Every time I try to talk myself into the Penguins having a chance of a turnaround next season if the perfect storm happens this summer with signings, trades and at least a minimum 2-3 young prospects emerging in semi-impact roles, a game like Tuesday night happens where if shows how far off the Penguins are in some many facets, talent/system, ect.

“We just didn’t play well enough,” Mike Sullivan said of the 6-1 loss. “You know most of the first period I don’t think it was all that bad, it just seemed like every chance went in the net.”

That was a night where a lot of the team didn’t have a pulse and it was a ‘let’s get some young guys up here for the final 8-9 games type performance.’

Management, though, has been cautious of bringing up some of their highest upside forwards in Wilkes Barre right now like a Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen and it’s understandable as they’ve strongly valued the regular season and a hopeful deep run in the postseason for Wilkes Barre. Lesser high ceiling prospects like a Vasily Ponomarev, who has over 100 AHL games on his resume, are worth consideration right now for a run the rest of the way.

The reality check of the 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning brought about isn’t the obvious for months that any hope of squeaking out even a respectable season in 2025/2026 starts with figuring out the goaltending situation, but a bigger challenge might be how to revamp the defense/structure on the fly this summer. And is it even possible?

The right side of the defense is likely staying intact, barring a surprise trade of Kris Letang or Erik Karlsson.

Kris Letang is what he is at this stage in his career. Ideally, he’d be a nice component in a third pairing role for an emerging playoff team or contender, maybe To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! possibility becomes a real shot, and he comes in as a veteran presence for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Meanwhile, the Tampa game illustrated quite boldly Pittsburgh better find the perfect partner for Erik Karlsson and To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! The left side is where the major overhaul has to come immediately and league buzz is Pittsburgh could eye the RFA market: 2022 1st rounder Owen Pickering is Pittsburgh only NHL-ready prospect coming up the ranks with any upside to immediately upgrade the left side. On the UFA front, if you’re going to take a swing at Ivan Provorov or Vladislav Gavrikov, you might as well have kept Marcus Pettersson. Ryan Lindgren is around the age the Penguins are seeking; he doesn’t move the needle but can eat second-pairing minutes. However, the term he wants, at least four to five years, you better be 100% sure after the Ryan Graves debacle:

Best short-term safe target To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

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RFA Route

The Penguins have been regarded in league circles as a threat in the RFA market. Dubas and the Penguins hold their own picks in the first three rounds which has them meeting the criteria to be aggressive in the offer sheet market. Pittsburgh has a list of targets, believed to be To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

With a slew of top-2 pairing d-men among the RFA group, the organization absolutely loves To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Jake Guentzel has, as expected, been a great fit in Tampa Bay.

Entering tonight vs the Penguins, Guentzel has 34 goals and 33 Assists for 67Pts in 69 Games Played as the former Penguin is in play for a 40-goal, 80-point season.

Guentzel has been lethal on the power play with 15 power play goals and 5 vs 5, a team-best 62 Goals For%.

A discussion around Jake Guentzel is ‘Rebuild/Retool’, whatever you want to call it, was it the right call by Kyle Dubas not to prioritize keeping a homegrown star and talent like Guentzel?

Here are some tidbits on the situation:

Guentzel bought a $2 million dollar house in 2022 to lay down long-term roots in Pittsburgh and had all expectations of resigning with the Penguins. That was also the plan of the Ron Hextall/Brian Burke regime who planned a short and quick negotiation on an 8-year extension in the $66-$70 million range, per two sources close to the situation. A General Manager change, though, in April 2023 saw those prospects greatly diminished. Kyle Dubas never looked at Guentzel as a true star worth keeping with the Penguins likely headed towards some tough years and a constant message to the agent To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Still, there’s arguments here on both sides.

