One intriguing development emerging with the Penguins:

Dan Muse is much more about wins and losses than this being a development season. And I mean this is a coach who is intense where he takes losses hard. One misinterpretation about Muse when hired is he would be all about youth and development. What got overlooked was once you’re behind an NHL bench, you become wired to everything being about wins. This a coach who has seen a lot of winning as an NHL assistant, most notably the 2023-2024 President Trophy winning Rangers and Instead the message has been let the AHL coaches develop.

Things are trending where if the Penguins remain in the playoff hunt and in an Eastern conference this coaching staff believes Pittsburgh can one of the best eight teams, get ready to continue to see more heavy veteran lineups.

Players such as Kevin Hayes, Noel Acciari (when healthy) who were viewed prior to the season as prime candidates to be pushed out for young players, are seen as being very valuable for a playoff push. Hayes in particular is also very popular in the room and a favorite of Sidney Crosby. Members of the coaching staff are said to believe several of the young players who are close, such as Tristan Broz need more time in the minors.

As shocking as it seems, (if the Penguins stay in the hunt) at least for this season we could be heading towards a similar Dubas/Sullivan dynamic where the views on the roster don’t align as the season progresses. Muse is all about trying to get to the postseason and feels the veterans who have elevated their play thus far deserve that type of mindset from the bench boss. Does the GM take things into his own hands and jump on a second-round pick for expiring veterans like a Blake Lizotte, we will see, but once this roster gets healthy this month and the likes of Acciari, Justin Brazeau, and Rickard Rakell are getting close, young players are going to be pushed out.

In particular, as much as a jolt the kids line showed vs the Flyers, Ville Koivunen’s roster spot To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— One prominent agent on the Penguins: “They have all these picks and still no one special in their system to accelerate the future”……”There’s going to be some really bad years coming and i mean really bad,” the agent indicating it’s not surprising to see even a rookie head coach no one thought would get the job watching how strong Sidney Crosby is going this season and the way he works every day and being all-in on trying to get this team to the playoffs even if the GM is all about being forward minded.

— Ryan Graves has reintroduced himself back into the left third pairing D-role for now. Caleb Jones due to his ability to retrieve pucks is strongly valued To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— The Penguins have planned to be very patient with Sergei Murashov this season. It was going to have taken a Matt Murray type situation where he just took off and ran off victories for him to stay in the NHL once Jarry got healthy. Pittsburgh has mapped out a clear development plan this season for Murashov and they plan to stick with it.

— Pittsburgh has aggressively listened to trade inquiries into To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Much of November showed how much the team misses Rickard Rakell’s ability to create individual offense. You want to talk about a player who’s value has grown internally it’s Rakell. I’m told the staff views him as Pittsburgh’s second best valuable player To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Almost ten games into the season the 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Penguins (6-2-1, 13 pts) are not boring, we can say that about them. A roaring comeback with under six minutes left to play saw Pittsburgh salvage a point in a game they certainly didn’t deserve.

Somehow, someway this roster continues to prove to be a tough out over sixty minutes and that’s been a major difference from last year where first cause of trouble they imploded. As bad as the Penguins were outplayed, they picked on some bad goaltending from Elvis Merzlikins who needed some puck luck from having five or six goals get past him.

The Penguins, though, getting overwhelmed like they did in the second and third periods against Florida and a carryover Saturday night against a Blue Jackets team on a back-to-back, is what many expected to see on a more nightly basis and reality is we’re probably going to continue seeing it. How the Penguins weather those storms and they’ve done so admirably well thus far, will dictate whether they can sustain banking points as the season progresses.

What Went Wrong?

Pittsburgh was absolutely slaughtered 5 vs 5 and this was a night the #’s matched the eye test.

Pittsburgh @ 5 vs 5 play was outscored 4-2, combined with being outshot 37-to-16. Scoring chances were 33-15 Columbus and the Penguins were minus-8 in high danger chances.

No one is going to regard the Columbus Blue Jackets as a contender, heck, they are going to be a fringe level playoff caliber team at best in this division. But what was so striking is just the talent gap of players entering their prime compared Pittsburgh’s roster where the old dogs are still head and shoulders Pittsburgh’s best players on the ice.

Headlined by the likes of Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, Dmitri Voronkov, and Kent Johnson, the ability of their 25-and-younger core to create 1-on-1 offense is just something the Penguins don’t have with their roster and sooner or later it’s likely going to rear its ugly head long-term this season.

Everyone understands the Penguins plan with Ben Kindel who was a healthy scratch and giving him nights off. This was a night, though, the Penguins really missed Kindel just from a higher end skilled player in the bottom-6 being able to create an ounce of individual offense. And they really missed him which says something about the roster as a whole.

Hello, Ville Koivunen, who has been lights out in Wilkes Barre and heading back to Pittsburgh for Monday’s game vs St. Louis.

——Rickard Rakell exited the game early in the third. Rakell took a really hard hit down in the right corner near the end of the second period and there was concern last night in the organization. Rakell being out for even a few weeks would be a devastating blow to the Penguins with the team in the midst of a pretty tough schedule the next month……. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Defenseman Connor Clifton looks everything of being unplayable. Matt Dumba can still play a little and bring physicality and speed to the blueline in retrieving pucks. No issue getting him in here and there, but Clifton is another story……….. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Is this a mirage?

Are the Penguins actually an interesting team to take serious as a fringe playoff level team?

In the midst of a four game winning streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2-0 at the eight-game mark are off to their best start in seven seasons.

