Former Penguins forward Brian Boyle isn't retired but content being at home

Like a lot of fathers with a young family, Brian Boyle occasionally has to miss a birthday, practice or recital.

He does have to commute to work, after all.

In his case at the moment, Boyle has to make the occasional four-hour drive primarily on Interstate 95 from his home in Hingham, Mass., to Secaucus, N.J., for his part-time gig as an analyst with NHL Network.

Just under a year since he played his final games for the Pittsburgh Penguins as a towering bottom-six center, Boyle is offering his perspective on all NHL matters with the league’s network for the remainder of this regular season as well as the postseason.

“I just love the game,” the 6-foot-6 Boyle said by phone Thursday. “I love hockey. It’s a chance to kind of stay involved in hockey. I’m really thankful for this opportunity now to be able to talk hockey with people — whether or not they played — they know the game and bring it to other people and try to give it my best in terms of what my opinion is and what my perspective is on something. Being authentic with that, it’s cool. My kids get a kick out of the fact that I’m on TV, even if I’m not playing.”

Boyle last played last spring when he suffered a left knee injury in Game 6 of a first-round series against the New York Rangers on May 13.

One day later, Boyle underwent season-ending surgery. Two days later, the Penguins’ season came to an end with a 4-3 overtime road loss at Madison Square Garden.

“I’ve never seen that many things go wrong in a playoff series, and still, it was within one goal of moving on to the second round,” Boyle said. “I really liked how we played in terms of how the game was sort of dictated. The stretches of games, how much we controlled, I thought we gave ourselves a good chance. But that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

A lot went right for Boyle in his lone season with the Penguins. After attending training camp as a nonroster invitee, he earned a one-year contract and appeared in 66 games while scoring a respectable 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists), primarily as a bottom-six forward and penalty killer.

After sitting out the 2020-21 campaign because of a lack of interest by teams, Boyle, who survived a bout with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2017, treasured the opportunity he was afforded by the Penguins.

“It was really cool for me to do that, understanding that the year before, no one really called with any offers,” Boyle said. “I was very thankful for those chances. In my heart of hearts, I knew that I could still do it. I got sick a few years ago, different things happen and you realize nothing’s guaranteed. I had that kind of perspective going into it. Every day was a challenge, but it was an opportunity as well.”

Now 38 and fully recovered from his knee injury, Boyle is content being a mostly stay-at-home dad.

Last season, Boyle’s wife, Lauren, delivered a newborn son, Callum, who arrived in January joining older brother Declan, 7, and sister Isabella, 5.

Boyle got to enjoy the first five months of Callum’s life only sporadically as his duties with the Penguins monopolized most of his time.

In a cruel twist, his knee injury allowed the two to spend more time together.

“I was just committed to rehabbing at that point,” Boyle said. “So, I got to be more present with my third child. That was something that I was happy about, thankful for. I was kind of attentive to the different changes that the baby goes through not being on a week-long road trip.”

But Boyle, who has 14 seasons and 871 games on his career’s odometer, hasn’t officially retired as a player just as of yet.

“If somebody called me with interest, I’d probably start training,” Boyle said with a guffaw. “I’ll tell you that.”

For the moment, Boyle is simply happy being with his family more often, particularly for Easter during a holiday weekend that typically has been occupied by the business of being a professional athlete.

“I’m Catholic,” Boyle said. “It’s so important to us. … We’ll go over to my mom’s and dad’s, and that will be great to enjoy that with them. My son (Declan) is making his first communion. I get to be there for that sure. All their birthdays are in May, except Callum and mine. All of those things, I get to be there and focus on that, not worry about if I can make it for an hour or if I have to go to practice. I understood that.”

But?

“If you told me right now — even if you told my wife — that I could change places and go be on a team and going to the playoffs, we would make that trade because we realize that it’s not forever,” Boyle said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

Notes: Penguins forward Alex Nylander was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. … The Penguins had a scheduled day off Sunday.