Trading Guentzel was always the ideal route if you were committed to tearing things down to the studs and fully committed to some dark years. The Penguins are not. A year after the Guentzel trade, here Dubas was at the podium on deadline day just over two weeks ago talking about “urgency” to give Sidney Crosby and the core one last chance to compete before it’s too late. Trying to replace a 40 goal, 80-point player with quality over quantity long-term was certainly a choice. Even some of Kyle Dubas’ biggest supporters in the organization feel it was a mistake not to buy into Guentzel as part of the core and the team should have looked at him as a building block to stay more competitive now in the final Sidney Crosby years and as a critical piece going forward as the team eyes transitioning to being younger. At the end of the day, the Penguins just flatly underestimated how good of a player Guentzel was until he was out of there. And if you want to sign a Jake Guentzel caliber of player in free agency moving forward, it’s going to cost you a lot more than $8.5-$9 Million per it would have cost last season. If you want to be in the ballgame to sign for example Brock Boeser, a much lesser player who the Penguins have To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

That’s where the market is now headed in this rising cap world and the risk the Penguins took in trying to toe that line of a quick retool. If you truly believe the Penguins owed it to Sidney Crosby to do everything they can to to compete again before Crosby retires, it’s hard to support the Jake Guentzel trade. Hence, should have paid him the $9 million, made him a priority and cut elsewhere.

The other side of the argument for those buying into the rebuild/retool, is the Jake Guentzel Trade Tree is growing and a couple years from now, will the Penguins have accomplished their goal of adding multiple NHLers long-term and maybe even a top pairing defenseman?……….

Jake Guentzel Trade Tree	Rostered NHL Players	Prospects	Draft Picks
Jake Guentzel to Carolina……	Tommy Novak	Ville Koivunen	2026 2nd Rd Pick
Michael Bunting to NSH…..		Vasily Ponomarev	2027 4th Round Pick
Luke Schenn to WPG……..		Harrison Brunicke
…………………		Cruz Lucius

The Jake Guentzel Trade Tree has blossomed to seven assets and growing. Let’s Dive In:

Prospects Return

Highest Upside Prospects: Defenseman Harrison Brunicke, Winger Ville Koivunen

Buzz: Both are on the fast track to the NHL and good arguments the highest ceilings of any prospects in the Penguins system. Of the two, the edge for the biggest potential goes to [hide] Brunicke. Scouts love Brunicke’s upside who has all the intangibles of a player who should have been a first-round pick prospect, instead of falling to #46. The 18-year-old is a smooth skating breakout machine who sees the ice at an elite level, but it’s the maturation in the defensive zone where he projects to be a regular by the 2026-2027 season. Koivunen whom the Penguins regarded as the key prospect in the Guentzel return, has even exceeded expectations in his first full season in North America. 54 Points in 61 points, Koivunen has the combination of playmaking ability, 1-on-1 offense and hockey IQ where his potential screams Top-9 forward at the next level. [/hide]

Others: Vasily Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius: Ponomarev, 23, should see time next season between the NHL and AHL next, though, his ceiling is much lower than Koivunen’s. We’re looking at potentially best-case scenario a useful 4th liner and nothing more. The 23-year-old has 35 points in 49 games with Wilkes Barre. Lucius, 20, was the Hurricanes 4th round pick in 2022. From NHL prospects, Cruz is a lower tier-mid tier level prospect depending on who you talk too. The Penguins, though, really like the skill set and felt he was more than a thrown-in and feel To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

NHL Return from Guentzel Trade Tree

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Buzz at the NHL GM Meetings is Mikko Rantanen take himself off the free agent market has really ratcheted up the recruiting efforts from teams behind the scenes in trying to set the stage months in advance of getting a seat at the table this summer for Mitch Marner. A major beneficiary of Rantanen signing in Dallas when a lot of the league believed prior to the New Year that he was more likely than not to test the open market, is Sam Bennett whose stock is really rising. Making $5 million in salary this season, the expectation is Bennett could command as high as $8-$9 million on the market which has prompted the Florida Panthers to make an effort to try to lock him down before seasons end. Chatter this week at the GM Meetings is the Philadelphia Flyers plan a major run at Bennett and have him tabbed as their top target.

On Marner, if he decides to leave Toronto and the agent loves taking his guys to free agency, Marner’s going to have opportunities to reset the top-tier winger market from $12 million neighborhood to $13-$14 Million. Nearly 20 NHL teams as of right now have over $20 million in cap space for next season. This is just unchartered waters for free agents during the Salary cap era.