The hot start to the season has been much more than a lucky start behind good to great goaltending. If Pittsburgh was grinding out 3-2 wins, blocking a million shots a game and say be the John Tortorella 23/24 Philadelphia Flyers and playing low-event hockey, it would be much easier to say this is nothing to at least be intrigued about.

But, Let’s call it what it is, this has been a really impressive start for a club outsiders have pegged to be in prime lottery draft position for Gavin McKenna come spring of 2026.

It feels like it’s been years where the Penguins have felt this in-sync, where you have the top-2 lines creating offense like this but also have others under them filling complementary roles exceptionally well. The 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Penguins shockingly feel like an actual good hockey club and it’s coming back to swings in games.

Where this group has excelled truly in seven of eight games is when they’re getting outplayed, they are finding ways to weather the storm with a response. Last night it was a tic-tac-toe power play goal and Tristan Jarry again closing the door in the waning moments, an area late in games that had previously been close to derailing his NHL career.

Tuesday night vs Vancouver, Pittsburgh showed a classic case of what’s been different with this year’s group. Last couple seasons way that first period started, Pittsburgh ends up getting blown out of the building. Instead, you had consecutive shifts from the 4th line of Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari grind down the Canucks down low on and completely flip momentum. Not many complaints about the likes of Lizotte, Acciari right now…….

In Thursday’s 5-3 win over the Panthers, Pittsburgh got obliterated in shot attempts (FLA 62- PIT 37) and were minus-10 in scoring chances. Yet Pittsburgh was only minus-4 in high danger chances and outscored the Panthers 3-to-1 at even strength. Why to be intrigued is the Penguins have tied up some loose ends structured wise and have combined it with not taking away from pushing the play. And there has been much improvement in creating offense off the rush.

To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Members of the organization have applauded how well Dan Muse in the early going has coached each individual differently. If a new coach wanted to come in and push the core really hard, the last time to do that was probably bringing in a new coach say 2022 or 2023. Muse has treated the best players like stars, even likes of Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, but he’s toed-the-line very well of them embracing being coached, hence, he made a good impression from the start. Everyone to this point seems to be buying in and it’s been a really smooth transition. Concerns of Muse trying to come in and just swamp the group with Ipad/video session after video session and make this like a junior team has not played out.

What’s Next for Penguins? No one and I mean no one around the league is buying stock into the Penguins 4-2 start but on the ice the Penguins can be applauded for shoring up some system issues in defending away from the puck that crushed them the last couple seasons, while still pushing offense in creating chances inside 35 ft.

Trying to win games like the season opener just isn’t possible with the personnel they have defensively. They’ve found a nice mix so far.

The Penguins possession #’s are at 47% in shot attempts percentage. However, Pittsburgh is excelling at creating high danger chances and enter tonight’s game vs Vancouver 5th in the NHL with a 57 HDCF%.

Washington (66 HDCF%), Carolina (63 HDCF%), New York Rangers (61 HDCF%) and Colorado Avalanche (60 HDCF%). Three of those four teams are legitimate Stanley Cup Contenders

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A huge part of the Penguins coming out of the West Coast Trip winning two of three was their Top-2 line players cooking. One Penguins source joked the draft pick assassin Kyle Dubas is salivating at the draft picks he’s going to get for the likes of Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha at the deadline if this keeps up.

Malkin with a team-leading 9 points, is among the older guard who is just playing freely with a nothing to lose attitude.

Teams around the league believe Malkin can still give a contender a jolt in short spurts if you put a goal scorer on his line and someone willing to do the dirty work. If he can maintain a 60-point level of play this season, it’s not crazy a top contender who doesn’t care about picks is willing to include a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! The Olympic break where Russia’s not participating can further increase his value at his age in being fresh in the stretch run, NHL execs contend.

The Florida Panthers – Malkin rumors are going to be around all year. His wife still lives in the area during the Winter, there’s going to be an obvious connection where To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Others are also worth watching in To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Nostalgia Chatter: If the Penguins continue to overachieve over the next couple months one storyline to watch will be Kris Letang. Even the biggest Letang supporters in that building wonder how things are going to play out where team sources say the coaching staff feels he is trending towards being To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Trade Buzz: Philip Tomasino has, as expected, been the tweener in the lineup where he’s coming in and out through six games. With Rutger McGroarty just a few weeks out, Filip Hallander starting to establish himself a bit and a belief Kevin Hayes will get a short run in the lineup when ready to return, the clock is ticking on Tomasino where we’re seeing a second coaching staff not being as high on Tomasino as the front office is. A true wildcard on the roster continues to be how long of a run Tommy Novak gets. There’s no question the front office was high on him at the time of the trade, and he’s only had under 10 games in a Penguins uniform but there’s yet to be another level for Novak. Even if the Penguins stay competitive for a while, the likes To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Where things get interesting is trade interest in Novak around the league where Minnesota To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins surprising strong play to start the season came to a screeching halt Saturday night in a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers in Mike Sullivan’s return to PPG Paints Arena. It was type of night many have been expecting to see this season where this group is going to have nights like this in getting ran out of the building. A sidebar to the lopsided loss was the Penguins looked really good in the first period.

The Penguins out-attempted the Rangers by 11 in the first twenty minutes and were +6 in scoring chances. Minus the shorthanded goal against, it was a carry over from the first two games where the Penguins were pushing the play and were strong on the puck. Then in period two Ben Kindel scores his first career NHL goal that was a beauty 3:04 into the period. Shortly, though, the game just completely reversed.

