Jonathan Bombulie stories, Page 19

From his personality on and off the ice to his set of strengths and weaknesses as a player, Phil Kessel is truly one of a kind in the NHL universe. But that doesn’t mean the Pittsburgh Penguins are in uncharted territory as they try to trade the popular two-time Stanley...

The lengths to which Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will go to satisfy his superstitions are well known. Former Penguins center Joe Vitale, on this week’s episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, told a tale of a Crosby superstition that tested his patience. Vitale was the team’s locker room DJ,...

A historical marker on Pittsburgh’s North Side denotes the spot of the first professional football game played, coming in 1892. If Perrysville native John Schalcosky has his way, a similar marker soon will be erected in Oakland, noting the city as the birthplace of professional hockey, as well. Schalcosky is...

Former Pittsburgh Penguins wingers Miroslav Satan and Ziggy Palffy will be among the players inducted into the IIHL Hall of Fame on Sunday in Slovakia. Mike Modano, Hayley Wickenheiser and Jorgen Jonsson will round out the class of players. Satan played for the Penguins in 2008-09, recording six points in...

Having struck out in his bid to win the head coaching job in Ottawa and Buffalo, assistant coach Jacques Martin is expected to remain with the Pittsburgh Penguins next season. Martin, who has one year left on his contract, will return for his fifth straight season behind the Penguins bench,...

After the Pittsburgh Penguins bowed out of the playoffs in a first-round sweep at the hands of the New York Islanders last month, it quickly became clear changes to the team’s roster were afoot. That wave of change appears likely to sweep up winger Phil Kessel. The Penguins actively are...

Which defensemen will fill the top six spots on the blue line next season remains an open question for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The picture at the bottom end of the depth chart, however, cleared up significantly on Thursday. Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel agreed to a new two-year deal with an average...

Canada advanced to the semifinals of the IIHF World Championships on Thursday on a buzzer-beating goal by New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson. Trailing 2-1 to Switzerland with Penguins goalie Matt Murray pulled, Severson scored on a deflected point shot that slid over the goal line with 0.4 seconds left...

Before he made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the end of January, the story of Teddy Blueger’s career was slow and steady improvement. His two-way game was always a point of strength, but his offensive game took some time to come around. As a freshman at Minnesota-Mankato,...

The only suspension of Phil Kessel’s 13-year NHL career came when he delivered a series of two-handed chops to former Buffalo Sabres heavyweight John Scott in a 2013 preseason game. In an appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast this week, Scott said he has no hard feelings. Thinking one of...

Matt Murray had his finest showing of the IIHF World Championships in a game against his home country’s biggest rival. Murray recorded a 28-save shutout to lead Canada to a 3-0 victory over the United States on Tuesday in Slovakia. Penguins forward Jared McCann scored a goal. That's a 28-save...

It’s one of the top defensive talking points for the Steelers this offseason. A unit that ranked 29th in the league with 15 takeaways and 28th in the league with eight interceptions last season will simply have to force more turnovers to have any kind of success. On the very...

The Pittsburgh Penguins should be pleased with what winger Dominik Simon is accomplishing this month at the World Championships in Slovakia. Simon has recorded three goals and five assists in his first six games with the Czech Republic, ranking on the fringes of the top 10 among the tournament’s leading...

North Huntingdon native Austen Swankler’s first season in the USHL ended with a championship celebration. Swankler, 17, and his Sioux Falls Stampede teammates marched through the USHL playoffs, going 11-1 and claiming the team’s third championship with a 5-1 victory over Chicago on Friday night. Sioux Falls recorded three-game sweeps...

The Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have much work to do this summer when it comes to re-signing their own restricted free agents. When they do get around to the task, defenseman Marcus Pettersson and winger Zach Aston-Reese will be due the biggest raises, according to hockey-graphs.com’s annual free-agent contract projections. Among...

Despite the best efforts of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, a championship NHL superstition just won’t die. After the Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 Thursday night to complete a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals, captain Zdeno Chara did not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy. In 1997,...

Most of the players who had a bad year for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season did so at a high volume. The struggles of Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist, for instance, were loud. Justin Schultz, on the other hand, had a bad year quietly. Perhaps it’s because he...

A referral from Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford helped the Buffalo Sabres choose their new coach. According to a story in the Buffalo News, Rutherford has held new Sabres coach Ralph Krueger in high esteem since hiring him as a European scout for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005. Rutherford...

An angry St. Louis Blues fan is trying to turn the pain of a blown call that cost his team a playoff game Wednesday night into a fundraiser. John Randall, a fan from Chesterfield, Mo., has started a GoFundMe page in honor of Marc Joanette, the referee who missed a...

It’s not hard to figure out why Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan thinks his team made a hasty, inglorious exit from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. “To win in the playoffs, you can’t be a high-risk team,” Sullivan said at his season-ending press conference. “You’ve got to have a certain...

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed their top prospect Wednesday, agreeing with winger Kasper Bjorkqvist on a two-year, entry-level contract. Bjorkqvist, a second-round pick in the 2016 draft, had 17 goals and 30 points in 42 games as a junior this season for Providence, helping the team advance to the NCAA Frozen...

A stunning individual effort by Sidney Crosby that gave the Pittsburgh Penguins an overtime victory in Edmonton in October is a nominee for NHL goal of the year. Goal of the Year is one of 20 categories on the ballot in the NHL’s Fan Choice Awards, which hand out offbeat...

In the days immediately following his team’s first-round ouster from the playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said he needed to take some time to make sure the emotion had faded from the decision-making process before plotting out his offseason plans. It’s a particularly good idea when deciding whether...

The scoring slump that plagued Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist throughout much of the second half of the NHL season apparently hasn’t accompanied him to Slovakia for the IIHF World Championships. With two goals in a 9-1 victory over Norway on Monday, Hornqvist has scored in each of Sweden’s first...

Playoff losses can be hard to swallow. Just ask Carolina Hurricanes captain Justin Williams. After his team suffered a 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday, Williams summed up the experience with an unappetizing analogy. “Sometimes you gotta eat a poop sandwich,” Williams said. “It doesn’t taste good. You...