The Metropolitan Division is quite intriguing as it’s more of a question who’s not going to pursue Marner than who is:

2025-2026 Cap Space in the Metro

Columbus Blue Jackets – $43 Million

Carolina Hurricanes – $36 Million

New York Islanders – $29 Million

Philadelphia Flyers – $27.5 Million

Pittsburgh Penguins – $26 Million

Washington Capitals – $23 Million

New Jersey Devils – $15 Million

New York Rangers – $11 Million

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Carolina hasn’t been shy of leaking (something that has irked the Leafs org) they tried to trade for Marner at the deadline in what league executives feel is a clear recruiting effort to get the word out now to the Marner camp that they plan a big pursuit in free agency, while the worst kept secret in the league is the New York Islanders are planning a run at Marner and believe they will get strong consideration. Who will be the others in the Metro:

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

Who else in the Metro is primed to make a run at Marner?

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

Washington is considered highly unlikely to pursue Marner, while the Flyers have the cap space and plan to be more aggressive, but few see the fit.

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NHL Executive names Best Fit in the Metro for Marner

Best Fit: “New York Islanders”

Buzz: ‘On the ice and off the ice’, the Eastern Conference executive pegged the New York Islanders as a “stealth” team To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Franchise that would benefit the most from signing Marner: “PTo read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins leading 2-0 after two periods saw them doing a lot of the things right that helped fuel their four-game winning streak. They were hard on the forecheck, fast retrieving pucks in their own end and Tristan Jarry was looking phenomenal with his angles and playing big, highlighted by another excellent first period. The Penguins were never going to run the table but there was definitely a feeling in the building with twenty minutes to go they were going to keep this going for at least another game with a winnable game Friday against Columbus.

The New York Islanders, though, had something to say about that and absolutely suffocated the Penguins in the third. From a math perspective, the air has been taken out of the Penguins season for weeks now but Thursday night it just felt official again.

“We just beat ourselves,” Sidney Crosby said. “We made some mistakes……There just wasn’t a lot of pushback.”

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan felt afterwards the game slipped away seconds into the third period as Pittsburgh never recovered:

“They win the faceoff at center ice, and it turns into a 2-on-0 down the other end. It’s just playing a game with not a whole lot of purpose. So we give up easy goal to start the third period and it gives them life, it gives them juice. It’s still a 2-1 game. We still have a lead, we’ve got to respond.”

Sullivan was highly criticized after the loss for scapegoating young defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok who was benched after the goal against and only saw two shifts the rest of the period. Reason for it — Kolyachonok off the opening faceoff was caught deep as the Penguins had possession on a zone entry, which is what Sullivan’s system calls for. Sidney Crosby initially covered and then goes to the right boards to setup 2-on-1 puck possession up top and Kris Letang just completely mangles the puck at the point leading to the Kyle Palmeri breakaway 2-on-0 goal.

Kolyachonok had done enough good over the last several games, most notably his quick ability to retrieve pucks where you gotta throw him right back out there and let a young defenseman learn instead of messing with his head. That will continue to be something to watch with a coaching staff so veteran driven. More head scratching on-ice situation was just way too much Ryan Graves out on the ice with the Sidney Crosby line throughout the game.

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— Another NHL-Ready Prospect? The Penguins are highly interested To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins made it four straight Saturday afternoon with a 7-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. Badly out-attempted Tuesday and Thursday night, the Penguins were impressive 5 vs 5 against the Devils and felt in control of the play at even strength. Scoring chances were 24-18 Pittsburgh to go with+3 in High Danger Chances that was capped off with a 5-1 advantage in Goals For 5-on-5.

We had so many instances this season where the battle level was questionable and this little stretch, you’re seeing a team just really battle over sixty minutes and a much more improvement with their play away from the puck. We will see where this how goes but could a second straight strong Mid-March through April finish have different ramifications for the Penguins next season?

Aside from putting too much stock into Alex Nedeljkovic win-loss record down the stretch, last year it meant nothing to GM Kyle Dubas. After the Jake Guentzel trade, Dubas was locked in on basically punting for the 2025-2026 season as evidenced by Pittsburgh acquiring players teams didn’t want for draft picks and making it a year about accumulating future assets.

In the end, a great finish to this season could be a building block to next year as going from potentially 5th to 10th in this draft means little and the significance is management will and plans to be much more aggressive to improving the NHL roster compared to last year. Yes, 2026-2027 is internally looked at as the best-case scenario year where the organization feels they can possibly re-emerge as a legitimate playoff team, albeit smartly, the Penguins are going to take some swings on accelerating things for next season.