Arturs Silovs could not make a save all night and Silovs bleeding goals did the Penguins in as New York completely flipped the ice in the final two periods — outscoring Pittsburgh 5 to 1, +16 in shots, +15 in scoring chances and + 9 in high danger chances.

Pittsburgh managed just one shot at even strength in the second period and only registered 14 shots through the first 50 minutes of the game. The Rangers were the team on this night that suffocated the Penguins defensively and everything tailored back to the Rangers forechecking game. They gave the Penguins fits in a number of areas and every coach scouting the Penguins is going to believe they can exploit Pittsburgh’s D on the forecheck. It’s just reality of the how this group is built combined with the lack of talent among the group. Among other issues Pittsburgh’s rush defense was very porous and issues really catapulted for the Penguins trying to exit the zone. New York wore Pittsburgh’s group down in the tough areas, while offensively the Penguins had a ton of one and done in trying to establish offensive time.

Rangers’ Defensive and Offensive Pressure: The Rangers exploited Pittsburgh’s defensive weaknesses, outshooting and out-chancing the Penguins significantly in the last two periods, due to effective forechecking and possession control.

Coaching and Player Performance Analysis: Coach Dan Muse downplays panic despite the loss, noting it’s early in the season, while players like Crosby and the fourth line are analyzed for their contributions and areas needing improvement.

Roster and Development Insights: Ville Koivunen was sent back to the minors amidst concerns about his NHL scoring ability, indicating strategic adjustments and focus on player development.

— “I don’t think this is anything to be panicking on,” Penguins head coach Dan Muse said of the loss. “We’re in Game 3.” With expectations so low for the Penguins, though, it’s not crazy to wonder if this was an actual reality check of more to come and whether the honeymoon, new coach adrenaline rush came to a thrashing half after seven periods? The west coast trip will be a good precursor. As great as the Penguins defensive clinic was Tuesday night, this is now six straight periods where the Penguins have looked like their normal selves in defending the neutral zone and own end.

— If you’re married to Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau as Evgeni Malkin’s wingers and they were great in the first two games , I think some night’s there’s going to have to be a swap of one of them to infuse some more speed, 1-on-1 creativity. New York did a great job of bottling that line up on zone entries and the surprise of the night was how even with Bryan Rust’s return, Sidney Crosby was having to defend all night.

Crosby had a team-worst 26% Scoring Chance For%, on the ice for just 4 scoring chances and 11 against. It’s been a bit of a slow start 5 vs 5 for Crosby in being a threat through three games.

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— Pittsburgh’s most consistent line through three games has been Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari. Lizotte especially has been a cannon ball on the ice. He’s going to be popular with teams looking to add a 4th line depth player later in the season

— Thought Tommy Novak was one of the few bright spots among the forward group. He had some good moments in driving play, patient with the puck to set up offense down the wing but can the coaching staff get him to shoot the puck?

— Ville Koivunen was sent back to the minors Saturday with Bryan Rust coming off IR. There’s been something off here even before camp where privately pushback started that Koivunen was not a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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A 2-0 start…… Evgeni Malkin with five points in two games….. solid to very good goaltending…… forward depth shining and on top of that, Mario Lemieux making a rare appearance since the FSG feud and Lemieux also making it down to the locker room afterwards to a joyous Penguins group.

Like what is going on here?

The doom and gloom Penguins, picked to finish as bad as 30th overall in some circles, improved to 2-0-0 on the season with a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday Night. Thursday’s win and style of game was the complete opposite to the slow pace, slog it out defensive clinic season opener vs the Rangers.

The Penguins had a lack of cracks defensively in this one. Neutral zone play away from the puck and spacing was nowhere near what we saw in the opener where Pittsburgh bottled up the Rangers and made New York look old and slow. A big focus with the Penguins new staff is recovering ability on breakdowns. The Islanders pushed the pace and were able to get the Penguins defensively out of position. While Tristan Jarry wasn’t perfect, this was a big night for him in getting by-passed for the season opener. Jarry came up big late and stopped all 12 shots he faced in the third, including a flurry of saves late. When Maxim Shabanov tied the game at 3-3 late in the second, if felt like a classic Jarry game where even though he was playing well, this was going to be a game he finds a way to lose 5-4.

“I thought he played great,” head coach Dan Muse said of Jarry “You look at the end of the game, that’s a tight game. You look at the saves he made during the third period…….There’s some massive moments there in the third period that he came up with big saves and helped make sure that this team secured those two points.”

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Key Storylines

— We’re only through a couple weeks of training camp and two regular season games but Dan Muse might deserve a coach of the year vote right now in having the brains to know how to use Erik Karlsson properly compared to Mike Sullivan’s staff that even brought on David Quinn to fix Karlsson and still wanted to put the shackles on Karlsson. Muse has tapped into something even mentally some feel with Karlsson……..

— Filip Hallander might have been on the ice for two goals against 5 vs 5, but absolutely loved his game. Created puck pressure on Harrison Brunicke’s 1st career NHL goal and he played hard and fast, possessing strong forechecking sense in how he attacked puck carrier on their backhands. The strong night saw Hallander bumped up to Sidney Crosby’s line as the game progressed. One Penguins source said Hallander’s style reminds members of the organization of To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Bryan Rust has a really good shot to play to Saturday Night vs the Rangers, though, Dan Muse is said to be type that is very cautious with injuries early on. Who comes out if Rust is a go? You’re likely looking at Ville Koivunen or Tommy Novak.

