Penguins/NHL category, Page 281
Penguins place Casey DeSmith on waivers
The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed goaltender Casey DeSmith on waivers. DeSmith, who served as the primary backup to Matt Murray last season, is in the first year of a three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.25 million which was signed in January. In 2018-19, DeSmith appeared in a...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden break down Clint Hurdle’s firing and Steelers-Bengals ‘MNF’ game
It’s not often a Pittsburgh Steelers “Monday Night Football” game gets dwarfed by other topics in the Pittsburgh sports world. But the team has started 0-3. Sidney Crosby got hurt. Clint Hurdle got fired. And Pat Narduzzi is getting linked to another job. So, apologies. It’s going to take us...
Want to be winger for the Penguins? You had better be diverse
Jared McCann is listed as a center. He often plays left wing. Which does he identify as? “Neither,” said the fifth-year Pittsburgh Penguins forward. That ambiguity over his position was on display Saturday during a 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. After top center Sidney...
Crosby, Galchenyuk, Rust remain sidelined for the Penguins
Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby, Alex Galchenyuk and Bryan Rust did not participate in the team’s practice Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. According to coach Mike Sullivan, Crosby is considered day-to-day and was held out for precautionary reasons. He skated briefly before practice. Sullivan labeled Crosby’s status as “encouraging.” Rust still...
Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust injured in Penguins’ preseason loss to SabresVideo
The Penguins concluded their preseason with a 3-2 shootout loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. Of greater consequence were the departures of forwards Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, who both left the game because of undisclosed injuries suffered while blocking shots. Coach Mike Sullivan said...
Why are right-handed defensemen such a commodity in the NHL?
Jim Rutherford is a baseball fan. Has been most of his life. The Pittsburgh Penguins general manager shares an affinity for the Boston Red Sox along with coach Mike Sullivan. Rutherford is fully aware one of the most valuable commodities in that sport is left-handed pitching. There just aren’t as...
Alex Galchenyuk will miss the Penguins’ preseason finale
Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk will miss the Penguins’ preseason finale against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury which has kept him sidelined since Wednesday. According to coach Mike Sullivan, Galchenyuk skated on his own prior during the morning. He has not skated...
Sidney Crosby has number retired by junior team Rimouski Oceanic
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had his No. 87 retired by his junior team, Rimouski Oceanic, during a pregame ceremony Friday night at Colisee FinancierSun Life in Rimouski, Quebec. Crosby played for Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) during the 2003-04 and 04-05 seasons. In 121 games,...
Where does Dominik Kahun fit in with the Penguins?Video
Dominik Kahun already has his place in hockey history secure. As a member of Germany’s silver medal-winning squad in the 2018 Olympics, Kahun nearly won gold but fell in the championship game, 4-3 in overtime, to the heavily favored (and suspended) Olympic Athletes from Russia team during the games that...
How do the Penguins become salary-cap compliant?
With their season opening in less than a week, the Penguins still have a handful of issues to sort out, most prominently their salary cap. As their roster stands, they are projected to be $331,625 over the NHL’s limit of $81.5 million according to Cap Friendly, a website that tracks...
Alex Galchenyuk remains sidelined for the Penguins
Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk was absent from Thursday’s practice in Cranberry because of an undisclosed injury that held him out of the lineup during a preseason game Wednesday. Galchenyuk, 25, was sidelined for precautionary reasons during a 4-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike...
Tim Benz: 2019 has been one of the worst Pittsburgh sports yearsVideo
Let’s just skip Halloween. Forget Thanksgiving. Fast forward through Christmas and get to New Year’s Eve! I’m dying to flip the calendar to 2020. Because 2019 has been one of the worst Pittsburgh sports years in recent memory. In fact, unless the Steelers turn things around and scramble to make...
Penguins scratch Alex Galchenyuk for precautionary reasons
Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk was held out of a 4-2 preseason victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday due to an undisclosed injury according to head coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins scratched Galchenyuk for precautionary reasons per Sullivan, who characterized the ailment as “nagging.” The primary return in an...
