Penguins/NHL category, Page 295
Mark Madden: Penguins trading Evgeni Malkin is a very real possibility
Last week, GM Jim Rutherford would not commit to keeping Evgeni Malkin in a Penguins uniform for the rest of his NHL career. It’s not a bluff. It’s not fake news. The Penguins are willing to trade Malkin. That’s for two reasons: • The Penguins are very unhappy with Malkin’s...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss if Penguins would really trade Evgeni Malkin
It’s our last Madden Monday in April, and there is a ton to talk about. You’ll be buzzing about what Mark Madden has heard regarding the Evgeni Malkin trade discussion. It sure sounds like the interest in possibly dealing the three-time Stanley Cup champion is more than a fleeting reaction...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby named finalist for Hart Trophy
At 31, Sidney Crosby isn’t slowing down. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain’s status among the NHL’s elite was proven again Sunday, when he was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the player judged most valuable to his team. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, 25, and the...
Penguins will have to buck NHL age trend to raise Stanley Cup again
Amidst swirling uncertainty about what his roster will look like in the fall, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has been steadfast in one belief in every public comment he’s made since his team was swept out of the first round of the playoffs earlier this month. The team’s championship...
Why Penguins GM Jim Rutherford can’t rule out trading some of his biggest stars
It’s probably within the power of Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford to put an abrupt end to much of the drama and intrigue sure to surround the roster decisions he faces this summer. He could stand up, declare he has no intentions to trade stars such as Evgeni Malkin,...
Penguins re-sign depth forward Joseph Cramarossa
The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed depth forward Joseph Cramarossa to a one-year, two-way contract, according to multiple reports Friday. Cramrossa, 26, is a gritty, two-way forward who had four goals, 16 points, six fighting majors and 116 penalty minutes in 56 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. He has played 59 career...
Penguins can’t count on prospect pool to produce impact players
If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to return to the type of championship form they showed in 2016-17, their prospects will have to play a role. During those back-to-back Stanley Cup seasons, homegrown talents such as Matt Murray, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and others made significant contributions....
Remember Janne Pesonen? European free agency hasn’t been panacea for Penguins
Having traded away multiple draft picks in recent years in pursuit of the Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins have to find other ways to replenish their prospect pool. They’ve had some success in signing undrafted college free agents, adding Zach Aston-Reese, Casey DeSmith and Conor Sheary via that avenue in...
First Call: Patrick Peterson trade talk ramps back up; Jordan Staal shines for Hurricanes
In “First Call” Thursday, the Patrick Peterson trade rumors may kick up again. Jordan Staal comes through in the clutch for the Hurricanes. And a warning for the Pirates against the Diamondbacks. Are the Patrick Peterson rumors back? Remember this past season when rumors swirled that the Steelers may try...
U mad, bro? Penguins fans angry with Mike Sullivan, Kris Letang; Steelers draft unrest
In “U mad, bro?” this week, Penguins fans are still angry at Mike Sullivan and Kris Letang. People disagree with me about the NHL playoffs and the Steelers draft. And one health organization is mad at the entire city of Pittsburgh. We start with Sheldon, who is dissatisfied with Penguins...
Major offseason overhaul unlikely for Penguins defense corps
Judging by the reality of the salary cap, fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins can expect the team’s blue line to look a little different next season. Judging by the comments of general manager Jim Rutherford, it probably won’t be too different, though. The cap dictates the Penguins will have to...
Reports: Penguins assistant Jacques Martin a candidate for Buffalo Sabres job
Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Jacques Martin is a candidate for the head coaching job of the Buffalo Sabres, according to multiple reports. Martin, 66, has been with the Penguins for the last six seasons, serving mostly as the assistant coach who works most closely with the team’s defense and penalty kill....
Penguins’ Patric Hornqvist to play for Sweden in World Championships
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist will play for his native Sweden in the World Championships next month in Slovakia, the Swedish ice hockey federation announced Wednesday. Hornqvist will be joined on a star-studded Swedish roster by New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Calder Trophy...