— As great as a story it’s been, the Penguins brass remains strongly lean on rookie To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Though it doesn’t sound like the player was crazy thrilled about the idea, Rickard Rakell eventually getting a run as the third line center remains strongly in play once the roster gets fully healthy. Muse who saw something in Justin Brazeau playing a top-6 role, believes Rakell can carry a secondary line from the middle ice position. In fact, during internal discussions this summer, Muse is said to have viewed Rakell as potentially centering the clear second line. But, at the end of the day do you want to mess with a veteran winger who is a 35 goal scorer?

— One mystery with the lineup has been Connor Clifton working all camp as the DeFacto #5 defenseman on the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Takeaways from the Penguins 3-0 win over the Rangers:

Defensive Clinic, Competitiveness against a lethargic Rangers team was the story of the game.

— Pittsburgh got a dominant game from the second line of Anthony Mantha – Evgeni Malkin – Justin Brazeau. No line from either team was close to controlling play the Malkin line did. Anthony Mantha might have been the best player on the ice. His explosiveness for a player his size has been really good since camp and coming back from ACL surgery. Justin Brazeau has been a questionable fit for obvious reasons; his career has never been one of a top-6 player by any means but what a debut for him. 2 Goals on the night, played big in the tough areas, while Evgeni Malkin was skating really well. Don’t discount the time and space he had. “It’s size but both of those guys can make plays,” Dan Muse said of Mantha/Brazeau.

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— What the Penguins did so well was neutralize the Rangers best players. Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, JT Miller, Alexis Lafreniere all under 40% in driving possession. The top pair of Fox and Vladislav Garikov were playing in their own end all night. Major win for the Penguins on how that game went.

— Analytic charts will have Ben Kindel near the bottom of the Penguins forward group, but he was one of Pittsburgh’s five or six best forwards on the night. Has talent you can’t teach with the puck on his stick and what’s led to this opportunity for him is how well he gets to open spots. That’s a Jake Guentzel type trait for a smaller player. Among the group of Kindel, Harrison Brunicke, and youngster Ville Koivunen who has some NHL games under his belt, Kindel was the better of the three by a wide margin. Koivunen struggled for much of the game but almost got one past Igor Shesterkin in tight that would have iced the game with how poor the Rangers were playing. The good thing with Koivunen is let’s say he struggles to the first couple weeks, his development is not top-6 or bust. He can still develop and help you in a third line winger role once Bryan Rust returns and the second line is still hemming.

— Friday’s performance by Tristan Jarry held significant weight on the coaching staff starting Arturs Silovs who will surely now also start the home opener or get two of the three starts this week. Key veterans in Penguins room all expected Jarry to start until whispers To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Praise continues in the organization of how good To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Pittsburgh on Friday dressed a roster of:

Line 1: Ville Koivunen-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell | Line 2: Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Justin Brazeau | Line 3: Tommy Novak-Ben Kindel-Philip Tomasino | Line 4: Connor Dewar-Noel Acciari-Filip Hallander

Scratches: Blake Lizotte, Avery Hayes

With where both are in their development, Pittsburgh is more comfortable with Hallander floating as that 12th-14th forward than they would be Avery Hayes. Indications are not to read a ton into Blake Lizotte being scratched.

With the Bryan Rust injury, the prominent decision is coming down to whether to give Ben Kindel a nine-game run and there’s arguments for and against. Just the experience of being around Sidney Crosby for a couple more weeks could lean this in one particular direction. If you’re going to keep Kindel, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Best player throughout Camp: Erik Karlsson and that’s not a misprint

— Philip Tomasino with a strong finish to the week bought himself sometime but he is among the bubble players who won’t have a long leash in the lineup. Bryan Rust, Rutger McGroarty are not that far away from returning in the coming weeks.

— One of the biggest head scratchers with this new coaching staff is a couple things and this is coming from evalutors on the outside; The belief Justin Brazeau can play a top-6 role even in a short-term role has led to classic talk of thinking you’re smarter than others and Pittsburgh’s staff thinking Caleb Jones can play a No. 2 pairing role, let alone being a regular in the lineup is mindboggling to some. Expectations around the league hasn’t changed that Pittsburgh’s defensive group is going to get trounced more often than not.

— Pittsburgh internally has planned to start Tristan Jarry in the season opener Tuesday night. Did Friday night’s performance and a so-so camp overall in practice sessions To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Is Owen Pickering going to be that typical ‘previous regime first-round pick’ who gets undervalued by the new regime? There seems to be a little too much nitpicking with the Penguins wanting Pickering to improve his reads that they feel is To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— The coaching staff is heavily involved in the final decision on To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be shorthanded to start the season as Bryan Rust will be sidelined a “minimum” two weeks with a lower body injury, according to the Penguins PR Department. Rust exited Wednesday’s practice early and his injury opens the door for a likely top line of [hide] Ville Koivunen-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell. Rust the subject of trade rumors all summer due to his NTC expiring on July 1, set career-highs with 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games last season. If the Rust injury ends up being on the two-week side, he would miss anywhere from four to six games. Pittsburgh is @NYR (Oct 7th), vs NYI (Oct 9th), vs NYR (Oct 11th) for the first week of the season that is followed by a three-game west coast trip @ Anaheim (Oct 14th), @ Los Angeles (Oct 16th) @ San Jose (Oct 18th). [/hide]

