Penguins/NHL category, Page 105
Defense is what brought Ryan Graves to the Penguins
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, isn’t very close to a lot of places. Including the rest of Nova Scotia. Situated on the southwestern tip of the province, Yarmouth is nearly a four-hour drive from the capital city of Halifax. It’s actually closer to Maine (by boat). Living in such a remote locale...
Penguins to participate in prospect tournament at Buffalo
The Pittsburgh Penguins will participate in the Prospect Challenge tournament that will be staged at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y., Sept. 15-18. Six teams will participate in the tournament, including the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators. All teams will play three...
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins sign former NHL goaltender Garret Sparks
Former NHL goaltender Garret Sparks has signed an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the 2023-24 season. Sparks, 31, joins an organization that has six goaltenders signed to NHL contracts entering next season, including incumbents Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, newcomers Magnus Hellberg and Alex Nedeljkovic,...
First Call: Steelers QB Kenny Pickett promises ‘bounce back year’ for Diontae Johnson; Najee Harris rips RB pay
Tuesday’s “First Call” features Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris ripping the NFL’s pay structure for players at his position. Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett endorses the use of play-action and promises bigger things from Diontae Johnson. Plus, rookie tight end Darnell Washington is being tied to a college payment scandal...
Madden Monday: On Erik Karlsson trade talk, ‘everybody … is just waiting to see if San Jose cracks’
After a week off, “Madden Monday” is back at “Breakfast With Benz.” And two things haven’t changed at all since I last spoke with Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE. The Pittsburgh Pirates keep losing, and we keep waiting to see what’s going on with the Penguins’ pursuit...
Former Penguins coach Dan Bylsma finds home in the California desert
It still stings for Dan Bylsma. And even a salmon fishing trip in a rural portion of his native Michigan won’t provide sufficient salve. But then again, it’s only been a few weeks and time heals all wounds. In the last professional contest of the 2022-23 hockey season, the Coachella...
Penguins re-sign defenseman Ty Smith
The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Ty Smith to a one-year contract worth $775,000. Smith, 23, just completed a three-year entry-level contract. Last season, Smith appeared in nine NHL games and scored four points (one goal, four assists) while averaging 20 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time per...
Penguins re-sign restricted free agent forward Jonathan Gruden
The Penguins re-signed restricted free agent forward Jonathan Gruden to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000. Gruden, 23, just completed an entry-level contract. During the 2022-23 season, Gruden (6-foot-2, 172 pounds) made his NHL debut in January, appearing in three games with no points...
Penguins sign defensive prospect Emil Pieniniemi
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed defensive prospect Emil Pieniemi to a three-year entry-level contract Friday. According to Cap Friendly, the deal carries a salary cap hit of $870,000. A third-round selection (No. 91 overall) in last month’s NHL Draft, Pieniemi, a native of Finland, is the first member of the Penguins’...
Former Penguins coach Kevin Constantine joins WHL’s Wenatchee Wild
Former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Kevin Constantine was named as the first coach of the incoming Wenatchee Wild, an expansion team at the junior level in the Western Hockey League . His hiring was announced by the team, which is based in Wenatchee, Wash., via release Thursday. Constantine, 64, served as...
After signing deal to stay ‘home’ with Penguins, Tristan Jarry says injuries are behind him
Alberta is home for Tristan Jarry. Having won a Memorial Cup championship in 2014 during his junior days with the Edmonton Oil Kings, Jarry has planted roots there and spends his summers near the provincial capital. He has a second place where he lays his hat … er … mask...
Former Penguins defenseman Kevin Czuczman signs in Czechia
Former Penguins defenseman Kevin Czuczman has signed a one-year contract for the 2023-24 season with HC Litvinov of the Extraliga ledniho hokeje in Czechia. That team announced the transaction Thursday via release. A native of London, Ont., the 32-year-old Czuczman spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins and was...
First Call: Minkah Fitzpatrick finally tops best-safety list; Saquon Barkley to ‘pull a Le’Veon?’
