Penguins/NHL category, Page 152
Penguins A to Z: Corey Andonovski follows a familiar route for college free agentsVideo
With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season —...
After 4 seasons with Penguins, defenseman Juuso Riikola signs in SwedenVideo
The Juuso Riikola era has come to an end in Pittsburgh. On Wednesday, the veteran defenseman signed a one-year contract with IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). His contract was announced by the team. A native of Finland, Riikola spent the past four seasons as a member of...
Bryan Rust discusses new Penguins contract, his knee procedure and futures of Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin
Penguins winger Bryan Rust surprised many in the hockey world by getting to the end of the 2021-22 season as a prospective free agent but then signing a deal to stay in Pittsburgh before testing the waters. On Monday, Rust joined TribLIVE columnist Mark Madden on his 105.9 The X...
Penguins A to Z: Too little, too late for Justin AlmeidaVideo
With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season —...
Tim Benz: Penguins GM Ron Hextall seems to want to keep the band together. I’m still hoping for a few new tunes
Based on what Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said Monday, not only does he want to keep the whole band together, he wants to re-release a greatest hits album. As I listened to Hextall’s comments from his press conference, my mind started to picture Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni...
Penguins general manager Ron Hextall weighs in on Rangers’ hit on forward Sidney CrosbyVideo
During his season-ending media availability in Cranberry on Monday, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall was asked about a suspected head injury suffered by forward Sidney Crosby during Game 5 of a first-round series against the New York Rangers on May 11. In the second period of that contest, Crosby was...
Penguins general manager Ron Hextall happy with prospect poolVideo
During his season-ending media availability in Cranberry on Monday, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall offered some upbeat endorsements of a handful of prospects with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League who could challenge for an NHL roster spot next season. “There’s a few of them,” Hextall said. “You guys...
Penguins GM Ron Hextall’s top priority: Re-signing Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang
Ron Hextall acknowledged two axioms Monday. First, he wants to re-sign superstar forward Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Second, he doesn’t have a great deal of salary cap space to accomplish that while also filling in other holes on the roster in advance of the 2022-23 season. Beyond that, the...
Mark Madden: Bryan Rust was 1st to return to the Penguins, but will he be last?
Bryan Rust left money on the table. The right winger’s new six-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins has an average annual value of $5.125 million, a raise of a mere $1.625 million. Over the last three seasons, Rust has scored 73 goals in 171 games. Rust is 30. This was...
Penguins A to Z: Niclas Almari looks ready to move onVideo
With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review is offering Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season —...
Madden Monday: What Bryan Rust’s signing means for Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Ron Hextall and other Penguins
A lot of questions are popping up in the wake of Bryan Rust’s decision to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins. One thing isn’t up for debate, though. This is a good deal for the Pens. The franchise is keeping a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has 73 goals over the...
For Penguins forward Bryan Rust ‘getting something done in Pittsburgh’ was paramount
Saturday provided a cause to celebrate for Bryan Rust. His son, Hunter, had his first birthday party. And the festivities didn’t end with a cake smash. A contract signing extended the cheers into the evening. Saturday evening, Hunter’s father agreed to a six-year deal worth $30.75 million to remain a...
Penguins re-sign forward Bryan Rust to 6-year contract extension
On Tuesday, Bryan Rust suggested he had outplayed his previous contract. Four days later, Penguins management showed it agreed with Rust’s sentiment. Late Saturday night, the team announced it had re-signed the veteran top-line winger to a six-year contract extension worth a total of $30.75 million. The deal, which begins...
1st-pairing minutes in playoffs could turn into permanent Penguins role for Mike Matheson
The final week of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season featured defenseman Mike Matheson in a top-pairing role and averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game. Could that be a sign of more permanent things to come? Matheson’s prominent role for the final six games of the Penguins’ playoffs...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Mike Sullivan’s approach needs a Plan B
Mike Sullivan is one of the NHL’s top coaches, and arguably the most accomplished in Penguins history. But he needs a Plan B. For a brief moment in the Penguins’ first-round loss to the New York Rangers, Sullivan had one. It worked. The Penguins had blown a 4-1 lead in...
Penguins season ticket holders paint the ice in annual event at PPG Paints Arena
The ice surface at PPG Paints Arena won’t be needed for hockey again until the fall. But it perhaps never looked better than it did Thursday night. Pittsburgh Penguins season ticket holders were invited for what the organization has made a tradition: a night in which they were free to...
Mark Madden: Penguins GM Ron Hextall hasn’t done anything to lose his job or to keep it
If my program director asks me what’s on today’s show, I tell him. When the home-plate umpire asks a manager for the lineup card, he can’t decline. A chef submits a menu. A football coach designs a playbook. A movie producer needs a script. These are requirements and not kept...
One of the longest-tenured Penguins, Chad Ruhwedel has best season at age 31
As the Pittsburgh Penguins’ most recent Stanley Cup grows further into the rearview mirror, there stands only four players left under contract for next season who appeared in that 2017 championship run. Sidney Crosby, of course. His running mate, Jake Guentzel, was a rookie that year. Brian Dumoulin isn’t surprising,...
Tim Benz: Steelers, Penguins both idling in Pittsburgh playoff purgatory
Pittsburgh once referred to itself as the “City of Champions,” based on the success of its sports teams in the 1970s, 1990s and early 2000s. Of late, though, those franchises have gone from playoff champions to playoff chumps. • The Penguins’ recently completed playoff series loss to the New York...
Does Rickard Rakell expect to return to Penguins next season?
Rickard Rakell spent the past two months living alone. Speaking earlier this week, he was eager to get back to his wife — and not just because of relative newlywed bliss. Married last year, Emmeli and Rickard are expecting their first child. “I am really excited about that,” Rakell said...
U mad, bro?: Fans unload on Penguins for blowing playoff lead; rip Pirates’ hitting; mock Vogelbach’s mad dash
To the surprise of no one, Pittsburgh Penguins fans are ticked off about their team blowing a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers en route to playoff elimination. Meanwhile, Pirates fans are ticked off about … everything. That’s why we invented “U mad, bro?” It’s basically a public...
After his swagger abandoned him this season, will the Penguins bring back Kasperi Kapanen?
The son of a former NHL player with the pedigree of being a first-round pick and a flashy-styled game to match, Kasperi Kapanen’s image falls somewhere on the spectrum where extroverted meets brash. Not in 2021-22 for the Pittsburgh Penguins, though. “I kind of let them down this year,” Kapanen...
Mark Madden: Penguins need roster refresh, not more excuses
The ending is just a beginning. The closer you get to the meaning, the sooner you’ll know that you’re dreaming. So, it’s on and on and on, it’s refreshing Pittsburgh Penguins notes. (Look for the answer.) • Sidney Crosby was 100% not cleared to play Game 6. Reports that he...
Tim Benz: Sidney Crosby’s comments on his long-term future should get us thinking
Because Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby is so consistent with his pragmatic, stay-in-the-middle-lane approach to dealing with the media, he rarely lets any quote slip that’s surprising. Frankly, the one he uttered Tuesday may not be all that remarkable either, but, during the Penguins breakup day interviews, the team’s...
Penguins players detail injuries, expand on key playoff moments
Sidney Crosby wasn’t cleared to play in Game 6. Evan Rodrigues disagrees with a penalty called on him in the same game. Brock McGinn and Marcus Pettersson, though, regret their on-ice actions that contributed to the goals that ultimately ended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season two nights later. That was part...