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Preseason Game #6: @

FORWARDS

11 – Filip Hallander

12 – Robby Fabbri

15 – Joona Koppanen

22 – Sam Poulin

26 – Tristan Broz

41 – Ville Koivunen

43 – Danton Heinen

46 – Blake Lizotte

49 – Rafael Harvey-Pinard

53 – Philip Tomasino

55 – Noel Acciari

81 – Ben Kindel

85 – Avery Hayes

Buzz: Among the final forward roster spots, you’d rather be a Connor Dewar right now than someone like a Philip Tomasino. The rumblings since the summer that Dewar has been viewed highly by the staff in type of 4th line style of winger they want on the ice, Dewar over the last couple days [hide] has been left off the B-Team roster for the road preseason games and skating with the top group in practice sessions. It speaks volumes that he’s making the team…………Noel Acciari cleared to play adds another wrinkle to the opening night roster decisions. Barring a trade as the two sides for months have worked on one, expectations on Acciari have been he’s going to be on the active roster if he’s ready to go……….Spotlight: Another golden opportunity for Avery Hayes and Ben Kindel as Kindel appears in his fifth preseason. As good as he’s looked, Outside of Pittsburgh evaluators think the Penguins would be nuts to put him on the opening night roster but he’s given the media a nice storyline to watch………Under Pressure: Robby Fabbri has support in the organization but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

DEFENSE

3 – Jack St. Ivany

5 – Ryan Shea

24 – Matt Dumba

27 – Ryan Graves

38 – Owen Pickering

45 – Harrison Brunicke

52 – Philip Kemp

Buzz: This is not to say Matt Dumba’s not making the team but you’d rather be Connor Clifton than him right now. And what has played out in camp has matched the smoke around Clifton having the edge as new head coach Dan Muse played a big part in June in the acquisition of Clifton……….Pairs: Owen Pickering-Harrison Brunike will get another game together…….Duds: Ryan Graves keeps getting thrown into this B-level games continues to say a lot where he stands……..

GOALIES

31 – Filip Larsson

37 – Arturs Silovs

Buzz: Pittsburgh is pretty locked into starting the season with a tandem of Jarry-Silovs. What is up in the air is how the rotation goes over the first couple weeks of the season.

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“One More Year……..One More Year……..One More Year”

For a preseason game the Marc Andre Fleury scene was something special on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins organization as a whole hit a home run here and from a business standpoint, look at the revenue brought in for a meaningless game. Truly surreal night.

One Penguins source joked if the team could have have locked Fleury into a room last night until he put pen on paper for a one year, $5 million contract, they would have done it. The thought of Fleury being a box office draw combined with his ability to still play and be around young goaltenders was a brief thought from GM Kyle Dubas back at the World Championships. Dubas absolutely loves Fleury and brought the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Post Penguins – Blue Jackets Observations

— Each practice session, each preseason game, Harrison Brunicke keeps looking like not only one of the Penguins best defensemen, but clearly NHL ready. An exciting bold move for the team is starting Owen Pickering – Harrison Brunicke together on the NHL roster and see where things go for Brunicke.

— Aside from Brunicke, if you’re going to say this is a camp based on competition, things are reaching point where it’s going to be a bad look not to put Tristan Broz not on the opening night. This is not an 18, 19 year old kid. He is showing sign after sign he is ready for an NHL role. Broz has such good smarts, two-way instincts his development is not going to be hurt if he’s not producing much offense.

— Erik Karlsson has looked phenomenal in training camp and that continued in his first preseason action. A great sign thus far…….

— Evgeni Malkin showed some glimpses last night in a bad way why he is going to drive this detailed orientated new coaching staff nuts some nights……..

— Rickard Rakell center experiment is believed To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Buzz in the organization is first round pick Ben Kindel has performed above expectations. The biggest question To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Russia, Pittsburgh or Elsewhere for Evgeni Malkin in 2025/2026?

The larger burning question is whether Malkin will still be in a Penguins uniform on March 7th, 2026…….

Evgeni Malkin is intrigued about playing one more season and lining up with Sidney Crosby’s contract. The idea was brought to the table by agent To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

The importance of the Olympics timetable?

The trade deadline is a few weeks after…….

To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

The newsworthy quote from Malkin is the fact that the opportunity to chase a playoff run one last time could be elsewhere where even at his age, there is intrigue around from teams around the league that if healthy Malkin will be an attractive trade deadline target from multiple clubs.

“It’s hard you know,” Malkin said. “But, again we see a story like with Brad Marchand, Looking Good you know? But, again if the team trades you and you dont win the Cup, it’s like a little bit weird too, you know.”

When former General Manager Jim Rutherford explored blowing the core up in spring of 2019, Malkin was willing to consider waiving to only the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.

But, the team to watch all season surrounding Malkin if the Penguins season goes like so many rival General Managers think it will, is the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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‘Intense’-‘Hard’-‘Energy’-‘Loud’

That was the theme of Dan Muse’s first training camp practice as an NHL head coach.

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Day 1 was all about battles and it was a glimpse of the compete level the Penguins want to play under the staff in being tougher in the hard areas of the rink. And they may have the personnel to do it in some areas — as at least upfront; — this is a forward group built to play a heavier style of game than previous rosters. There was a sense Thursday of ‘Future Hall-of-Famer’ or not, everyone is going to be all out. This training camp is not going to have a country club feel, that’s for sure. One team source To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Can the Penguins practice like this all the time? Absolutely not and it will eventually wear off on star level players, but it was clear that Muse is trying infused a new foundation for how the group is going to practice and develop habits on and off the ice. Detailed oriented and working your tail off is going to be a staple for the staff.

