via trade) in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and it was one of the big reasons they missed the playoffs in 2023.

Update On Erik Karlsson To Pittsburgh Rumblings

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Rob Rossi of The Athletic wrote a column today with regard to the Erik Karlsson trade saga. While many of the updates offered were hardly surprising, there were a few pieces of information that gave some insights into how the Pittsburgh Penguins became involved in the trade talks. Pittsburgh always seemed like a team that couldn’t squeeze a player with Karlsson’s cap number into their lineup, but based on the recent reporting it appears that they are the front-runner.

Rossi begins the article by dropping the news that Kyle Dubas reportedly identified Erik Karlsson as a trade target while he was in the interview process with Penguins ownership. Now, aside from the Tristan Jarry extension to this point much of Dubas’ work has been to tinker around the edges of the Penguins lineup. But it does appear that he’s built up the club’s depth in the bottom six and their defense core for the possibility that some players could be shipped out very soon.

Another newer piece of information that Rossi mentions is that Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have reportedly endorsed the potential Karlsson acquisition and in Letang’s case, he’s even agreed to make changes to his own role within the Penguins lineup. If a potential trade were to go through, Letang would remain as Pittsburgh’s number one defenseman, however, Letang would change his powerplay role to allow Karlsson to quarterback the Penguin’s powerplay.

San Jose was also reportedly interested in defenseman Marcus Pettersson being part of a potential blockbuster, however, Dubas has squashed that notion thus far as head coach Mike Sullivan sees Pettersson and newly acquired defender Ryan Graves as the top two options for the left side of Pittsburgh’s defensive group. Pettersson was terrific for Pittsburgh last season after seeing his name all over trade rumors boards for much of the summer of 2022.

Lastly, Dubas apparently wants to put top-5 protection on any first-round pick he trades in a Karlsson deal and has reportedly floated the idea of putting other conditions such as home-ice advantage on lower-round draft picks that could be involved in the deal.

While it appears that the Penguins are still the front-runner to land the reigning Norris Trophy winner, it doesn’t appear that a trade is imminent anytime soon. Pittsburgh would have to navigate an awful lot of moving parts to push the trade through, however, as we’ve seen in the past these trades can come together quickly when teams are motivated to make the move happen. Regardless of the outcome, it does look like Dubas has plans to continue his makeover of the Penguins roster before the start of the 2023-24 season.

Snapshots: Sullivan, Lomberg, Hainsey, Martinsen Lilleberg

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There has been some speculation recently that a possible chain reaction of hirings could eventually result in Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan being let go and moving behind the bench for the Rangers.  However, the bench boss poured cold water on that idea, telling Mollie Walker of the New York Post that he is “here for the long haul” with Pittsburgh.  Sullivan has four years left on his contract with Pittsburgh and is expected to have some sort of say in who the team brings in to fill out their front office after dismissing GM Ron Hextall and Brian Burke at the end of the regular season.  Accordingly, it stands to reason that he’ll be behind the bench when the puck drops on the 2023-24 campaign in October.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Panthers winger Ryan Lomberg was a full participant at practice today, notes George Richards of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 28-year-old suffered an upper-body injury partway through the first round against Boston and missed the entire second round versus Toronto.  Head coach Paul Maurice indicated after practice today that his full team is available for the series opener tomorrow in Carolina so it appears that Lomberg will be back after missing the last eight games.
  • Ron Hainsey is moving up the ranks at the NHLPA as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli relays (Twitter link) that the long-time NHL blueliner is now their Assistant Executive Director. Hainsey, who played 17 seasons in the league with eight different teams, played a significant role in the search new Executive Director Marty Walsh and he has been rewarded for those efforts with a promotion.
  • Coyotes prospect Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is on the move as Vaxjo of the SHL announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a two-year contract. The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Coyotes (107th overall) back in 2021 and had three goals and eight assists in 46 games with IK Oskarshamn and is currently playing in his third straight World Championship with Norway.  Drafted as a 20-year-old, Arizona only has Martinsen Lilleberg’s draft rights until June 1st so it appears that they will not be signing him based on this new agreement in Sweden.

Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Bonino, Poehling

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For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old played just three shifts in the first period before he exited the game after taking an elbow from Tyler Motte. Petry also exited Tuesday nights 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens with an apparent injury. Petry’s injury luck in the last two games has forced the Penguins defense to play shorthanded in back-to-back games, leaning heavily on Kris Letang who himself has dealt with a series of health issues this season.

If Petry is out for any length of time it would be likely that recent healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel would draw back into the Penguins lineup. The Penguins do have Mark Friedman and Ty Smith stashed in the minors but would need to move Nick Bonino onto LTIR to call up either player. Ty Smith was quite good in limited NHL action earlier this season, however the young defenseman is still week-to-week with a facial fracture.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Seth Rorabaugh is reporting that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told tonight’s MSG broadcast that Pittsburgh expects center Nick Bonino to be back by the playoffs. Bonino was re-acquired on trade deadline day by the Penguins to center their fourth line but was only able to dress in a handful of games after spending most of the season with the San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has taken Bonino’s spot on the fourth line in recent games but has struggled mightily going -4 in just 8:28 of ice time on Tuesday against Montreal.
  • Ryan Poehling did return to action tonight after missing over a month with a lingering upper body injury. The young forward saw duty on the fourth line next to Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. Poehling’s return could create an interesting situation on the Penguins fourth line should Jeff Carter continue to struggle. Poehling was centering the unit earlier in the season prior to the injury and showed good chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen.

Snapshots: Extension Updates, Letang, Pacioretty

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Now that the holiday break is over, teams will now shift their focus directly on the trade deadline and a push for the playoffs. Some clubs who find themselves on the bubble will have to determine whether an extension or a trade is the best option for some expiring contracts. With that in mind, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic examines several of the most intriguing contract negotiations, from David Pastrnak to Dylan Larkin.

While those two seem destined to eventually re-sign, that doesn’t seem quite as likely for the two big names in St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. Blues fans holding out hope that the former will be kept won’t love the comments from agent Pat Morris, who explained that there have not been any contract negotiations for O’Reilly this season and there is “nothing new to report” on that front.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins could be without Kris Letang again, as head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Rob Rossi of The Athletic that the veteran defenseman is being evaluated for a lower-body injury. Letang played over 27 minutes last night and nearly 26 the night before that in consecutive losses.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes won’t have Max Pacioretty in the lineup tomorrow, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour said today that it is possible he returns within the next ten games. The veteran forward tore his Achilles in August and was given a six-month recovery timeline – one that he appears well ahead of. Pacioretty scored 19 goals and 37 points in 39 games for the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

Jason Zucker Out Week-To-Week

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Not only will the Pittsburgh Penguins be without Jeff Petry for at least several weeks after placing him on long-term injured reserve yesterday, but now Jason Zucker is out too. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained today that Zucker is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will not travel with the club when they travel to Florida for tomorrow’s game against the Panthers.

Petry will be out “longer-term” according to Sullivan, though a clear timeline has not been given at this point. Neither player is expected to require surgery.

It is unfortunate news for Zucker, who was having a nice bounce-back season after two injury-riddled campaigns. He had just totaled just 18 and 17 points the last two years, numbers he had already surpassed this year with 20 points in his first 27 games. The versatile winger was playing regular minutes and had two assists in Monday’s game, including on the game-winning tally from Evgeni Malkin in the dying seconds.

For a player that has taken a lot of heat since he arrived in Pittsburgh, it looked like the 30-year-old was getting back to the player that scored 33 goals and 64 points for the Minnesota Wild in 2017-18. Unfortunately, the rebirth of that player will have to wait at least a few games as he deals with the lower-body injury.

Not only was this his best performance as a Penguin but Zucker is also a pending free agent, and a big year could set him up for a substantial payday. He’ll be 31 when the market opens next summer, coming off a five-year, $27.5MM deal he signed with Minnesota in 2018.

Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Mike Sullivan

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Mike Sullivan is locked in long-term as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today, the team announced a three-year extension for the esteemed coach, beginning after the 2023-24 season and lasting through 2026-27.

