Penguins/NHL category, Page 97

By just about any measure, Jason Zucker’s 2022-23 season was a rousing success. In fact, he might have been one of the brightest individual triumphs for the Pittsburgh Penguins this past season. First, he was healthy for the most part. That’s a luxury he hasn’t been able to boast of...

Evgeni Malkin didn’t like the question. It was April 1, shortly after the Pittsburgh Penguins fell 4-3 to the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena, for their third one-goal loss in as many tries to the 2022-23 Presidents’ Trophy winners. The Penguins had fallen behind repeatedly in the contest, only...

Not much is known — publicly, at least — about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ search for a new head of hockey operations, which entered its second week Saturday. On April 14, the day previous general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke were fired, Fenway Sports Group executive...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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 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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...