So far Muse is making good first impressions. Players have marveled about Muse’s work ethic, in the building at 6 am and not leaving till 9-10 pm, he has an NFL coach mentality where you’re in the building 14-16 hours a day.

“I love competition, i think everybody loves competition. It just drives things,” Muse said. I’ve always found it to be awesome seeing it at this level, it doesn’t matter what’s on the line.”

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Observations

–Biggest buzz about a specific player from those in the organization from Day 1 was To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

–The Penguins internally have discussed a second line of Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Mantha. If that played out, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— First Day Glimpse into Top NHL Pairing next season? Owen Pickering – Harrison Brunicke To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins’ top hierarchy has been aware for several months of Pat Brisson’s frustration, really dating back to spring of 2024, with the Penguins direction and strong lean rebuilding plan. What really caught them off guard, though, was Brisson going public the way he did. They did not expect that and what has shaken the organization a bit has been Sidney Crosby’s comments in kind of playing the speculation up during his media tour. It wasn’t just Crosby saying “a team like that wants you, it’s not the end of the world,” when asked about the Montreal Canadiens. What hit home with team officials was the tone of Crosby essentially saying losing 6-1 games to now 3-1 doesn’t mean you’re more competitive and the tone that the frustration of losing and missing the playoffs is starting to hit home.

The Crosby camp has put the organization on notice, particularly Kyle Dubas. This is a power move directed squarely at Dubas, multiple sources say, and in the short-term it’s worked in essentially halting To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! NHL executives also believe this was Brisson sending a message to potential teams, this is no longer a fantasy and if things don’t improve in Pittsburgh, this could become a reality after the Olympics.

As one NHL executive said to me, being the General Manager and having Sidney Crosby leave on your watch, is going to be a stain on Kyle Dubas’s resume for the rest of his career. Then you got the pending new ownership group and how it has suddenly become an uneasy situation fueled by Brisson and a little bit by Crosby this week.

Crosby last summer accepted 2024-2025 essentially being a punt a year and it saw him ink a two-year extension despite great frustrations from To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

This offseason has been a domino effect. Dubas knew pushing Mike Sullivan out wasn’t going to sit well and going the route he did in hiring Dan Muse in sending a clear rebuild signal wasn’t going to win over the Crosby camp. They were hopeful of a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! indications are he was a favorite of Crosby’s close inner circle. Then you had the internal push from Dubas and his cohorts to try to trade Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell but it didn’t end there. Crosby will never act like a LeBron James type and influence personnel moves, but like he should, he puts his opinion out there from time to time. Jack To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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How loyal will Sidney Crosby remain to a rebuilding play by General Manager Kyle Dubas that Crosby’s inner circle from super-agent Pat Brisson on down have believed is the wrong approach and wasting valuable years of one of the NHL’s Greatest Players Ever?

There is a significant amount of frustration brewing inside the Crosby camp at the exiting Fenway Sports Group ownership hierarchy and also Dubas in the pair showing no interest in upgrading the roster for two and a half years now.

“It’s a possibility, you know,” Brisson told [hide] Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic of a Crosby trade. “It’s been three years they haven’t made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do. We want Sidney to be in the playoffs every year. We want him to hopefully win another Cup or two. So each year the team he’s playing for fails to make the pl;ayoffs, it creates a lot of speculation.” [/hide]

Here was a big quote from Brisson:

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The Crosby camp for a few years now have believed if Tom Brady can leave the New England Patriots, Sidney Crosby can leave the Pittsburgh Penguins. That feeling isn’t going away.

Let’s call it what it is:

This was shots fired by Brisson to the new Penguins ownership group coming in. They are not for this lack of spending, rebuild approach from Dubas and FSG. Pittsburgh sitting on almost $15 million in cap space To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Week 1 Post-Game Buzz

• Week 1 Thriller Summary: The Steelers secured a dramatic 34-32 victory against the Jets, highlighted by Chris Boswell’s 60-yard go-ahead field goal and Jalen Ramsey’s game-ending hit.
• Prime Aaron Rodgers? Aaron Rodgers looked the part with four touchdowns, showcasing his command at the line of scrimmage and his ability to see the entire field at full speed, reaffirming his prime form is still there.
• More Rodgers Buzz: Rodgers’ vision at the line allowed the Steelers’ offense to adapt and exploit the Jets D even with limited support from the running game and offensive line struggles.
• ‘We Have a QB’: Cam Heyward praised Rodgers’ exceptional ability to sling the ball and his overall performance in Week 1, emphasizing the Steelers finally have a QB
• Concerns about Offensive Line: The most alarming issue post-game was the offensive line’s poor performance, which got beaten both inside and out, raising concerns about Rodgers’ health and protection.

Steelers – Jets What We Learned:

Aaron Rodgers Looking Everything of Prime Aaron Rodgers

Player of the Game | QB Aaron Rodgers

22/30, 244 Yards, 4 Touchdowns

A 4 Touchdown Masterpiece from Aaron Rodgers with No Running Game and a putrid performance from the O-Line. It wasn’t just the four TD day from Rodgers. It was all the little things with it. Rodgers command at the line of scrimmage is something few QBs can bring to the table the way he can. Another striking difference with Rodgers is how well he can see the entire field at full speed. That became a primary issue with the Steelers offense late last season. Russell Wilson and the offense could not exploit defenses when the deep ball or short dump offs were taken away. Even on plays that didn’t connect, Rodgers was just a step ahead of the Jets with his eyes. The Steelers in signing Rodgers believed the Four-Time MVP can still beat defenses with his arm but also with his eyes, an element they haven’t had in almost 10 years. Both were strikingly on display in the week 1 win. Another great sign was the mix of Arthur Smith’s offense combined with Rodgers doing what he’s done for 20 years out of the shotgun.

