Penguins/NHL category, Page 288
Penguins sign veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski to AHL contract
The Penguins signed one of the top minor league goalies on the free agent market Monday, adding Dustin Tokarski on a one-year AHL deal. Tokarski, 29, has won the Calder Cup twice in his 10-year pro career, including last season with the Charlotte Checkers. He was dealt to Charlotte at...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden talk USWNT, Mike Sullivan, Pirates, Twitter suspension
Mark Madden may be suspended from Twitter (#FreeMarkMadden), but he isn’t suspended from the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast page. We talk at great length about the United States Women’s National Team. They won the World Cup. Have the politics and self-generated sidebar stories surrounding this team outweighed their accomplishments? It...
Penguins turn to college all-stars to replenish prospect pool
In the latter stages last season, any time the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins took the ice, it looked like hockey’s version of football’s Senior Bowl. No fewer than six college free agents reported to the AHL team for their first taste of pro hockey, representing schools such as Boston College, Penn State,...
Penn State vibe strong at Penguins development camp
The sunny and cloud-dotted skies over a warm final week of June weren’t the only blue and white at this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins development camp. That’s because no U.S. or Canadian college was better represented than Penn State. “I think it’s awesome,” said wing Brandon Biro, who had 40 points...
5 things on Penguins coach Mike Sullivan’s summer agenda
Signing a four-year contract extension is the one thing Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan will do this summer that will have the longest-lasting impact on his life and career. He’s got plenty of other offseason irons in the fire as well, though. Here’s a look at five things Sullivan has...
Penguins’ Zach Aston-Reese files for salary arbitration
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese was the only one of the team’s four remaining restricted free agents to file for salary arbitration by Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Forwards Teddy Blueger and Adam Johnson elected not to file. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson did not have enough service time to earn the right...
Mark Madden: Penguins power play set for reshaping
The acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk in exchange for Phil Kessel puts the Penguins’ No. 1 power play in line for a major realignment. More deals might be made, but all the components for the man-advantage unit are currently in place. Kessel had 36 points on the PP last season. As...
Penguins sign coach Mike Sullivan to 4-year contract extension
With a new contract in his pocket, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is attempting to pull off a trick extraordinarily rare in hockey circles. It might be more difficult than winning back-to-back Stanley Cups like he did in 2016-17. He’s going to try to coach the same NHL team for...
Former Penguins 2nd-rounder Zachary Lauzon not giving up dream
Zachary Lauzon’s once-promising professional hockey career remains in doubt. But the former highly touted Pittsburgh Penguins draft choice sounds as if he has achieved a level of content perspective for a 20-year-old in his position. “If I look back on who I was and how I was feeling mentally a...
Penguins’ Andy Chiodo sees star rise in goalie coaching world
Up until recently, Andy Chiodo’s greatest claim to fame in NHL circles was probably something he did on a Wednesday night in February in Glendale, Ariz., 15 years ago. As a rookie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chiodo was the goalie who ended a team-record 18-game losing streak with a 28-save...
Penguins re-sign agitating forward Joseph Blandisi
The Pittsburgh Penguins kept one of their restricted free agents Wednesday, signing winger Joseph Blandisi to a one-year, two-way contract. Blandisi, 24, will make $700,000 when in the NHL and $200,000 at the AHL level. Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Derek Grant in January, Blandisi went scoreless...
U mad, bro? Readers rip Neal Huntington, react to Phil Kessel trade
It’s been a week since I’ve checked my inbox for “U mad, bro.” And a lot has built up while I was on vacation. Penguins fans chime in on the Phil Kessel trade to Arizona. Pirates fans don’t seem to like the idea of dealing Felipe Vazquez. And Neal Huntington...
Which direction are Penguins headed after offseason roster changes?
Just after signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday afternoon, winger Brandon Tanev held a conference call with reporters. It was clear that he had a different take on the state of the Penguins than those who were lobbing questions at him. The inquisitors wanted to know what Tanev was...
