Penguins forward Jeff Carter aiming to play in final preseason game
Penguins forward Jeff Carter participated in a full capacity during practice Tuesday in Cranberry for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury during a scrimmage on Sept. 25.
Primarily working as the center of the third line between wingers Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen, Carter engaged in some contact.
“It’s never ideal to miss time,” said the 37-year-old Carter, who is about to enter his 18th season. “Where I’m at right now, I probably could have used a few extra games. But I’m working hard, obviously, (in) non-contact situations (before Tuesday). I actually felt pretty good (Tuesday).”
It is hoped Carter could make his preseason debut in the Penguins’ final exhibition contest Friday, a home game against the Buffalo Sabres.
“Obviously, when we can get him participating in a full capacity like he did today, it’s encouraging from our standpoint,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’re a better team when he’s in our lineup. It would be great to get him an exhibition game under his belt before (the regular season) starts. Our hope is he continues to progress.”
Other injuries
Forwards Teddy Blueger, Jonathan Gruden and defenseman Taylor Fedun skated before practice and remain “day to day” with undisclosed injuries, Sullivan said.
Gruden was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League Tuesday evening while Fedun was placed on waivers. Presuming Fedun clears by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, he will be presumably be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as well.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry, who missed Monday’s 3-2 road preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings because of an illness, was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice.
Video work
The Penguin’s coaching staff remains intact with one notable exception.
Andy Saucier, formerly the team’s top video coach, was promoted to a role within the organization’s front office titled as “hockey operations analyst / pro personnel.”
That led to Madison Nikkel, previously the assistant video coach, being promoted to Saucier’s former role. Additionally, C.J. D’Alimonte, formerly Wilkes-Barre/Scranton video coach, replaced Nikkel in the assistant role.
Saucier and Nikkel were staggeringly effective last season in helping Sullivan and company issue coach’s challenges. In total, the team was a perfect 7 for 7 in challenges during the regular season.
Perhaps Saucier’s most famous contribution to the organization game in Game 6 of the 2016 Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning (above).
With his team leading the series, 3-2, Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin appeared to give his team a 1-0 lead early in that contest, but Saucier identified the sequence as being offside and alerted coaches on the bench to issue a challenge.
The league’s review confirmed Saucier’s suspicion and nullified the score. The Penguins were able to claim victory in that road game, 5-2, and ultimately the series before winning the Stanley Cup a few weeks later.
Clearly, this department has become invaluable to the franchise.
Sullivan explained the reasons for the personnel changes.
“First of all, they’re all deserving,” Sullivan said. “They’re all really smart guys that are really good at what they do. These guys have aspirations to grow and develop in their careers just like all of us do. It’s part of our responsibility to help them grow and develop in those areas. I feel a certain responsibility for the guys that are working with me to help them grow and develop their careers. These guys have high aspirations, they’re motivated people. Those are the types of people that we want to be associated with our team.
“(Saucier) is, in my mind, an All-Star video coach. I’ve never been around a better video coach than (Saucier) in all the years that I’ve been coaching in this league and playing in this league, for that matter. He’s just a really intelligent hockey person that, I think, has such a great grasp on, not only, his role being the head video guy, but also just hockey in general. He’s got a great analytical eye. We look at these guys as way more than video coaches. These guys are part of our coaching staff.
How will their tasks be sorted out?
“(Saucier’s) is drastically different,” Sullivan said.” He’s working in the hockey (operations) with (general manager Ron Hextall). And so his role is completely different. Madison is now in (Saucier’s previous) role as the head video coach. Madison, I think, has benefitted in his experience with (Saucier). And Madison is a really smart kid in his own right. He’s deserving of the opportunity. And C.J. is a guy that did a great job for us (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).
“(Saucier is) still going to have interaction with the coaching staff in a number of different ways. But the in-game stuff now is going to be handed to Madison and C.J. These guys are very capable and they’re really smart. We’ll work with them so we have the same level of communication and the same criteria that we’ve tried to deploy here, certainly in my time here, with respect to some of those challenges. That’s an important aspect of it, is making sure that we define that criteria. So they have an understanding of what we’re looking for when they’re advising me on the bench on what’s an offside (play) or what isn’t. What’s a goalie interference and what isn’t. We have those discussions behind the scenes before they occur to try to be prepared for them.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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