“Man we got a freaking quarterback who could sling the ball around and deliver. Man he was special today,” Cam Heyward said.

Among the burning questions after the win, can the O-Line Keep Rodgers healthy throughout the season?

That was the most alarming aspect of the win. The unit got beat inside and out as Rodgers was sacked four times.

• Left Tackle Broderick Jones continues to look like a bust
• LG Isaac Seumalo had an extremely poor game in the run department

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Steelers D Makes Justin Fields, Jets Look Elite?

The Jets gashed the Steelers for 182 Yards on the ground, and it opened the door for Justin Fields to do Justin Fields things as the threat of the running game just opened up so much time and space in the passing game.

• NYJ 13 Rushing 1st Downs to Pittsburgh’s 2
• Justin Fields 16/22, 218 passing yards, 1 TD | 48 Rushing Yards, 2 TD
• 3rd Down: NYJ 7/14

Unlike the offensive line, for one week you can chalk it up as just an off game but this group looks nothing like a legendary group the head coach was talking about in August

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Underrated Rated Performer of Week 1:

RB Kenneth Gainwell | “Can’t say enough about Kenny G, that offensive player making a tackle on kickoff and knocking that ball loose, Tomlin Said. ” It’s just an example of making plays in all three phases and being a football player first and a positional player second

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Fenway Sports Groups sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise to David Hoffman and the Chicago based-Hoffman family is not a matter of IF but WHEN. The When could come as early as this week. All expectations are by the start of the season the Hoffman family will be in full control and FSG will be off in the sunset to their many other ventures.

FSG’s Four-Year run as Majority owners is an interesting one to dive into:

The group has been criticized around the league for getting too involved initially and handing too much power to Mike Sullivan on personnel decisions. Ron Hextall has his share of support around the league where as I’ve mentioned before, many believe his run was much better than he was given credit for and it’s helping his stock around the league long-term. The league view on Hextall has long been that FSG officials and Sullivan forced his hand to make veteran win-now moves he was not fully in agreement on, such as the Mike Matheson trade, exposing Jared McCann, and altering his plan that won over the Lemieux group that moving on from aging core members and building long-term around Sidney Crosby/Jake Guentzel was the best chance to compete for multiple years.

Nonetheless, from 2021-2023 FSG tried to win.

They opened the check book on signing bonuses, something that was a struggle for the Lemieux group to do and they rarely did it. FSG believed in paying top salaries for coaches, executives, staff. A lot, though, just didn’t go right with hockey decisions.

Bottom-Line is the group has had one foot out the door once David Beeston, who was the major player in the group behind buying the franchise and top decision maker on roster decisions with the club among the ownership hierarchy, exited the organization in spring 2024. That’s when Kyle Dubas hands financially began to be tied by FSG and while I do believe Dubas is now doing truly doing what he seeks to do with a full rebuild, ownership shutting down the check book on long-term contracts due to visions of selling, has been a major factor in how the last two off-season have played out. Among agents and executives, the signs started around May 2024. Jake Guentzel returning to Pittsburgh as a free agent on July 1 2024 was not a far-fetched idea. In fact, Guentzel orchestrated To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! It was the same story this summer where agents of prominent RFA’s knew not to even consider Pittsburgh due to ownership planning to sale.

What’s Next with the Hoffman Family Likely Taking over?

Kyle Dubas with Five Years left on his contract is To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday struck a deal with the Vancouver Canucks, acquiring goaltender Arturs Silvos in exchange for Chase Stillman and a 2027 4th round pick. Silvos, 24, was among the top AHL goaltenders in 2024/2025, posting a 14-5-1 record with a .908 SV% and 2.41 GAA. In the postseason is where Silvos really shined; going 16-7 with a 2.01 GAA, .931 SV% and 5 shutouts in leading Abbotsford to the AHL Calder Cup Championship and earning playoff MVP. At the NHL level, though, this was a player who was going to be behind Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen for the foreseeable future and scouts have questioned the NHL upside. Silvos went 2-6-1 with a 3.65 GAA and .861 SV% with the Canucks in 24/25.

What does the move mean from the Penguins end?

There’s been chatter in the organization for months the team has soured a bit on To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Among the other burning questions is does this have anything to do with Tristan Jarry’s future? Even after the Alex Nedeljkovic trade, prior to free agency Pittsburgh nearly traded Jarry to the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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When Kyle Dubas decided against trading Rickard Rakell at the trade deadline, he talked about the importance of keeping valuable players on the ice and better people off the ice who still want to be here as an element to the decision making. While there’s been a shift in the Penguins thinking since in heading towards a full blown rebuild, (with rival clubs believing ownership has one foot out the door being a factor in where the Penguins are headed), Rakell behind the scenes has continued to express a strong desire to Penguins management to stick around through the rebuild. Rakell’s agent former NHL player To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Among the chatter in league circles is Rakell blocked a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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~~~~Latest Penguins Pre-Free Agency Whispers ~~~~

Don’t be surprised if the Penguins essentially stand pat over the next week……. & or Don’t be surprised if a prominent forward is moved. It’s 50-50 which way things go and that’s how everything should be viewed with this roster over the next 48-72 hours………

