TribLive Penguins beat writer Seth Rorabaugh joins me for our weekly hockey podcast. The Penguins are grinding through a difficult month with seven more games packed in before they hit Jan. 22 for their bye week.
There are two more games on this road trip. And captain Sidney Crosby may be back for at least one of them. Seth believes he’ll return Friday in Colorado against the Avalanche. If not, perhaps he’ll come back against Phil Kessel and the Arizona Coyotes Sunday.
Another boost may come via trade. A recent name that cropped up as a potential target is Rickard Rakell of the Anaheim Ducks. Seth tells us why that’s not out of the question.
Also, Seth thinks Tristan Jarry will get the two starts in goal remaining on this trip. He’s adamant about that, even though Matt Murray was decent in his last start between the pipes.
During his recent radio show on 105.9 the X, general manager Jim Rutherford said Teddy Blueger is looking like a “Nick Bonino replacement.” Is that praise too strong? And if it’s on target, can Brandon Tanev and Zach Aston-Reese become the other two-thirds of a new HBK line?
Then there is the race for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year. Rutherford says it should be open and shut in favor of Mike Sullivan. We debate if his former assistant, Rick Tocchet of Arizona, should be considered.
All that and plenty more in this week’s hockey podcast.