Penguins at 69 Game Mark in 2023-2024: 69 Points

Penguins at 69 Game mark in 2024-2025: 66 Points

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Connor Dewar/Conor Timmins | Dewar is having a Michael Bunting 2024 March/April type immediate impact with the Penguins. He’s a very smart forechecker with his angles/puck pursuit and the last two games we’ve seen unlikely offensive production. Another important element of his game; He gets to the net front. What you have here is guys competing for jobs next season and it’s impacted this group in a good way. There just seems to be more push in the lineup. Timmins, though, was the real target in the trade with Dewar more as a throw-in with the Leafs needing to move salary. There’s an opening here into next season for Timmins who has adjusted quickly to Mike Sullivan’s system. The Penguins current regime doesn’t see anything long-term with Jack St. Ivany and we will see how serious the Penguins are of giving impressive 2024 2nd rounder Harrison Brunike a legitimate shot in the NHL next season. The Penguins have controlled 60% of their shot attempts with Timmins on the ice through four games.

Vladislav Kolyachonok | A very raw player but team officials have felt his speed to retrieve pucks has added another needed element to the lineup of the last week.

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2025 1st Round Pick (NYR) Buzz: Multiple NHL executives To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

College Free Agents Buzz: Penguins were in on a couple offensive upside centers, Northeastern Jack Williams among them, per sources, while Michigan’s To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Team Source: Organization hopeful coaching staff embraces Imama: One emerging trend in the Penguins organization is the management To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! A few weeks ago, several members of the organization were said to be pissed off when Imama was scratched for the Boston game To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Can Tristan Jarry keep looking like prime Dominik Hasek the rest of the way? If it actually happened, as unlikely it may be, it would kill the Penguins draft position for the fan bases Top-5 Pick hopes, but Jarry’s last two games have surely been a rallying point inside the room.

There are core players who felt Jarry was scapegoated by management in January. They are loving this as is the head coach who had been a staunch backer of Jarry for years.

Jarry was lights out in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 Overtime win, putting together a 36-save performance on a night the Penguins should have got blown out. Jarry stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third.

“I think he’s playing up to his capabilities,” Mike Sullivan said of Jarry. “Obviously, he was the difference in the game tonight. I thought he was the difference in the game against Minnesota also. He has that ability.”

What’s been a major difference with Jarry is his positioning. Not sure I’ve ever seen it better from him. Saves in traffic that might look lucky the last two games after happening because he’s not playing small and is taking excellent angles and squaring up on shooters. There was one instance with around 11 minutes left in the third and a long shot from the point with traffic where his sightlines were completely covered and puck hits right into his glove. Before he would have been down and left a bullseye open upstairs. Where this goes and what it means long-term if he would actually finish the rest of the way on a heater remains to be seen but it’s been a nice story thus far.

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— NHL Buzz: Former Penguins first round pick Brayden Yager was quite popular with NHL clubs in trade talks as the Winnipeg Jets looked at some big swings. A good sign that teams see a nice ceiling on Yager. There is a strong belief the Jets would have been willing to put Yager in play for Penguins To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— More Deadline Fallout on Rakell: One NHL executive tells me due to the respect and admiration Pittsburgh has for Rakell, teams that looked into Rakell believed Pittsburgh was only willing to move Rakell to one of the two teams in southern To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Pittsburgh is not a destination city but when players get here, they often love it here, especially players with families. Jake Guentzel would have stayed if Pittsburgh had actually offered him $8-$9 Million in 2023 summer; Marcus Pettersson badly wanted to stay long-term, and Rakell has become another one who doesn’t want to leave. Riley Smith hating it here was the exception……….

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Far from the biggest Mitch Marner fan here, especially when talking a $14 million a year price tag, but options are limited to accelerate this. Buzz around the league is Marner has so much respect for Sidney Crosby that if Pittsburgh decided to go all-in on Marner and try to get a seat at the table for a sales pitch, there is confidence To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Trading Vincent Desharnais to San Jose was tied to the Penguins acquiring Luke Schenn. The organization, though, is not losing sleep over parting with Desharnais. They quickly saw he wasn’t going to be an ideal fit for how Mike Sullivan wants to play. As for Schenn, Pittsburgh didn’t read the situation too well and tried to get Sidney Crosby To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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As the Steelers have waited for an answer from Aaron Rodgers and his agent David Dunn today after back and forth contract negotiations throughout the last 24 hours, the Steelers have entered serious discussions on a quarterback tandem of To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Kyle Dubas had a horrible first summer as Penguins General Manager and then sat on his feet way too long in year one to make necessary tweaks. We’re talking a ‘D’ grade and the biggest Dubas fans can’t always blame everything on Ron Hextall.