Sullivan gave a statement today on his extension:

My family and I are excited to continue the journey in Pittsburgh. Words can’t express the respect and gratitude I have for what we have accomplished during my tenure with the Penguins. It is a testament to the character of the people and players in this organization, and the standard of excellence that we have established collectively. I’m grateful to Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins management group for their trust and confidence in me.

Sullivan is quickly transforming into one of the most important figures in Penguins’ history. His tenure as head coach has been nothing short of elite from a management perspective, guiding the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 while also consistently keeping a standard of excellence throughout regular season play. The significance and amount of injuries that the Penguins have faced, especially in recent years, have been overcome largely in part due to Sullivan’s coaching.

In 507 games behind the Penguins bench, Sullivan has a record of 297-156-54 or a points percentage of .639%. He has a playoff record of 44-38.

If he remains Pittsburgh’s coach for the duration of his new extension, it’ll be at least a 12-year tenure for Sullivan as the team’s head coach. With seven seasons under his belt already, he’s been the longest continuously-serving coach in Penguins history, and he’s tied with Eddie Johnston for total seasons served behind the bench as head coach for the organization.

In the coming years, Sullivan could be given the tall task of leading the Penguins out of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era. Both of their contracts expire prior to 2027, and while they surely may re-sign, it’s unlikely that they’ll be at the same dominant level of play. Without a slam-dunk prospect in the system to solidify the future, the team will rely heavily on Sullivan’s coaching performance to keep them competitive.

But that’s all Sullivan’s done so far in Pittsburgh — keeping them competitive. The team has the longest active playoff streak in the NHL, dating back to 2007, and it was one he singlehandedly saved in 2016 after taking over for Mike Johnston midseason after just a 15-10-3 start. Going 33-16-5 the rest of the way, Sullivan and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in the first two seasons he served behind the bench, and while their playoff success has been limited since that point, Sullivan’s managed to keep the ship turned in the right direction.

East Notes: Brown, Bratt, Sullivan

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Ottawa Senators forward Connor Brown didn’t have his most productive goal-scoring season, with only 10 in 64 games, but that didn’t stop him from having yet another solid campaign with the Senators. Despite the decline in goals, Brown’s point production remained in line with what’s typically expected of him, his .609 points-per-game this past season being nearly identical to his points-per-game marks from 2020-21 (.625) and 2019-20 (.605). In addition to that steady points production, Brown has been an important leadership figure on a young Senators team, providing the sort of two-way hockey that coaches can fall in love with. Now, one year away from a trip to unrestricted free agency, it seems Brown is looking to cash in.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Brown is “thinking about testing the market” next summer. Accordingly, Friedman notes that this news “punts the ball” into the Senators’ hands in terms of whether they should trade Brown to maximize the long-term value they can gain from him. With comparable players such as Blake Coleman or Artturi Lehkonen returning first-round picks or strong prospects in their own trades, the Senators could prefer a package similar to what the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils received for those players rather than risk letting Brown walk. Brown is on a $3.6MM cap hit, and he could become an especially desirable trade asset if the Senators offered to retain salary on him as well.

On other teams from the Eastern Conference:

  • Jesper Bratt has become a focal point of many discussions over the past week, with conflicting reports on whether he’d be a prime candidate to be traded this summer. The Devils’ breakout winger, who was nearly point-per-game this year, is a pending restricted free agent, and some, including Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, have speculated that he could have priced himself off of a team that is reportedly looking for more “hard skill” this offseason. Friedman, though, pumps the breaks a bit on that conversation. According to Friedman, Bratt and the Devils’ last contract negotiation was “a tough one,” and that both sides “really grinded” each other in the process. So, Friedman believes that, knowing how hard the last negotiation was between the team and player, “everybody’s kind of preparing for a tough one” this summer, and Bratt’s name surfacing in potential trade rumors is simply a natural part of a cutthroat negotiation process. That explanation would make a lot of sense since it’s hard to see the Devils, who still have a lot of room to work with under the salary cap, send away their team’s leading scorer just as he’s coming into his own as a superstar player.
  • Brian Burke, the President of Hockey Operations of the Pittsburgh Penguins, gave a wide-ranging interview to Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Among many topics he covered, one of the more interesting nuggets from the interview came when he was asked about the large number of coaching vacancies across the league. Burke spoke about the leaguewide vacancies, saying that, generally speaking, NHL clubs’ “ownership and management are too impatient on the coaching front.” He also reiterated his faith in coach Mike Sullivan, stating that they were “thrilled” with his work and view him as one of the best coaches in the NHL. So while some aggressively change-oriented fans might want to see a different coach behind the bench of the Penguins, who have not won a playoff series in four seasons, it doesn’t look like they’ll get their wish as long as the two-time Stanley Cup champion wants to coach in Pittsburgh.