Penguins beat Red Wings, 4-2
Dressing the bulk of their projected NHL lineup for the first time this preseason, the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, at PPG Paints Arena Wednesday. The Penguins opened the scoring 3 minutes, 20 seconds into the first period. Forward Jake Guentzel fed a pass from the end boards...
Penguins’ Justin Schultz knows a big year could mean a big paydayVideo
When you examine the Penguins’ roster, there just isn’t anyone better than Justin Schultz. Put a stick in his hand, and chances are he’ll bury it. Just ask his teammates. “You can see his swing,” Bryan Rust said. “It’s such a smooth swing. It’s good tempo. He’s relaxed out there....
Mark Madden: Penguins’ Dominik Simon will force way into lineup
Dominik Simon’s role with this year’s Penguins isn’t yet determined. But one thing seems certain: Simon will have one. Last season was the Czech-born winger’s first full NHL campaign. He had eight goals, 20 assists and a plus-8 mark in 71 games. Simon didn’t score in his last 14 games....
Ulf Samuelsson joins Ron Francis in Seattle
The NHL’s Seattle franchise hired former Penguins defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and forward Stu Barnes as a professional scouts. Samuelsson, a member of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup championship teams in 1991 and ’92, was a bruising, violent defender for the Penguins over parts of five seasons in the 1990s. One of...
As always, Bryan Rust is filling several roles for the Penguins
During Wednesday’s morning skate at PPG Paints Arena, Penguins forward Bryan Rust found himself in a familiar spot on the right wing next to Evgeni Malkin. Earlier in training camp, he was skating in a fourth line role with Teddy Blueger. At some point this season, he probably will line...
Juuso Riikola more comfortable in 2nd season with the Penguins
Casey DeSmith had an unwanted task during last year’s training camp. The Penguins backup goaltender became a chauffeur. His only client was an out-of-towner on a business trip who wasn’t all that familiar with the area — or the entire continent, for that matter: Juuso Riikola. “I hung out with...
Penguins hire Duane Sutter as professional scout
The Penguins have hired former NHL forward and coach Duane Sutter as a professional scout. A member of the revered Sutter family, Duane Sutter will oversee scouting on the West Coast of North America. Sutter, 59, was a member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams with the New York Islanders in...
Penguins’ John Marino, Adam Johnson, Zach Trotman out with injuries
As the final week of training camp draws to a close, the Penguins are dealing with bad news as several players are hobbled with injuries. The good news is none of those ailments involve individuals who were expected to make the NHL roster out of training camp. Coach Mike Sullivan...
Former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin joins New Hampshire as coach
Former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin has joined the University of New Hampshire as a goaltending development coach. Conklin, who spent the 2007-08 season with the Penguins, returns to his alma mater where he was an All-American in 2000 and ‘01. During his lone season with the Penguins, Conklin became a...
Penguins giving Nick Bjugstad look as penalty killerVideo
It is not so much of a job requirement as it is the job itself. To to be a third-line center for the Penguins, killing penalties is a must. Especially because the No. 1 and 2 centers haven’t been asked to do it much over the past decade-plus. Ever since...
Penguins reduce their training camp roster to 27 players
The Penguins made their second round of cuts from training on Monday. The following players were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League: Forwards: Andrew Agozzino, Justin Almeida, Anthony Angello, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Joseph Blandisi, Joseph Cramarossa, Thomas Di Pauli, Ryan Haggerty, Sam Lafferty, Jake Lucchini, Sam Miletic, Oula Palve....
Tim Benz, Mark Madden rip Steelers, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell
Mondays are hard enough as it is. They are even harder when you live in a city where your football team stinks. And make no mistake, the Pittsburgh Steelers stink right now. They have fallen to 0-3 after a 24-20 loss in San Francisco Sunday. Mark Madden and I analyze...