Among the Chatter:

Penguins GM Kyle Dubas confirmed the noise surrounding Bryan Rust in that there is a lot and I mean a lot of interest in the Penguins winger whose No Trade Protection expires in 24 hours. It’s not just contenders like Toronto poking around, some of the strongest inquiries have been non-playoff teams who have eyed a run at Rust post-July 1 and view him as a critical piece to making a jump in the next year or two. Among those teams, the usual suspects in recent weeks have been New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! you can count Rick To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Washington has been a sneaky team in on Penguins winger To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Two Free Agents the Penguins were connected to a bit during draft weekend: Center/RW To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! and Lightning defenseman To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! and made To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Top-10 of the NHL draft went exactly how the bulk of NHL teams thought it was going to go. As expected a heavy run on forwards and absolutely zero surprise of who went where, along with defenseman Radim Mrtka jumping into the top-10 as the second defenseman selected of the day.

Kyle Dubas in Kyle Dubas fashion provided the first surprise of the night in going off the board in selecting Calgary Hitmen center Ben Kindel with the #11 overall selection. The way the board broke is the Penguins, an analytic driven organization, were determined to live by the value chart and turn the #12 selection into additional picks which they did, landing #22 and #31 from the Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh after selecting rugged winger Bill Zonnon at #22, would move up seven spots shortly after, acquiring #24 from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 31st & 59th pick that saw Pittsburgh select Michigan center Will Horcoff.

In the leadup to the draft, Pittsburgh mulled a significant move up for two particular targets and even on Friday tried to get in front of the Flyers;

Center Caleb Desnoyers (4th Overall, Utah) and winger Porter Martone (6th Overall, Philadelphia) were the targets.

“None of that came to fruition and that’s sometimes just the way it goes,” Dubas said. “Often times you look back and you’re thankful you held.”

As the draft unfolded, a best case scenario for the Penguins at #11 was the team hoping one of Radim Mrtka (9th overall, Buffalo) or center Roger McQueen (10th overall, Anaheim), two players Pittsburgh had clear top-10 grades on. That didn’t play out as both players went off the board in the previous two picks. That saw Pittsburgh, according to multiple sources, essentially go off their board a bit To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! The decision wasn’t a crazy surprise to rival executives but the view outside of Pittsburgh was the team being locked in on hard hitting defenseman Kawshawn Aitcheson (17th overall, NYI), a favorite among Penguins scouts.

“We just didn’t want to look back on it and day, geez why did we pass on this guy that had 99 points and then stepped up his game in the playoffs. It had all the makings that we were going to kick ourselves about it later,” Dubas indicated on reasoning to go route then did.

Buzz is the Penguins believed the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! next team strongly considering Kindel at pick #18 and Kindel would not be available at #22 as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia had a deal worked out before Pittsburgh selected at 11.

“We understand he’s not the biggest guy, but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

While Kindel went about 7-12 spots earlier than most of the league saw him, winger Bill Zonnon and center Will Horcoff went in expected spots and hard to complain about either pick where upside might not be high, both have the makings of having some type of NHL career. Still, it’s easy to see why prominent drafts analysts’ like a Scott Wheeler of the Athletic and others dubbed the Penguins a loser on Day 1 with the Kindel reach. Yes the chart said the Penguins got proper value on the initial trade with Philadelphia but was this the draft to do so? Was quantity over quality better? We won’t find that out for several years.

One easy way to evaluate the Penguins day 1 picks down the road will be looking at picks 12-17. The Islanders came out of the day with Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson in back-to-back picks. Eklund viewed as a tremendous value pick at 16, will be a great comparison to Kindel long-term in the evaluation process. Some see potential star upside in defenseman Jackson Smith (14th overall, Columbus), though, there continues to be a suspicion around the league Pittsburgh has a post July 1 trade they are strongly mulling that To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Penguins Day 2 Selections

Round 3: (73) (84) (85)

Round 4: (105)

Round 5: (130) (148)

Round 6: (169)

Round 7: (201)

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There continues to be noise surrounding the Penguins and New York Rangers and it’s only ramped up since the hire of Dan Muse. Things appear to be tracking where there’s a ‘strong’ likelihood To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Pittsburgh and Buffalo: Go back to last December and Pittsburgh-Buffalo have discussed a wide range of trade scenarios. Heck, even go back to last summer when Buffalo-Pittsburgh mulled a Riley Smith/Lars Eller trade, Buffalo and Pittsburgh have been two clubs in regular contact for about 12 months now. But in classic Kevyn Adams fashion, he puts a lot of scenarios on the table, and he rarely moves forward on any of them that will often frustrate rival decision makers. Was his trade for Josh Norris and a new front office personnel group under him going to lead to more action in Buffalo? Buffalo’s targeted teams eyeing young players in return for more established veterans to try to push the roster through. Pittsburgh’s interest in JJ Peterka has been one of the worst secrets around the league but that one still looks like a longshot. Pittsburgh likes Bowen Byron, but K’Andre Miller is higher on their board and even Vegas defenseman Nick Hague might be (with an extension), sources say. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! but a name to watch in the coming weeks is winger To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Pittsburgh and Vegas: Pittsburgh has kicked tires on a Nic Hague trade/extension as mentioned here on June 2nd. We will see if that gets anywhere, hence, is the player interested in Pittsburgh? The Interesting development is chatter around the league is Pittsburgh has been regarded as a possible landing spot for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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