Penguins/NHL category, Page 114
Despite late-season injury, Marcus Pettersson was among the Penguins’ most dependable players
A few games into the first round of the NHL playoffs, fans in Pittsburgh are still grappling with the Penguins’ disappointing year-long performance, which kept the team out of the postseason for the first time since 2006. In media circles and across the spectrum of armchair hockey strategist diagnoses, the...
Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta undergoes core muscle surgery
Defenseman Jan Rutta had a vivid way of describing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ medical woes throughout the 2022-23 season. “The injuries have been (expletive) this year,” Rutta bluntly assessed April 10 while using a term some might root in fertilizer. Only 10 days later, the team revealed Rutta underwent surgery to...
Penguins forward Bryan Rust: ‘I wasn’t as good as I could have been’
Bryan Rust got to his offseason a bit earlier than his teammates. By 22 minutes on the dot. In his team’s regular season finale April 13, Rust suffered a right hand injury and left the contest at 19:00 of the second period. And exactly one minute into the overtime period,...
U mad, bro?: Penguins fans aren’t done ranting. Nor should they be
The Penguins put their fan base through six months of dreadfully up-and-down, painfully inconsistent hockey. You didn’t think that just one week of venting after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006 was enough, did you? Of course not! It’s time for the “All Penguins Angst” edition of...
Tim Benz: Penguins need more than just a wake-up call after missing the playoffs
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was cleaning out his locker last Saturday in the wake of missing the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year. Just a day after seeing general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke fired. The three-time Stanley Cup champion was...
Rickard Rakell still sees a chance to win with the Penguins
Rickard Rakell was something of an afterthought last offseason. And it’s not often an All-Star winger with a handful of 20- or 30-goal seasons on his resume is pushed to the margins. But given the other players the Pittsburgh Penguins were trying to re-sign last summer — such as forward...
Per usual, many of the Penguins’ highest-quality chances involved Jake Guentzel
Generally speaking, 36-goal scorers are largely above reproach when it comes to examining a hockey club’s shortcomings. But given how the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season transpired, with the team missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, everything and everyone is under the microscope in the aftermath. Without a doubt,...
As 1st night of NHL playoffs showed, there’s plenty of interesting hockey to watch even without Penguins
Contrary to popular belief in Pittsburgh, the NHL playoffs are taking place even though the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t qualify for the first time since 2006. There are some very intriguing storylines, many of which already started to take shape on the first night of competition. Here’s a six pack of...
Tim Benz: Sidney Crosby, FSG have the right answer on his future — but were they asked the right question?
Pittsburgh Penguins fans haven’t been able to find many positives over the past week. However, one news item surrounding team icon Sidney Crosby was reassuring. Both Crosby and the team seem unified in a desire to see the 35-year-old captain play out his remaining years in Pittsburgh. At least that’s...
Mark Madden: Peace must be made between Fenway Sports Group, Penguins icon Mario Lemieux
On Friday, Fenway Sports Group’s Dave Beeston gave the impression that the new Pittsburgh Penguins ownership was reconciling with the old Penguins ownership, namely franchise legend Mario Lemieux. President of business operations Kevin Acklin said Lemieux had talked directly to FSG. CBS Sports posted this headline: “Penguins ownership expects Mario...
Tim Benz: It’s tough to defend Mike Sullivan’s defense of Penguins’ power play
During his final press conference of the year, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was asked about the performance of his team’s power play. Listening to Sullivan’s defense of his man-up unit was as frustrating as it was to watch at times this season. “I think our power play finished 14th...
Nick Bonino is grateful, but frustrated with his return to the Penguins
At first, the man called “Bones” thought he broke … well… a bone. A rib, to be precise. As it turned out, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino suffered a much more distressing injury. During a 4-3 overtime home loss to the New York Islanders on March 9, Bonino had a...