Penguins Notes: Malkin, COVID, Recalls

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The day has come for Evgeni Malkin, who will make his season debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The star center has been out all season rehabbing his knee after offseason surgery but now returns to a Pittsburgh lineup that won ten straight before falling to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

With 48 games left in the regular season, Malkin will have a chance to climb a little further up the all-time points list. He currently sits 63rd with 1,104, just behind Patrick Kane’s 1,119. Both those names could jump over several impressive names, including former teammate Marian Hossa who is 57th with 1,134. Given Malkin recently said that he wants to play several more seasons, there’s no telling how high he’ll climb before eventually hanging up his skates.

  • Unfortunately, Malkin’s return won’t be the only story of the day for the Penguins. Danton Heinen and Zach Aston-Reese have both tested positive for coronavirus and have entered the league’s COVID protocol. They are out for tonight’s game. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Heinen is experiencing symptoms, but Aston-Reese is not. The latter could test out of the protocol after five days, while Heinen will need his symptoms to resolve (and provide a negative test after a minimum of five days) before rejoining his teammates.
  • The interesting part for the Penguins is how they’ll make the financials fit, as they actually don’t have the cap space to activate Malkin from long-term injured reserve without sending someone else down. With Heinen, Aston-Reese, and Casey DeSmith all on the COVID protocol, they’ll first have to get cap compliant before using emergency recalls to fill out a lineup.
  • Moving Jason Zucker to LTIR could solve the issue for now but he too is close to a return. Zucker skated with the club today in a non-contact jersey, but Sullivan explained that his status hasn’t changed and is not ready to return just yet. Given Zucker hasn’t played since December 19, his stint on LTIR could be backdated to allow the Penguins to activate him whenever ready.

Snapshots: Canucks, Sullivan, Blackwood

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The Vancouver Canucks have allowed 19 goals against in their last three games and now find themselves just three points ahead of the bottom-dwelling Seattle Kraken for last place in the Pacific Division. The team has lost four in a row, eight of their last ten, and now own a -14 goal differential on the year. Things are not going well in Vancouver, to say the least.

So when reports surfaced over the weekend that the team owner was on the road trip, some eyebrows were raised around the league. Would the team make a change in the front office if things didn’t turn around quickly? No, apparently not yet. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman tweets that though owner Francesco Aquilini is meeting with general manager Jim Benning this afternoon, he does not expect to make a change at the position. Friedman writes that the meeting is just to “understand why the team is losing and address it.” The Canucks are scheduled to welcome in the Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and Chicago Blackhawks on their current three-game homestand.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres tonight and will have Mike Sullivan behind the bench, but the head coach won’t be able to travel with the team to Montreal for Thursday’s matchup against the Canadiens because of COVID restrictions. Sullivan has been cleared from the league’s protocol, but hasn’t eclipsed the 14-day period that the Canadian government requires. Luckily, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin, who both recently exited the protocol, will be eligible to travel and play.
  • Mackenzie Blackwood has cleared the concussion protocol and is available to play for them on Thursday if necessary. Blackwood collided with Kaapo Kakko in the third period of Sunday’s game, causing a concussion spotter to pull him from the match. He told reporters today that his neck is a little sore, but he practised in full today and appears ready to return.

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