During disappointing season, Penguins forwards were less than sum of their parts
At the time, it looked like the start of something for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the third period of a Dec. 4 home game with the Colorado Avalanche, everything winger Patric Hornqvist touched found twine. His natural hat trick in a span of 2 minutes, 47 seconds not only set...
Penguins sign high-scoring Finnish free agent Oula Palve
The Pittsburgh Penguins added a highly regarded European free agent to their depth chart Monday, signing 27-year-old Finnish center Oula Palve to a one-year deal. The 6-foot, 176-pound Palve was among the top 10 scorers in Finland’s top league in each of the last two seasons. This year, he recorded...
In-season pickups could provide blueprint for Penguins’ roster retooling
As general manager Jim Rutherford prepares to perform offseason roster surgery designed to bring the Pittsburgh Penguins back to championship-caliber prominence, he has at least one thing going for him. He’s in the middle of a pretty decent run at the trade table. Defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Erik Gudbranson and...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden talk Penguins elimination, Steelers draft, Pirates loss
In this week’s “Madden Monday,” Mark Madden of 105.9 the X joins me to look at what the Penguins may do this offseason. Are trades of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel possible? We debate the future of head coach Mike Sullivan and whether he can get...
Tim Benz: Are Penguins’ Mike Sullivan, Jim Rutherford really on same page?
It had to be on purpose, right? Head coach Mike Sullivan and general manager Jim Rutherford standing side-by-side during the Penguins’ season-ending media availability. Sharing the podium. Answering questions in the presence of each other. There must have been intent behind the execution of the 2019 season-ending news conference last...
In Penguins’ quest to be harder to play against, does Phil Kessel help or hurt?
General manager Jim Rutherford and coach Mike Sullivan stood side-by-side at a season-ending news conference and announced, in one voice, that the Pittsburgh Penguins must be harder to play against moving forward. So, what does this mean for Phil Kessel? By the conventional definition of the term, Kessel’s game is...
Penguins’ Kris Letang is story of offensive flair vs. defensive responsibility
As the Pittsburgh Penguins tried to grapple with a quick playoff exit this season, Kris Letang and Mike Sullivan became entrenched on opposite sides of a divide that seemed new, dramatic and important. Sullivan stood at a podium after his team was swept by the New York Islanders and declared...
Mark Madden: Coach Mike Sullivan must steer Penguins in new direction
In 1997, Mario Lemieux retired for the first time. The 1996-97 Penguins had finished second in the Northeast Division at 38-36-8. Eddie Johnston had been dismissed as coach with 20 games remaining and replaced on an interim basis by general manager Craig Patrick. When the 1997-98 season dawned, Kevin Constantine...
Penguins goalie Matt Murray grateful for lessons learned in tumultuous season
Emotions ran the gamut as Pittsburgh Penguins players tried to wrap their heads around a stunning first-round sweep by the New York Islanders this week, but most fell somewhere in between disbelief and disappointment. As he packed up his gear before heading home to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the summer,...
Tim Benz: Penguins better listen to themselves after ‘self-inflicted’ playoff exit
If the Penguins showed this much pushback against the New York Islanders, maybe they’d still be playing. Locker cleanout day got a little testy at times Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. The 2019 Penguins team was packing up for the last time in the wake of...
Sidney Crosby: I still believe in this Penguins group — but expect changes, too
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain spoke Thursday about an hour before the coach and general manager did on the day of the final gathering of the 2018-19 edition of the team. Ultimately, as powerful as Sidney Crosby is within the organization, he won’t be making the decisions on where the Penguins...
Effects of concussion not to blame for slump, Penguins’ Patric Hornqvist says
It’s a fairly clear and direct line that can be drawn. Patric Hornqvist has been one of the NHL’s most consistent goal-scorers for a decade, scoring between 21 and 30 goals for eight consecutive full seasons – and he was on pace to end up in the high end of...
