Pittsburgh Penguins / NHL category, Page 308
Former Penguins coaches Michel Therrien, Mike Yeo hired by Flyers
Former Pittsburgh Penguins coaches Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo will have a reunion in an unexpected location in the fall – behind the bench of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers announced Monday that Therrien and Yeo will be assistants on the staff of new head coach Alain Vigneault. Yeo was...
Mark Madden: Penguins face tough marketing decisions
The Carolina Hurricanes are playing to 101.7 percent capacity during home playoff games. But they attracted a meager 76.7 percent capacity during the regular season, third-worst in the NHL. Even with the “Storm Surge” sideshow act. That’s not remotely meant to ridicule. Winning draws money, and sports teams badly need...
Tim Benz: Penguins fans must prepare for real change … eventually
This is always a frustrating time of year to write about the Pittsburgh Penguins. Well, at least in non-Stanley Cup winning seasons anyway. The cycle is drudgery, and it is familiar. The Penguins lose a series. The fans, media, locker room, and management call for change. Rumors emerge about potential...
Mike Rupp on Evgeni Malkin trade talk: Penguins should at least consider it
Former Penguin Mike Rupp is chiming in on the Evgeni Malkin trade talk. Now an analyst for AT&T SportsNet and the NHL Network, Rupp was on 105.9 the X with me Wednesday, and I asked him what he thought about the idea of trading Evgeni Malkin. “I don’t see it...
Tim Benz: Time for Evgeni Malkin to follow his own advice
On locker cleanout day following the Pittsburgh Penguins’ sweep at the hands of New York Islanders, Kris Letang was indignant at suggestions that he may need to change his game. You know, be more structured and patient. Take fewer chances. Play more conservative. The response was not one of agreement....
Former Penguins coach Red Kelly dies at 91
Red Kelly, the defenseman-turned-center whose Hall of Fame career included eight Stanley Cups while playing for Detroit and Toronto, died Thursday at the age of 91. Kelly was also a former coach and GM for the Penguins. He finished with a 90-132-52 record. He took the team its first NHL...
Former Penguin Colby Armstrong talks about trading Evgeni Malkin
Our first Sided.co podcast of May features former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Colby Armstrong. He joined me on 105.9 the X Friday. The AT&T Sportsnet hockey analyst gives his opinion on the idea of trading Evgeni Malkin, or some other high-profile Penguins. Armstrong seems to think that the better route for...
Kevin Gorman: Trading Evgeni Malkin would only cause Penguins more problems
If the Pittsburgh Penguins seriously are considering a trade of Evgeni Malkin, they seriously should reconsider. It’s that absurd of an idea. Trading Malkin would be an emotional overreaction to a stunning sweep by the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup playoffs and a foolhardy attempt at addition by...
Mark Madden: Penguins trading Evgeni Malkin is a very real possibility
Last week, GM Jim Rutherford would not commit to keeping Evgeni Malkin in a Penguins uniform for the rest of his NHL career. It’s not a bluff. It’s not fake news. The Penguins are willing to trade Malkin. That’s for two reasons: • The Penguins are very unhappy with Malkin’s...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss if Penguins would really trade Evgeni Malkin
It’s our last Madden Monday in April, and there is a ton to talk about. You’ll be buzzing about what Mark Madden has heard regarding the Evgeni Malkin trade discussion. It sure sounds like the interest in possibly dealing the three-time Stanley Cup champion is more than a fleeting reaction...
Penguins’ Sidney Crosby named finalist for Hart Trophy
At 31, Sidney Crosby isn’t slowing down. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain’s status among the NHL’s elite was proven again Sunday, when he was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the player judged most valuable to his team. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, 25, and the...
Penguins will have to buck NHL age trend to raise Stanley Cup again
Amidst swirling uncertainty about what his roster will look like in the fall, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has been steadfast in one belief in every public comment he’s made since his team was swept out of the first round of the playoffs earlier this month. The team’s championship...