Madden Monday: Penguins missing playoffs could be ‘a blessing in disguise’
I’ve had a hard time trying to find a silver lining to the end of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They ended up losing their last two games to two of the worst teams in the NHL (the Columbus Blue...
Brian Dumoulin among several Penguins players whose future is uncertain
In the annals of rock and roll, a select few individuals have been presented with the honorary title of “fifth Beatle,” recognizing their contributions to the highest-selling musical act of all-time. For the Pittsburgh Penguins, their hockey equivalent of the “Fab Four” undoubtedly is the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni...
Minor league report: Penguins, Nailers each lose season finalesVideo
Defenseman Ty Smith and forward Valtteri Puustinen each had a goal and two assists for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who lost their season finale, 5-4, in overtime to the Charlotte Checkers at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. Forward Drake Caggiula recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-32-8-6) while forwards Ty...
Tristan Jarry headlines Penguins’ most prominent free agents
The vagueness of how injuries are released by NHL clubs, with designations rarely offering any specification beyond “upper-body” or “lower-body,” often creates more questions than answers when players get banged up. Naturally, speculation then ensues, as media and fans try to discern more precise details. No Pittsburgh Penguins player personified...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins have to extend or trade Jake Guentzel this offseason
The Penguins’ offseason will be one of difficult decisions. One of the primary ones involves winger Jake Guentzel. Guentzel, 28, is heading into the last year of a contract that pays $6 million annually. He had a quietly effective season, collecting 36 goals and 37 assists in 78 games. Listed...
The Penguins limp into an early offseason with an uncertain future
Sidney Crosby detests free time. He abhors it almost as much as a clingy opposing third-line center hassling him for a puck or yapping personal insults. So, given the Pittsburgh Penguins’ failure to qualify for the NHL’s postseason that begins Monday, this won’t be an enjoyable summer for the team’s...
Minor league report: Goaltender Joel Blomqvist debuts as Penguins loseVideo
In his season debut at the American Hockey League level, goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 23 saves on 27 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-0 road loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. on Friday. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ second-round pick (No. 52 overall)...
A move-by-move look at Ron Hextall’s tenure as Penguins general manager
Here is a look at the significant deals made by Ron Hextall in his two-plus years as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins: April 11, 2021 Penguins acquire: Forward Jeff Carter Los Angeles Kings acquire: 2022 third-round pick (conditional), a 2023 fourth-round pick Carter was good at first, filling in...
The future of the Penguins hockey operations remains to be seen
The Pittsburgh Penguins were supposed to be off Friday. Typically, a day after their regular season finale, they take a respite to heal injuries and clear their heads before they gear up for the postseason. And that certainly did take place on Friday. Just without the part of preparing for...
Fenway Sports Group non-committal on future of Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
Mike Sullivan’s job as Penguins coach is safe — for now. After the team’s ownership group Friday announced a major shakeup at the top of its front office, a Fenway Sports Group executive was complimentary of Sullivan’s work but said his fate would be left with the team’s next director...
Penguins give part of Lower Hill development site to Bethel AME Church decades after it was displaced by arena project
More than six decades after its church was displaced to clear the way for construction of the former Civic Arena, Bethel AME Church will once again get land in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District. The church is set to develop a 1.5-acre site at the corner of Crawford and Bedford avenues,...
Mark Madden: Here’s a starting point for the Penguins’ next GM to fix this mess
As the Pittsburgh Penguins begin a crucial and difficult offseason, a lot must change. It started with GM Ron Hextall and president of hockey ops Brian Burke being fired. A good replacement GM won’t be easily found. It’s not an attractive job: An elderly roster encumbered by eight players with...
Penguins fire general manager Ron Hextall and president Brian Burke
At the beginning, it was almost absurd. Comical, even. One of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ greatest villains became their general manager. In the end, he became vilified for completely different reasons few could laugh at (outside Philadelphia). On Friday, Ron Hextall’s tenure as the 11th general manager in the history of...
