- Inching his way back from offseason ankle surgery, Jake Guentzel was seen this morning wearing a full-contact jersey (X Link). For the majority of training camp, Guentzel had been seen wearing a non-contact jersey, but it is clear the Pittsburgh Penguins are confident with his recovery timeline, allowing him to fully participate in the team’s practices. Going into a massive contract year for both he and the organization, Guentzel will benefit greatly from a full season of action if he is able to be ready for opening night next week.
[SOURCE LINK]
Penguins Rumors
Pittsburgh Recalls Smith, Others To Training Camp Roster
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Ty Smith, Avery Hayes, and Rem Pitlick to their training camp roster, after assigning all three to the minors just recently. It’s likely this move is just to get the trio more preseason game action but it’s notable, as Ty Smith’s assignment to the minors elicited a strong reaction from fans and onlookers. If this move is temporary, and how Smith will be utilized moving forward, will be items to watch as the Penguins enter the regular season.
[SOURCE LINK]
Pittsburgh Penguins Claim Jansen Harkins Off Waivers From Jets
The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed winger Jansen Harkins off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Monday. All other players placed on waivers yesterday, aside from new Nashville Predators forward Samuel Fagemo, cleared.
Harkins, 26, had spent his entire NHL career in the Jets organization after they drafted him with the 47th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He’s only logged one true season as a full-time NHLer, suiting up in 77 games for Winnipeg in 2021-22, but the Penguins will bank on him being a solid depth contributor signed to a cheap cap hit (but not league minimum) of $850K. It’s worth noting Harkins is due slightly more actual salary than cap hit this season – $875K, to be exact.
In 154 NHL games dating back to 2019, Harkins has 13 goals, 14 assists and 27 points – not awful totals for a player that’s averaged under ten minutes per game. Assigned to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the first time since 2020 last season, Harkins recorded well over a point per game, notching 25 goals and 50 points in 44 games. That production is what’s bumped his stock coming into this season and, evidently, influenced Penguins management to take a flyer on the 6-foot-2 winger with strong two-way instincts.
With trade acquisition Rem Pitlick having already cleared waivers and been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh has some competition to lock down depth forward spots, especially with Jake Guentzel out for the first few games of the season. Harkins will now compete for a spot on the Penguins’ opening night lineup alongside depth forwards like Vinnie Hinostroza, Alexander Nylander and Radim Zohorna.
Examining The Pittsburgh Penguins Bottom Six Options
The Pittsburgh Penguins saw more turnover this offseason than any other organization in the NHL. From the hiring of President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas to the signing of a multitude of fourth liners, the Pittsburgh Penguins look wildly different than they did six months ago. It’s certainly a welcome change in the Steel City after the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
In a recent season preview that was completed by Sean Gentille, Shayna Goldman, and Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the trio pointed out that one of the biggest issues with the Penguins last season was the lack of support from the bottom six forward group. The group was so bad that nearly half of it was put on waivers before the trade deadline. Kasperi Kapanen was claimed, Brock McGinn was traded, and many others departed in free agency or were traded away.
Kyle Dubas completely overhauled the bottom six almost exclusively through free agency. In the early days of free agency, the Penguins signed Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Vinnie Hinostroza, Andreas Johnsson, Joona Koppanen, Matt Nieto, and Radim Zohorna. Dubas also traded for Rem Pitlick who was a throw-in as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. These eight players now find themselves competing with the remaining Penguins’ bottom six options Jeff Carter, Alexander Nylander and Drew O’Connor, as well as Colin White who is in camp on a PTO. The group of 12 will be competing for six or seven NHL spots in the Penguins forward group.
Competition is almost always a good thing in the NHL and the Penguins training camp has seen a lot of it. Very little is set in their bottom six, except that it will likely be again void of offence. While the group doesn’t have a ton of offensive firepower, they clearly have an identity, which is something that didn’t exist in previous seasons in Pittsburgh. Dubas has targeted players who are capable defensively, can skate with pace, and won’t hand the game away by giving up backbreaking goals. The same can’t be said for the Penguins’ bottom six last season.
With all this, one must wonder which players will have the inside track to start opening night on the Penguins’ third and fourth line. Let’s look at the way Head Coach Mike Sullivan and the Penguins might utilize their options.
In a perfect world, Eller would be a perfect fourth-line center, but in Pittsburgh, he will likely see duty as a third-line pivot. At 34 years old, Eller’s best days are behind him, but he is still a very capable penalty killer and is defensively sound. Eller doesn’t offer the offensive pop he did in his last 20s, but he is just a year removed from a 31-point season.
Flanking Eller on the left side will likely be O’Connor, the Penguins love his size and speed and are hoping he can piece it all together. It goes to show how top-heavy the Penguins are when they are counting on a player who has eight goals and nine assists in 78 career games to be a key component of their third line.