Why Penguins GM Jim Rutherford can’t rule out trading some of his biggest stars
It’s probably within the power of Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford to put an abrupt end to much of the drama and intrigue sure to surround the roster decisions he faces this summer. He could stand up, declare he has no intentions to trade stars such as Evgeni Malkin,...
Penguins re-sign depth forward Joseph Cramarossa
The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed depth forward Joseph Cramarossa to a one-year, two-way contract, according to multiple reports Friday. Cramrossa, 26, is a gritty, two-way forward who had four goals, 16 points, six fighting majors and 116 penalty minutes in 56 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. He has played 59 career...
Penguins can’t count on prospect pool to produce impact players
If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to return to the type of championship form they showed in 2016-17, their prospects will have to play a role. During those back-to-back Stanley Cup seasons, homegrown talents such as Matt Murray, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and others made significant contributions....
Remember Janne Pesonen? European free agency hasn’t been panacea for Penguins
Having traded away multiple draft picks in recent years in pursuit of the Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins have to find other ways to replenish their prospect pool. They’ve had some success in signing undrafted college free agents, adding Zach Aston-Reese, Casey DeSmith and Conor Sheary via that avenue in...
First Call: Patrick Peterson trade talk ramps back up; Jordan Staal shines for Hurricanes
In “First Call” Thursday, the Patrick Peterson trade rumors may kick up again. Jordan Staal comes through in the clutch for the Hurricanes. And a warning for the Pirates against the Diamondbacks. Are the Patrick Peterson rumors back? Remember this past season when rumors swirled that the Steelers may try...
U mad, bro? Penguins fans angry with Mike Sullivan, Kris Letang; Steelers draft unrest
In “U mad, bro?” this week, Penguins fans are still angry at Mike Sullivan and Kris Letang. People disagree with me about the NHL playoffs and the Steelers draft. And one health organization is mad at the entire city of Pittsburgh. We start with Sheldon, who is dissatisfied with Penguins...
Major offseason overhaul unlikely for Penguins defense corps
Judging by the reality of the salary cap, fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins can expect the team’s blue line to look a little different next season. Judging by the comments of general manager Jim Rutherford, it probably won’t be too different, though. The cap dictates the Penguins will have to...
Reports: Penguins assistant Jacques Martin a candidate for Buffalo Sabres job
Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Jacques Martin is a candidate for the head coaching job of the Buffalo Sabres, according to multiple reports. Martin, 66, has been with the Penguins for the last six seasons, serving mostly as the assistant coach who works most closely with the team’s defense and penalty kill....
Penguins’ Patric Hornqvist to play for Sweden in World Championships
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist will play for his native Sweden in the World Championships next month in Slovakia, the Swedish ice hockey federation announced Wednesday. Hornqvist will be joined on a star-studded Swedish roster by New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Calder Trophy...
During disappointing season, Penguins forwards were less than sum of their parts
At the time, it looked like the start of something for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the third period of a Dec. 4 home game with the Colorado Avalanche, everything winger Patric Hornqvist touched found twine. His natural hat trick in a span of 2 minutes, 47 seconds not only set...
Penguins sign high-scoring Finnish free agent Oula Palve
The Pittsburgh Penguins added a highly regarded European free agent to their depth chart Monday, signing 27-year-old Finnish center Oula Palve to a one-year deal. The 6-foot, 176-pound Palve was among the top 10 scorers in Finland’s top league in each of the last two seasons. This year, he recorded...
In-season pickups could provide blueprint for Penguins’ roster retooling
As general manager Jim Rutherford prepares to perform offseason roster surgery designed to bring the Pittsburgh Penguins back to championship-caliber prominence, he has at least one thing going for him. He’s in the middle of a pretty decent run at the trade table. Defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Erik Gudbranson and...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden talk Penguins elimination, Steelers draft, Pirates loss
In this week’s “Madden Monday,” Mark Madden of 105.9 the X joins me to look at what the Penguins may do this offseason. Are trades of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel possible? We debate the future of head coach Mike Sullivan and whether he can get...