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick had spent most the offseason so far picking up plenty of figurative silver medals in the ultimately meaningless realm of “Best Of” lists. • In May, it was Pro Football Network that rated Fitzpatrick as the NFL’s second-best safety behind the Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin...
Former Penguins goaltender Thomas Greiss retires
Former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Thomas Greiss has retired following a 14-year career in the NHL. A native of Germany, Greiss revealed his plans Wednesday to Stefan Herget, a freelance journalist who covers the league for that country. Greiss, 37, spent one season, the 2014-15 campaign, with the Penguins. Appearing in...
Being a bottom-6 forward is personal for new Penguins center Noel AcciariVideo
Brandon Tanev’s tenure lasted only two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Claimed in the 2021 expansion draft by the Seattle Kraken, Tanev became something of a cult hero in Western Pennsylvania despite only playing 100 regular-season games for the Penguins. His frantic, energetic, all-gas, no-brakes style of play — to...
Lars Eller embraces Penguins’ 3rd-line center role
This isn’t anything new for Lars Eller. He already has been a third-line center behind two high-end All-Stars on the depth chart. For parts of seven seasons, he inhabited that station as a member of the Washington Capitals with Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov in front of him. So joining...
Former Penguins defensive prospect Josh Maniscalco signs with AHL’s Rockford IceHogs
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Josh Maniscalco has signed an American Hockey League contract with the Rockford IceHogs, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. Maniscalco, 24, just completed a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins. He entered the offseason as a pending restricted free agent, but the Penguins...
First Call: Could Penguins still hit jackpot with Erik Karlsson trade? What rock star, in town tonight, was a Steelers fan?
Is Penguins director of hockey operations Kyle Dubas holding a pocket pair or is he just drawing to an inside straight? In an appearance on NHL Network on Monday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said he believes the race to acquire Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose...
Penguins defensive prospect Thimo Nickl signs with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Thimo Nickl has signed an American Hockey League contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the 2023-24 season. Nickl, 21, recently attended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ development camp in Cranberry earlier this month. The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired the NHL rights to Nickl on March 31 when they dealt...
Penguins goaltending prospect Joel Blomqvist takes another step toward NHL
First things first, it’s “YOH-ehl.” Not “JOHL.” Pronunciations aside, Joel Blomqvist is still a ways away from making a name for himself at the NHL level. But he’s about to take a big step forward next season. Entering the first year of a three-year entry-level contract, the 21-year-old Finn is...
The Penguins’ bottom 6 forwards are different. Are they better?
Mike Sullivan didn’t have much to say. The Pittsburgh Penguins coach wasn’t all that eager to get into the details of why his third line was thoroughly ineffective — again — after a humbling 5-2 thumping at home by the New Jersey Devils. A fairly innocuous query over the play...
Penguins sign forward Andreas JohnssonVideo
The Penguins continued to bolster their options among the bottom-six forwards Friday as they signed forward Andreas Johnsson to a one-year contract worth $800,000. His signing was announced approximately two hours after the team brought forward Vinnie Hinostorza into the mix on a one-year deal worth $775,000. Johnsson, 28, split...
Penguins sign forward Vinnie HinostrozaVideo
The Penguins continued to boost the bottom rungs of their roster Friday when they signed unrestricted free agent forward Vinnie Hinostroza to a one-year contract worth a league-minimum $775,000 at the NHL level. It is a one-way contract. Hinostroza, 29, spent the 2022-23 season with the Buffalo Sabres organization, splitting...
Former Penguins express differing opinions on idea of team acquiring Erik Karlsson
Two former Penguins with Stanley Cup rings. Two different radio stations. Two different opinions on whether the Penguins should pay a high price for Erik Karlsson. The Penguins are believed to be in the trade market to acquire the Norris Trophy winner. Most reports are that the Pens and the...
Penguins forward prospect Tristan Broz is in a better placeVideo
Tristan Broz was in a strange place Monday. A canoe. A human canoe. During the Pittsburgh Penguins development camp tournament — a three-on-three competition — Broz scored the winning goal in overtime of the championship game with a one-timer from the right circle and initiated a silly celebration in the...