When healthy, it seems very possible that the Penguins will deploy Nylander. The former eighth-overall pick has the pedigree to be a scorer in the NHL, but he has never been able to produce enough offense to stick with an NHL club. Nylander will start the season on the Penguins second line in the absence of Jake Guentzel, and depending on his production he could find himself flanking the right side of the third line, or exposed to waivers.
The Penguins’ fourth line is where it gets interesting. Nieto and Acciari were targeted by Dubas on July 1st and fit the identity that Dubas and Sullivan are building for that group. Nieto is a terrific penalty killer and will be utilized in that role a lot, while Acciari adds a physical element and is good defensively. Both players can add a bit of offense as well, Nieto is coming off a season in which he posted 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games, while Acciari had 14 goals and 9 assists last season in 77 games.
Finally, last season’s lightning rod Carter remains under contract for one more season and is still a favorite of Coach Sullivan. Carter was never removed from the Penguins lineup last year, despite having the worst season of his professional career. Carter looked run down at times and was consistently a step behind when it came to both offense and defense. However, he was utilized in a third-line center role and probably shouldn’t have been. Carter could perform better when being deployed less often and in a more sheltered role. Given Sullivan’s affinity for Carter, it would take a lot to remove the 38-year-old from Pittsburgh’s lineup.
How the Penguins bottom six will look on opening night remains a mystery. But it should be one of the more exciting roster battles to see in the final week of training camp. The Penguins will have to expose a lot of players to waivers to trim down their roster and could lose some bodies to other teams depending on how things shake out.
Penguins Hire Trent Mann
It didn’t take too long for Trent Mann to find his next organization. The Penguins announced today that they’ve named Mann as a Player Development and Scouting Advisor.
Mann had been with Ottawa since 2011 in a few different roles including their Director of Amateur Scouting for the past six seasons. The Sens certainly had some strong draft picks during that stretch including Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, and Shane Pinto although it hasn’t been a perfect stretch with Tyler Boucher’s stock dropping lately while Lassi Thomson, a former first-rounder himself, is going on waivers later today. Mann, who also served as assistant GM for the Sens last season, was relieved of his duties in mid-July.
Now, he joins a Pittsburgh front office that has undergone some significant restructuring under Kyle Dubas. While he’ll hold an advisory role for the time being, with a dozen seasons under his belt in the scouting ranks, it stands to reason that he should assume a bigger role with the club before too long.
The hire also adds a small new wrinkle to the cross-state rivalry between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as Mann’s son, defenseman Matteo Mann, was drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round back in June.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/23
It’s another day in the NHL preseason, meaning it’s another day of cuts and reassignments. Yesterday was a busy one for player movement across North American hockey’s various preseasons, and today could be no different. We’ll track those transactions here.
Boston Bruins (via team release)
D Jackson Edward (to London, OHL)
D Ryan Mast (to Providence, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (via team release)
F Christopher Brown (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Filip Cederqvist (to Rochester, AHL)
F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Brandon Fortunato (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Damien Giroux (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Chris Jandric (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Mason Jobst (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Aleksandr Kisakov (to Rochester, AHL)
F Tyson Kozak (to Rochester, AHL)
F Dominick Mersch (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Michael Mersch (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Zach Metsa (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Olivier Nadeau (to Rochester, AHL)
F Viktor Neuchev (to Rochester, AHL)
D Nikita Novikov (to Rochester, AHL)
D Ethan Prow (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
D Nicolas Savoie (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Graham Slaggert (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Brendan Warren (released from PTO, to Rochester, AHL)
F Linus Weissbach (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
F Parker Bell (to Calgary, AHL)
D Mikael Diotte (released from ATO)
D Jarrod Gourley (to Calgary, AHL)
D Etienne Morin (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Brett Sutter (to Calgary, AHL)
F William Stromgren (to Calgary, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (via NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis)
D Josh Healey (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
F Jalen Luypen (to Rockford, AHL)
D Ross MacDougall (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
D Josh Maniscalco (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
D Andrew Perrott (released from PTO, to Rockford, AHL)
Colorado Avalanche (via team release)
F Henry Bowlby (to Colorado, AHL)
F Tanner Kero (to Colorado, AHL)
F Matthew Stienburg (to Colorado, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
F Roman Ahcan (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Angle (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ole-Julian Bjorgvik-Holm (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Cameron Butler (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Cole Clayton (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Eric Dop (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Jake Gaudet (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Samuel Knazko (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Nicolas Meloche (released from PTO)
