With a total of five players plus their head coach, general manager and president of hockey operations all being alums of the Penguins organization, the Vancouver Canucks have more than a handful of connections to Pittsburgh.

Evgeni Malkin got a kick out of noting that, joking with Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet Thursday afternoon ahead of their game at PPG Paints Arena.

“I just saw (Malkin) — he said we’re the Penguins West with all the guys that are here,” Tocchet said. “It’s good to be back. A lot of the guys are excited to be back.”

“We’re striving for consistency. When you raise the bar higher and higher, then comes expectations. The discipline has to be more. The trust has to be more…Just got to keep pushing to raise that bar.”

???? Hear from Head Coach Rick Tocchet pre-game.@theprovince | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/g0fvmwIuxs

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 11, 2024

Tocchet, of course, can count himself squarely within that group.

The 59-year-old, in his second season coaching Vancouver, spent three seasons from 2014-17 as an assistant on Mike Sullivan’s staff, helping oversee the club’s back-to-back Stanley Cup triumphs in 2016 and ‘17.

That marked his third Stanley Cup with the Penguins, having won in 1992 as a player during his first of three seasons playing in Pittsburgh.

Skating for Tocchet are former Penguins defensemen Ian Cole and Mark Friedman, forwards Sam Lafferty and Teddy Blueger, plus goalie Casey DeSmith.

Jim Rutherford, general manager in Pittsburgh from 2014-17, now runs Vancouver’s front office, with longtime Penguins executive Patrick Allvin serving as his general manager.

Together, Rutherford, Allvin, Tocchet and their players have turned the Canucks (27-11-3) into one of the most dominant teams in the NHL — the second-best, to be exact, with Vancouver’s 57 points trailing on Winnipeg’s 58 for most in the league entering Thursday’s games.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Vancouver’s having the success they have with (Tocchet) at the helm,” Sullivan said. “I think he’s a great coach and a great person.”

Old stomping grounds

Lafferty, a fourth-round selection by Pittsburgh in 2014, was traded to Chicago in early 2022 after parts of three seasons with the Penguins.

Since leaving the Penguins, he has played with the Blackhawks, Maple Leafs and now the Canucks.

Gearing up for Thursday night’s game against his former team in the visiting locker room was unfamiliar.

“It feels a little weird, honestly,” Lafferty said. “It’s such a familiar spot. I haven’t played here on an away team, so I’m sure it’ll fee weird, but I’m really excited for tonight, two good teams going at it.”

Blueger was selected by the Penguins in the second round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and played his first five seasons with the club.

In the midst of his sixth campaign, Blueger was dealt to Vegas last March, helping the team to the Stanley Cup.

Like Lafferty, he also had to get used to unfamiliar surroundings within a familiar building.

“Obviously, a lot of time spent here in the other locker room, but I’m sure once the game starts, it’s just another game,” he said.

Solid seasons

Lafferty and Blueger never managed to tap in to their full potential while in Pittsburgh.

Following some promising work at the American Hockey League level with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Lafferty, a Hollidaysburg native, managed a career-high of 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 50 games with the Penguins during his rookie campaign of 2019-20.

In 44 subsequent games over the next two years, he was unable to build off that production.

Blueger’s most productive year with the Penguins was in 2021-22, when he scored nine goals with 19 assists in 65 games.

For Lafferty and Blueger, their Penguins’ days are in the rearview mirror.

But both players, in their first season with the Canucks, have been performing well.

Lafferty has nine goals and nine assists through 41 games while Blueger has contributed five goals and 12 assists in 27 games played.

“I think just a little more experience goes a long way,” Lafferty said. “Just sticking with it, getting better over time.”

Notes:

• Lafferty, Blueger and DeSmith went out to dinner in Pittsburgh Wednesday night with former teammates Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Marcus Pettersson, Tristan Jarry, Jeff Carter and Chad Ruhwedel.

• DeSmith won’t get the start Thursday against his former club, with Thatcher Demko slated to be in net at puck drop. On the year, DeSmith is 7-3-2 in 13 starts with a 2.53 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.

• Cole has played 40 games with Vancouver this year, recording a goal and six assists while averaging 19 minutes, 23 seconds of nightly ice time. Friedman, in similar fashion to his usage by the Penguins, has entered the lineup more sporadically. He’s played 18 games this year with an assist, averaging 12:23 per game.

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