However, after pivoting towards a soft rebuild/retool, Dubas is on quite the heater over the last 12 months in building up the prospect base and draft capital in short time.

It’s easier said than done but what Dubas has done is at least given himself a chance to try to add to the aging core on its last leg without mortgaging the future and toe that line of trying to accelerate this, albeit smartly. The salary cap rising to $96 million, $104 million and $113 million over the next three summers opens up possibilities to go with 30 draft picks over the next three years as Pittsburgh has stockpiled the most draft picks in the league. There are avenues to really transform this roster at the NHL level next season without being stupid.

Could luck in the lottery also play out in April?

Pittsburgh enters the day with the sixth worst Points% in the NHL at .446P%; Buffalo is 4th at .443P% and Pittsburgh ending in the top-three (Nashville .427P%) is not out of question.

“I think I’ve always come in and said there is no ambition on my end to have this take any longer than it needs to take, both for the city and for the people who put in a lot,” said Dubas. “That’s not just players, but staff that has been around for a long time. There is a certain level, and when the league drops off, you don’t want the standards and the core ideology to erode. We’re going to survey the landscape as urgently as we can each day to find moves that can best help propel the team ahead,” said Dubas.

Dubas in his post-deadline presser continues to put it out there of giving the aging core one more chance. When you’re keeping Rickard Rakell and plan on him being part of the program for the foreseeable future, you gotta start picking up the aggressiveness at the NHL-level.

“How it lines up with the older players, all I can give is my pledge that we are going through everything we can to attempt to have them all have one last chance or multiple depending on how long they play,” Dubas said.

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— Teams that engaged with the Penguins on Rickard Rakell believed the Penguins were never going to move him. Rakell trade scenarios and preliminary offers teams explored with Pittsburgh were all centered around futures and a young forward. Los Angeles discussed a deal centering around the likes of Alex To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

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— What you hear about the Penguins right now in league circles is there could be a shift in the age group they target this summer to try to speed things up a bit. Pittsburgh pursuit of a couple truly young impact players on the trade front have been situations where offering futures isn’t getting you a seat at the table. Think JJ Peterka. That’s led to discussions of where a sense seems to be the team will explore bigger moves (excess draft capital) for players with term in that To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! On the free agent front, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! is a name getting linked to Pittsburgh already as a likely target.

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— Agents are buzzing to watch for the Penguins as a top threat for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Pittsburgh’s 2025 Draft Pick (NYR) was not popular To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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PENGUINS TRADE DEADLINE DAY ANALYSIS

PIT Receives: D Conor Timmins, F Connor Dewar

TOR Receives: 2025 Fifth Round Pick

Analysis: Pittsburgh help facilitate a three-way trade between Boston and Toronto that saw the Leafs trade for Bruins D Brandon Carlo. Timmins, 26, an RFA at seasons end, gives the Penguins a serviceable third pair Right D defenseman with good size and a little physicality. Timmins is also at that age lining up with what the Penguins want to do. In Dewar To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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PIT Receives: 2027 3rd Round Pick, F Chase Stillman, F Max Graham

NJD Receives: Cody Glass, Jonathan Gruden

Analysis: Pittsburgh did not go into the week gung-ho on trading Cody Glass but the whispers for a few weeks was the team was getting the most action of anybody on Glass. Pittsburgh was a bit torn on moving him, but I’m told the team felt the return of 2021 1st round pick Chase Stillman (*1st RD, 29th overall) was intriguing enough to move forward with the deal. The book on Stillman, the son of Corey Stillman, has always been don’t expect much offense and that’s held firm as he’s never lit the world on fire in juniors or the minors. Stillman has just 3 goals and 6 assists in 9 points in 46 games with Utica of the AHL. But, what you get with Stillman is a puck-hunting game. He’s an agitating forward similar to his dad (minus the offense) where the motor To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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PIT Receives: 2026 2nd-round pick, 2027 4th-round pick

WPG Receives: D Luke Schenn

Analysis: Pittsburgh To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! The team sent up a phone call between Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan and Schenn on Thursday and Sullivan tried to sell Schenn on next year To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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PIT Receives: 2025 2nd-round pick

WSH Receives: Anthony Beauvillier

Analysis: Sellers Market, Sellers Market, Sellers Market…..A late 2025 2nd-rounder is regarded this year as the equivalent of a late 4th-rounder in a good draft but still a very nice haul for Beauvillier. Pittsburgh and Washington in their two dealings this season has seen the Penguins turn Anthony Beauvillier and Lars Eller into three draft picks.