Kevin Gorman: Weighing the pros, cons of Penguins extending Mike Sullivan
On the opening day of NHL free agency, Jim Rutherford’s biggest revelation was about what the Pittsburgh Penguins will do with Mike Sullivan moving forward. Sullivan won the power struggle with Phil Kessel, as the Penguins chose their two-time Stanley Cup champion coach over the two-time Stanley Cup champion sniper....
Tim Benz, Mark Madden ponder Penguins’ future post-Phil Kessel
I’m back from Europe. Mark Madden is back from Vegas. It’s a day late. But our “Madden Monday” podcast for the week is up. And there is plenty to talk about concerning the Penguins. We get Mark’s response to the Phil Kessel trade from the standpoint of how the Penguins...
Tim Benz: Like it or not, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford sticking to his plan
Let’s not put Jim Rutherford on an aircraft carrier with the “Mission Accomplished” sign behind his head just yet. But it appears the Penguins general manager has taken many of the steps he wanted to take this offseason. During his season-ending press conference in April, Rutherford said he wanted to...
Kevin Gorman: Penguins banking big on Jim Rutherford’s makeover moves
The Pittsburgh Penguins raised eyebrows around the NHL on Monday when they signed winger Brandon Tanev to a free-agent contract that was long in term and steep in price. General manager Jim Rutherford was blunt in his assessment of the price to pay to sign a bottom-six forward who had...
Mike Sullivan’s contract status remains unfinished business for Penguins
The most impactful signing Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford must ponder this offseason might have nothing to do with a forward, defenseman or goalie. Coach Mike Sullivan is heading into the final year of his contract. Now that he’s handled the bulk of his player-acquisition duties for the summer,...
Penguins will have to cut salary after dipping into free agent pool
Dipping into the free agent pool will have consequences for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After signing winger Brandon Tanev to a six-year, $21 million contract Monday afternoon, the Penguins have about $79.2 million committed to 20 players, leaving them about $2.3 million under the cap. They still need to re-sign restricted...
Penguins add depth free agents, sign David Warsofsky, Andrew Agozzino
The Pittsburgh Penguins added to their depth chart in free agency Monday afternoon, signing defenseman David Warsofsky and forward Andrew Agozzino to two-year, two-way contracts. Both players will be paid $700,000 when in the NHL. Warsofsky, 29, spent the better part of two seasons in the Penguins organization from 2015-17,...
Penguins sign ‘fast and tenacious’ winger Brandon Tanev
Becoming harder to play against can be expensive. That was the lesson general manager Jim Rutherford and the Pittsburgh Penguins learned as the NHL’s free-agent signing period opened Monday afternoon. The Penguins signed 27-year-old winger Brandon Tanev to a six-year deal — the longest the Penguins ever have handed out...
First Call: Phil Kessel thanks Pittsburgh; how Mike Tomlin’s son got to Maryland
In “First Call” Monday, Phil Kessel says goodbye to Pittsburgh. The MLB London series was insane. And the winding story of Dino Tomlin’s recruitment to Maryland. Kessel’s goodbye There have been a lot of reports about acrimony on the way out the door between Phil Kessel and the Penguins. But,...
Tim Benz, Jonathan Bombulie examine Phil Kessel trade, new-look Penguins power play
Not only am I adjusting my body clock back to the Eastern time zone, I’m adjusting the podcast schedule, as well. With my American Airlines debacle of a flight home from vacation, and with Mark Madden traveling back from Las Vegas, we’ll do our usual Madden Monday podcast on Tuesday....
Tim Benz: With Phil Kessel gone, others with Penguins have to answer bell
Penguins fans finally have an answer to a pressing question: “Will the Pens eventually trade Phil Kessel?” On Saturday night, that answer became “yes.” The club hammered out a deal to send its 82-point winger, prospect Dane Birks and a draft pick to the Arizona Coyotes for forward Alex Galchenyuk...
John Steigerwald: Personality, not production, led to Phil Kessel, Antonio Brown trades
Two Pittsburgh teams have become a lot less entertaining since their seasons ended. Whether they both got better and closer to championships remains to be seen. The Phil Kessel trade looks like a good one for the Penguins. On paper. Kessel had to go. He wanted out, and he probably...
