Jake Guentzel Out & What it Means for the Penguins

Has Jake Guentzel played his last game in a Penguins uniform? [hide] The chances are high of that as the Penguins officially placed Guentzel on injured reserve this evening and announced the pending free agent will be sidelined up to four weeks. It’s believed Guentzel suffered a shoulder injury vs the Panthers Wednesday night. While the estimated four weeks could always be a moving target, the NHL trade deadline is just 22 days away on March 8th. [/hide] One of the clubs that has Guentzel at the top of their trade board is the [hide] Edmonton Oilers who come to Pittsburgh March 10th. Barring something unforeseen with the medicals, an injury to Guentzel is not expected to scare off a

Rumors: Penguins have coveted Ross Colton in Guentzel talks?

Latest Buzz: Buzz in league circles [hide] is the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche have as expected held exploratory talks on a Jake Guentzel trade. While the expectation is once Guentzel is eventually traded Pittsburgh will likely land a 3-for-1 type futures package for the high scoring winger, the Penguins have also discussed scenarios of targeting a return that will help the team next season. One name the Penguins are believed to have approached the Colorado Avalanche in what’s been described as very preliminary talks is center Ross Colton. The 27-year-old center has 28 points in 52 games this season and was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche last summer via trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Colton is signed through

Latest Pens Buzz: Trade Buzz surrounding veteran forwards Eller, Carter?

Math Problem: Pittsburgh coming out of the weekend with back-to-back losses has look of being a devastating weekend for Pittsburgh’s climb to a playoff spot. Suddenly the Philadelphia Flyers who looked dead leading into the All-Star break, have won four straight and are now 11 points ahead of the Penguins for third in the division. Pittsburgh enters Tuesday with a .541 points percentage on the season and seven points out of a wildcard spot. As the trade deadline gets closer and closer, Pittsburgh continues to have a math problem and as mentioned here during the All-Star break General Manager Kyle Dubas can’t base any trade deadline decisions on games in hand. Yes, the Penguins are competitive almost any night, but

Rumors: Intrigue inside the organization a Marc Andre Fleury return would boost tickets sales in 24/25?

Fleury Returning to Pittsburgh Back in Play?: [hide] Marc Andre Fleury starred this past Friday night on Fleury night in the Minnesota Wild’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. One thing Fleury still does at his age is bring a buzz about himself and on top of that he can still play and give you a night like he did against the Penguins. The Pittsburgh Penguins are a business and there are worries in the organization of ticket sales for next season as the Penguins seem stuck in that middle of the road aging team curve where they are still competitive enough to keep you interested but are becoming a tougher sale to increase season ticket sales as the bloom

Rumors: New OC Arthur Smith has Russell Wilson back on Steelers QB board?

LATEST STEELERS QB BUZZ: [hide] In what’s becoming the worst key secret in the National Football League, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to give strong consideration to trading for Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields in the coming weeks. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin regarded Fields as a top-10 prospect in the 2021 draft and the interest in Fields is high and might be even higher now with the hiring of Arthur Smith. The buzz is in full steam following ESPN’s Adam Schefter fueling the fire Monday on the Pat McAfee show as Odd Makers are now listing the Steelers as the Favorites to trade for Fields. Fields stands out as the only legitimate young QB on the Steelers radar in

Latest Pens Buzz: Penguins to Trade Jake Guentzel & Still be Buyers at the Deadline?

The Pittsburgh Penguins put together a stellar performance out of the break Tuesday night with a 3-0 shutout win over the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena. While the mood in the Jets room was more of ‘they just couldn’t finish’ as Winnipeg out-chanced Pittsburgh 5 vs 5 in every key category, the eye test told a different story as it was a game the Penguins felt in control of from the very first minutes after puck drop An argument can made the Jets have overachieved thus far and are not a true upper tier team like the standings might currently say — what the Penguins showed again is a growing theme of how better competition has seen them put

Notebook Buzz: Differing views surround Penguins plan of action

— Rumblings, Musings, Opinions — Soft Rebuild in Play? Pittsburgh after a 3-2 overtime win Saturday night vs the Montreal Canadiens, will go into the All-Star break 9th in the Eastern Conference in points percentage and just four points out of third place and multiple games in hand. Still, the final two games of the break showed again with this club how every night just seems to be a 50-50 game and struggle to get two points. Management has to weigh that into their evaluation process. With third place in the Metropolitan Division so up for grabs, though, arguments for both sides can be made. One thinking around the team is Kyle Dubas owes it to this group to at

Rumors: Whispers Around the League is Jake Guentzel’s camp expects star winger to be traded?

Buzz [hide] heading into the All-Star break is multiple contenders have begun gathering trade information on Jake Guentzel, efforts that have intensified this week. There has been a slight shift in thinking around the league as whispers are the Jake Guentzel camp fully expects the star winger to be traded by the deadline. That has led to teams peculating with possible interest to gather intel on whether a move for Guentzel would be strictly as a rental or not. While rival clubs don’t expect Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas to throw in the towel this season, there is a growing sense Dubas will not hold onto Guentzel as his own rental. Guentzel has starred once again this season with 49

Latest Pens Buzz: Pressure mounting on Kyle Dubas to provide a shakeup before hard discussions need to be had by end of Feb

Has the pressure ratcheted up on Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas or what? The Penguins collapse in play against Vegas Saturday night that followed to the Arizona game Monday night has the Penguins suddenly playing at an 89 point-pace. Dubas has said for weeks that the All-Star break will be his barometer. Pittsburgh has lost four of five games and six of their last nine games with two more games to go before the break. The Penguins internally have felt this is the third best team in a mediocre division of bunched up teams, but management is playing with fire that this group is suddenly just going to figure out. This is a wildly inconsistent group that’s getting greatness from

Notebook Buzz: Justin Fields to Pittsburgh; Pickett to Denver? Tomlin to go Bill Cowher Route?

NOTEBOOK BUZZ Notebook Buzz: Mike Tomlin has all plans of honoring his contract and returning in 2024. What remains to be seen is it Mike Tomlin goes the Bill Cowher route or not. Tomlin is not scared to play out the year with one year left and the Steelers know it. Steelers owner Art Rooney II is widely expected to make every attempt to extend Tomlin this off-season and if Tomlin agrees to an extension, it would be a stunner inside team headquarters if he accepts a short-term extension. Anticipation is if Tomlin extends, it will be 3+ years. Tomlin extending or not is expected to be more on him than ownership not stepping up the table. — Will Tomlin