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Draft Capital Next Three Years

2025 Draft (11): Round 1 (2): Round 2 (1): Round 3 (3): Round 4 (1): Round 5 (2): Round 6 (1): Round 7 (1):

2026 Draft (8): Round 1 (1): Round 2 (3): To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Trade Deadline Analysis: Penguins trade upside for experience in deal for Lovejoy Inside Analysis: Trade Deadline Winners & Losers Trade Deadline Talk: Penguins limited in being able to offer high picks from 2016, 2017 drafts Trade Tracker: Penguins get high value returns for Beauvillier, Schenn

Trade Deadline Buzz: (Updated)

3:00 PM Buzz: The Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

DEADLINE DAY TRADE DETAILS

D Conor Timmins, F Connor Dewar to Pittsburgh: To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Cody Glass Traded to New Jersey: To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Luke Schenn to Winnipeg: To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Beauvillier to Capitals: Sellers Market Indeed. Pittsburgh’s first move of the day is trading Anthony Beauvillier to the Washington Capitals for a [hide] 2025 second-round pick. A tremendous return for Beauvillier as Pittsburgh now holds six draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft. This marks the second trade between the Capitals and Penguins this season in flipping rentals for draft picks | Out: Lars Eller, Anthony Beauvillier; In: 2025 2nd round pick, 2027 3rd round pick, 2025 5th round pick [/hide]

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Draft Capital Next Three Years

2025 Draft (12): Round 1 (2): Round 2 (1): Round 3 (3): Round 4 (1): Round 5 (3): Round 6 (1): Round 7 (1):

2026 Draft (8): Round 1 (1): Round 2 (3): To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

Related posts:

Trade Tracker: Penguins get high value returns for Beauvillier, Schenn Trade Deadline Buzz: Penguins emerge as a finalist for Defenseman Luke Schenn Pens trade deadline plans back to square one With market value said to be in 4 year, $18-$22 million range, will Pascal Dupuis hold firm on demanding a four year deal in talks with Pens?

Penguins Trade Deadline Buzz: What to Watch For

Pittsburgh dating back to around late December have pursued some big swings in trade talks with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Penguins organization loves To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— We will see where the day goes but a consistent this week has been that the Penguins remain more inclined to keep Rickard Rakell and have not been aggressively pursuing deals. Canadian teams Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton are all on Rickard Rakell’s To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Speaking of Edmonton, they were one team Pittsburgh To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Big Names Chatter: Mikko Rantanen and Dallas Stars: Not a stunner Dallas is a place of interest for Rantanen to sign with. It continues to be a destination city for top players, along with Florida. However, a possible trend we’re seeing is contenders see him as a $12-$12.5 million a year player and not the $14+ million he wants. However, there are non-playoff teams like Chicago and Anaheim willing to go over $14 million for him this summer. If talks completely break down with Dallas, the league buzz is Carolina’s interested in doing a rental deal with Toronto. Carolina has pushed to try to get a deal done this morning so they can pivot quickly……...Bruins winger Brad Marchand connected to Vegas and Florida this morning………..

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Penguins Organization Upbeat about Novak Acquistion

The Penguins – Predators trade has drawn some pretty interesting hot takes from pundits. For both sides, though, it’s not hard to understand.

Pittsburgh had been on the hunt for at the minimum a third line capable center in that 24-27 age range that had term, while Nashville strongly believes this year is a fluke and they can compete next season. They add a different style of player in Michael Bunting who scouts have felt could be a good fit in the Western Conference style of play.

One Penguins source summed up the Tommy Novak for Michael Bunting swap:

‘One player (Tommy Novak) is a center who can create individual offense and younger; The other (Michael Bunting) has to work hard for his offense. You always To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen are going to be ready for top-9 roles next season, and the thinking in the organization is the Penguins will add at least one more legitimate impact forward via trade or free agency, all the more reason to see why the Penguins went this route with the trade.

