Jonathan Bombulie stories, Page 18
With trade nixed, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford says he’s content keeping Phil Kessel
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has found trading winger Phil Kessel to be a difficult proposition. So for now, he says he’s given up. “It looks like he’ll stay here,” Rutherford said Tuesday. According to reports, Rutherford worked out a deal to send Kessel to the Minnesota Wild for...
Penguins coaching staff pays visit to Steelers sidelines for minicamp
Not every coach on the practice field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the start of Pittsburgh Steelers minicamp on Tuesday was blowing a whistle or barking orders. Mike Sullivan and the entire Penguins coaching staff, including assistants Jacques Martin and Mark Recchi, goalie coach Mike Buckley and video...
Ex-Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo draws ire of Boston fans with punch, wink
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo has become a hated man among Boston sports fans. In the waning moments of Sunday night’s 5-1 St. Louis Blues win over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, Bortuzzo and forward Noal Acciari had words. Bortuzzo caught Acciari with...
As clincher grows closer, Stanley Cup ratings rise in Pittsburgh market
As the Stanley Cup gets closer to being awarded, local hockey fans are paying more attention to the final series between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. The Pittsburgh market ranked fifth in the country with a 6.0 rating for Thursday night’s 2-1 Blues victory on NBC, behind Boston,...
Blues on verge of joining exclusive list of teams to fire coach, win Stanley Cup
St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube is one win away from joining an exclusive club. If the Blues can close out the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night (or in Game 7 on Wednesday), Berube will become the seventh NHL coach hired midseason...
Phil Kessel trade talk reminiscent of summer of 2014, James Neal deal
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Pittsburgh Penguins are shopping an incredibly productive winger in the hopes that the move will improve not their skill level or goal scoring but their overall style of play. It describes the summer of 2019, with Phil Kessel on the block....
Plum’s R.J. Umberger makes Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame
Plum native R.J. Umberger is part of the 2019 class of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, the school announced Thursday. Umberger played three seasons for the Buckeyes from 2000-03, leading the team in scoring all three years. He finished his college career with 129 points in 112 games....
Joe Musgrove pitches Pirates past BravesVideo
Joe Musgrove did something a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher hadn’t done in quite some time Wednesday night. He left the mound to a rousing ovation from the home crowd. The 6-foot-5 right-hander pitched into the ninth inning, allowing five hits and striking out six, to lead the Pirates to a 7-4...
Pirates pick Michigan State wide receiver recruit on third day of MLB draft
Jase Bowen could be the next Kirk Gibson. The Pittsburgh Pirates hope he’s not. Bowen, a 6-foot-1 outfielder, was the Pirates’ 11th-round selection in the 2019 draft, which concluded Wednesday with the final 30 rounds. He hit .550 with 31 RBIs and 14 stolen bases as a senior at Toledo...
Pirates bump struggling Nick Kingham from rotation in favor of Rookie Davis
With front-end starters Trevor Williams and Jameson Taillon sidelined by injuries, the Pittsburgh Pirates asked Nick Kingham and Steven Brault to patch holes in their rotation over the past few weeks. Kingham’s audition is over. He is headed to the bullpen, replaced by 26-year-old righty Rookie Davis. Brault’s spot remains...
Injured Pirates starter Trevor Williams moves closer to return to rotation
The beleaguered Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation finally got some good news Wednesday. Trevor Williams was scheduled to throw a bullpen session consisting of about two innings’ worth of pitches before the Pirates faced the Atlanta Braves. If all goes according to plan, he will pitch a simulated game this weekend...
Pirates announcer Steve Blass criticized for comments about Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr.
Broadcaster Steve Blass came under fire Wednesday for on-air comments he made during Tuesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. In the fourth inning, Pirates pitcher Steven Brault hit Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. in the elbow with a 2-2 pitch. Blass made note of Acuna’s animated...
On defense, Penguins now paying price for prior pursuit of championships
Last weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins relinquished the NHL rights to 2017 second-round pick Zachary Lauzon, who has battled post-concussion problems. Last year at this time, they gave up the rights to 2016 third-round pick Connor Hall, who has suffered recurring shoulder problems. While the Penguins can’t be blamed for the...