F Mikael Pyyhtia (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Martin Rysavy (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
D Thomas Schemitsch (released from PTO)
F Owen Sillinger (to Cleveland, AHL)
Los Angeles Kings (via team release)
F Kaleb Lawrence (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Nathan Burke (released from tryout)
F Sean Tschigerl (released from tryout)
F Ty Thorpe (released from tryout)
D Max Coyle (released from tryout)
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
F Kale Kessy (released from PTO, to Iowa, AHL)
D Simon Johansson (to Iowa, AHL)
D Kyle Masters (to Iowa, AHL)
F Greg Meireles (released from PTO, to Iowa, AHL)
F Pavel Novak (to Iowa, AHL)
D David Spacek (to Iowa, AHL)
Nashville Predators (via team release)
D Tanner Molendyk (to Saskatoon, WHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team release)
G Tyler Brennan (to Utica, AHL)
F Filip Engaras (to Utica, AHL)
D Colin Felix (to Utica, AHL)
F Josh Filmon (to Swift Current, WHL)
F T.J. Friedmann (to Utica, AHL)
F Joseph Gambardella (to Utica, AHL)
F Timur Ibragimov (to Utica, AHL)
D Will MacKinnon (to Utica, AHL)
F Xavier Parent (to Utica, AHL)
D Robbie Russo (to Utica, AHL)
F Ryan Schmelzer (to Utica, AHL)
D Topias Vilen (to Utica, AHL)
New York Islanders (via team release)
D Isaiah George (to London, OHL)
F Justin Gill (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
G Tristan Lennox (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Zsombor Garat (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Blade Jenkins (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Artem Kulakov (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Brent Moran (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Dmytro Timashov (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Sam Asselin (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Cole Bardreau (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Tanner Fritz (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Jeff Kubiak (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Seth Helgeson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Ashton Calder (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Joseph Cipollone (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Riley Piercey (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Jake Pivonka (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Trevor Cosgrove (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Christian Krygier (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Vincent Sevigny (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Henrik Tikkanen (to Bridgeport, AHL)
New York Rangers (via team release)
D Nikolas Brouillard (to Hartford, AHL)
D Adam Clendening (released from PTO)
F Karl Henriksson (to Hartford, AHL)
D Blake Hillman (released from PTO, to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryder Korzcak (to Hartford, AHL)
F Bobby Trivigno (to Hartford, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team release)
F Angus Crookshank (to Belleville, AHL)
F Philippe Daoust (to Belleville, AHL)
F Tarun Fizer (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
D Ryan MacKinnon (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
F Graham McPhee (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
G Leevi Merilainen (to Belleville, AHL)
F Brennan Saulnier (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
D Donovan Sebrango (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mark Sinclair (released from PTO, to Belleville, AHL)
D Djibril Touré (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team release)
F Alexis Gendron (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Adam Karashik (released from PTO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Nolan Maier (released from PTO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Ethan Samson (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Will Zmolek (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
F Jonathan Gruden (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Rem Pitlick (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Taylor Fedun (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (via team release)
G Jack LaFontaine (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Jacob Melanson (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Logan Morrison (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Ville Ottavainen (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Tucker Robertson (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Ryan Winterton (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
F Mikhail Abramov (to Springfield, AHL)
D Jeremie Biakabutuka (to Springfield, AHL)
F Drew Callin (to Springfield, AHL)
G Will Cranley (to Springfield, AHL)
F Tanner Dickinson (to Springfield, AHL)
D Joseph Duszak (to Springfield, AHL)
D Marc-Andre Gaudet (to Springfield, AHL)
F Andre Heim (to Springfield, AHL)
F Mitch Hoelscher (to Springfield, AHL)
D Austin Osmanski (to Springfield, AHL)
F Nick Ritchie (released from PTO)
D Hunter Skinner (to Springfield, AHL)
D Andy Welinski (released from PTO)
G Vadim Zherenko (to Springfield, AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (per CapFriendly)
F Jakub Brabenec (to Henderson, AHL)
D Daniil Chayka (to Henderson, AHL)
D Lukas Cormier (to Henderson, AHL)
D Christoffer Sedoff (to Henderson, AHL)
G Jesper Vikman (to Henderson, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team release)
F Andrew Cristall (to Kelowna, WHL)
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Latest On Jake Guentzel
The Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news this morning, as star winger Jake Guentzel was on the ice today at Penguins practice, sporting a non-contact jersey. Guentzel has been recovering from offseason ankle surgery.
While he’s presumably not fully ready for game action, Guentzel’s return is a crucially important development for the Penguins’ competitive hopes in a cutthroat Metropolitan Division. He’s the team’s best winger, and has scored 76 goals and 157 points in 154 games over the last two seasons. Getting him back up to full speed and into their lineup would do wonders for the Penguins’ top six and the chances of success for their entire offensive attack.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/28/23
Today should see more significant cuts from league-wide rosters. Up until now, players attending camps on amateur tryouts or young draft picks getting returned to their junior clubs have mostly dominated this list. We’re now 12 days from the start of the regular season, though, and that means the playing season waiver period will open today at 1 p.m. CT. Therefore, any players under NHL contract who need to clear waivers to be assigned to the minors can be cut from camp as early as this afternoon. As CapFriendly notes, placing a player on waivers now carries no disadvantage compared to executing the same move later in camp. While a player technically has a ten-game, 30-day clock after a recall to the NHL roster before waivers are again required, this does not start until the regular season begins on October 10. With all that in mind, here are all of today’s cuts from camps league-wide.
Boston Bruins: (via team release)
F Joey Abate (to Providence, AHL)
F Vincent Arseneau (to Providence, AHL)
F Justin Brazeau (to Providence, AHL)
F Curtis Hall (to Providence, AHL)
F Owen Pederson (to Providence, AHL)
D Ethan Ritchie (to Providence, AHL)
G Shane Starrett (to Providence, AHL)
F Luke Toporowski (to Providence, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (via team release)
D Mats Lindgren (to Red Deer, WHL)
D Norwin Panocha (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
Colorado Avalanche (via DNVR’s Meghan Angley)
D Jeremy Hanzel (to Spokane, WHL)
D Saige Weinstein (to Spokane, WHL)
Edmonton Oilers (via team release)
G Tyler Parks (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Xavier Bernard (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Noah Ganske (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Jake Johnson (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Connor Corcoran (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Cam Wright (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Ture Linden (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Dino Kambeitz (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Ethan De Jong (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Matvey Petrov (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Jayden Grubbe (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Jake Chiasson (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Carl Berglund (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Tyler Tullio (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Maximus Wanner (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team release)
G Carson Bjarnason (to Brandon, WHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
F Corey Andonovski (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
F Avery Hayes (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
F Marc Johnstone (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
F Austin Rueschhoff (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
D Isaac Belliveau (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
D Justin Lee (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
D Dmitri Samorukov (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
D Jack St. Ivany (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
G Joel Blomqvist (to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, AHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (via team release)
F Jacob Frasca (released from ATO to Barrie, OHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
F Mark Duarte (to Calgary, AHL)
F Alex Gallant (to Calgary, AHL)
F Rory Kerins (to Calgary, AHL)
F Mitch McLain (to Calgary, AHL)
F Ilya Nikolaev (to Calgary, AHL)
G Connor Murphy (to Calgary, AHL)
G Matt Radomsky (to Calgary, AHL)
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Ty Smith, Four Others Placed On Waivers
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Devils dealt Smith and a third-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for John Marino, who went on to have a stellar 2022-23 season. Smith, on the other hand, played in only nine NHL game for the Penguins. He spent most of last season in the AHL, scoring 24 points in 39 games, and now the AHL is where he’ll be once again assuming he can clear waivers.
Another recognizable name on the waiver wire is that of Rem Pitlick. Pitlick scored 37 points in 2021-22 on the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators, but struggled in 2022-23. He was dealt to Pittsburgh by Montreal as part of the Erik Karlsson trade with the hope, from Pitlick’s perspective, that the Penguins would provide a solid change-of-scenery NHL opportunity.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/27/23
After a busy day yesterday, teams are expected to expand their lists of training camp cuts today. This will be one of the last instances of mostly junior-league players appearing on this list as teams continue to trim down their rosters to solely NHL and AHL hopefuls. Today’s list will be updated as cuts come in, as always.
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
G Nolan Lalonde (to Erie, OHL)
D Ben Roger (released from ATO to Saint Mary’s, USports)
Los Angeles Kings (via team release)
F Sam Alfano (released from ATO to Erie, OHL)
F Easton Armstrong (released from ATO to Wenatchee, WHL)
D Samuel Mayer (released from ATO to Peterborough, OHL)
D Hunter Mayo (released from ATO to Red Deer, WHL)
G Jacob Oster (released from ATO to Oshawa, OHL)
D Chase Pauls (released from ATO to Lethbridge, WHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via updated training camp roster)
F Brayden Yager (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
Seattle Kraken (via team release)
D Ty Nelson (to North Bay, OHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
D Michael Buchinger (to Guelph, OHL)
D Quinton Burns (to Kingston, OHL)
D Matthew Mayich (to Ottawa, OHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release)
F Ethan Gauthier (to Drumondville, QMJHL)
D Dyllan Gill (to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
F Ethan Hay (to Flint, OHL)
D Scott Walford (released from ATO to McGill, USports)
This page will be updated throughout the day.