Blues goalie has shot at rookie mark even Penguins’ Matt Murray didn’t hit
St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has a chance to set a rookie record that even Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray didn’t reach during his memorable first-year playoff run in 2016. With a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night,...
Latest signing fits Penguins’ goaltending philosophy
Because of the way the Marc-Andre Fleury era quickly became the Matt Murray era, the Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t gone into a draft explicitly looking for a No. 1 goaltender in 15 years. Instead, their goaltending development plan has been to look for talent in a variety of places in an...
Penguins trainer Chris Stewart honored by IUP
Pittsburgh Penguins head trainer Chris Stewart has received a prestigious award from his alma mater, IUP, being named one of the inaugural members of the school’s College of Health and Human Sciences Hall of Distinction. Stewart has been the Penguins’ head trainer for 13 years. Including a year spent as...
With possible Phil Kessel trade, Penguins need productive Patric Hornqvist
If the Pittsburgh Penguins, as expected, trade Phil Kessel this summer, they’re probably going to need the right wings that remain on the roster to ramp up their production next season. That’s why Patric Hornqvist’s resurgence while playing for the Swedish national team at the World Championships last month is...
Penguins relinquish rights to 2017 second-round draft pick Zachary Lauzon
The Pittsburgh Penguins relinquished the NHL rights to 2017 second-round pick Zachary Lauzon, failing to sign him to an entry level contract by a Saturday deadline. Lauzon, 20, was limited to 25 games in the regular season and five more in the playoffs due to concussion-related problems while playing for...
Penguins sign young Finnish goalie Emil Larmi to 2-year deal
With Tristan Jarry’s days in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization seemingly numbered, the team added to its goaltending depth Sunday, signing 22-year-old Emil Larmi to a two-year, entry level contract. Larmi emerged as one of the top unsigned goaltenders in Europe this season, leading HPK to a championship in Finland’s top...
TSN’s Bob McKenzie: Penguins could still trade Phil Kessel to Minnesota
A trade that would send Pittsburgh Penguins winger Phil Kessel to the Minnesota Wild remains a possibility, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said on his podcast Friday. The Penguins reportedly had a deal done to send the popular 31-year-old to the Wild for speedy winger Jason Zucker, but Kessel used his no-trade...
Evgeni Malkin sends birthday wishes to son with funny Instagram photo
Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin celebrated his son’s birthday with another classic Instagram post. Malkin posted a photo of his 3-year-old son Nikita with a pacifier in his mouth as he lay in his crib. Dad is lying on an adjacent bed, with a pacifier of his own in his...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby remains relatively young among NHL captains
As Sidney Crosby celebrates the 12th anniversary of having a “C” stitched to his Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, he’s the second longest tenured captain in the NHL but nowhere near the oldest. Crosby was given the captaincy on May 31, 2007, a few months before his 20th birthday, becoming the youngest...
Penguins re-sign defenseman Juuso Riikola, keep blue line stocked
The Pittsburgh Penguins continued to shore up their depth on defense Thursday, re-signing restricted free agent Juuso Riikola to a one-year contract worth $850,000. Last year, the 25-year-old Riikola played on a two-way contract that paid him $925,000 when in the NHL and $70,000 when in the AHL. A training...
Minus Fleury factor, fewer fans watching Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh market
The Pittsburgh market remains interested in the Stanley Cup Final, though not at the level it was a year ago when Marc-Andre Fleury was involved. Pittsburgh was the fifth highest-rated market in the country for Game 2 between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, delivering a...
Jeremy Roenick: Penguins’ Phil Kessel will accept trade to only 1 team
Popular Pittsburgh Penguins winger Phil Kessel will accept a trade to one team and one team only, NBC Sports analyst Jeremy Roenick said in a radio interview on Wednesday. “I know where he wants to go and we’ll see if he gets that option,” Roenick told 550 AM in Buffalo....