Talks started accelerating between the two sides over the weekend as GM Kyle Dubas continues to do repeat business with clubs. Novak, though, has been a target for a while. Pittsburgh attempted to trade for him last season, sources say, and the Predators surprising implosion this year opened the door for the possibility.

The mystery is Luke Schenn. Pittsburgh is telling anybody that listens they acquired Schenn with the idea of him being on the roster next season. Some around the league indicate Pittsburgh will only move him if a situation arises to trade him to play with his brother. But we will see on this one. General Managers have always been drawn to this player.

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

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The Mikko Rantanen situation has escalated where it will be a stunner around the league if he’s not traded. As sign and trade scenarios are now being explored by the Hurricanes/Rantanen/Interested Teams, a pursuit of Rantanen is not just tied to contenders right now. It’s a longshot but two non-playoff Western Conference teams and one Eastern Conference with less than 5% odds to make the playoffs, are said to be involved and looking into sign/trade scenarios. Chicago was a team that tried this with Pittsburgh To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

It’s very quiet on Erik Karlsson but the whispers for a week now have been if the Hurricanes move Rantanen, Carolina To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Someone in the Ray Shero regime once told me 15 years ago if a defenseman has a “pulse”, he will go for a second-round pick. Brian Dumoulin netting the Anaheim Ducks a 2nd rounder and a prospect from the New Jersey Devils continues to see teams put immense value on depth defensemen year-in and year-out. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has drawn parallels of New Jersey’s current situation to the 2010-2011 Penguins for when he was in Pittsburgh and the Penguins lost Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby but remained a #4-5 seed level team in the East. Hence, he believes he still owes it to his group to be a buyer. The Devils are on the hunt to add at least a forward or two. They’re looking bigger but Kevin To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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—Anthony Beauvillier has been connected To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

With second, third rounders being thrown around, Pittsburgh in the last week has set an asking price on Matt Grzelcyk and will not move him just to move him as there is mutual To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— A wild rumor going around in league circles is Tristan Jarry To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— 2022 1st round pick To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are wheeling and dealing tonight and have landed a top target on their board in acquiring center To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

With their eye on next year’s roster, Pittsburgh this week prioritized acquiring an impact two-way third line level centerman and over the weekend really started to keen on Novak who has two years remaining on his deal with a $3.5 Million Cap hit. Novak, 27, has 13 goals and 9 assists in 52 games for the Predators this season. 2022-2023 saw him breakout with 17 goals, 43 points in just 51 games. Last season he produced 18 goals, 27 assists in 71 games. Novak has been a favorite of coaches, analytical management groups around the league that saw him To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

With Schenn the noise is whether he gets flipped by Pittsburgh at the deadline to play with his To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Trade Details

[hide] Acquires: C Tommy Novak, D Luke Schenn [/hide]

[hide] F Michael Bunting, 2026 4th-round pick [/hide]

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[hide] Receives: 2028 Fifth-Round Pick [/hide]

[hide] Receives: D Vincent Desharnais

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The view around the league on Rickard Rakell (as of Sunday night) is the Penguins are more inclined To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Rakell at a $5 million cap hit for next three years through age 32-34 seasons and owed just $4.8 million (2025-2026), $3.6 million (2026-2027) and $3.6 million (2027-2028) in salary over that span, is a potential bargain for contenders. Despite an organization divide on Rakell, going into this weekend To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Among the chatter:

Vancouver [hide] is among the few teams that has looked hard at a Rakell trade. If Vancouver acquires more draft capital through outside trades, two second-round picks + Nils Hoglander is said to be a scenario Vancouver brought to the discussion with Pittsburgh recently. Former Penguins Assistant GM Patrik Allvin is very high on Rakell. Buzz among scouts is Edmonton’s a team that should be all over Rakell if they can move some of their dead weight out at the winger position to add cost certainty top-6 skill to their lineup for a player that has meshed very well with an elite talent in Sidney Crosby. [/hide]

One of the juiciest rumors surrounding Rakell in league circles is Rakell’s former To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— One League Source on Erik Karlsson: Anyone pulls this ‘hail mary’ off it’s going to be To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Lots of respect between Penguins management and veteran forward Noel Acciari who turned down a number of opportunities to instead sign with the Penguins on a three-year deal two summers ago. Ahead of Friday’s deadline, Pittsburgh is working through options on trading Acciari. Lewis Gross the agent for Noel Acciari To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Mentioned before the Penguins put a third round asking price To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Draft pick is good enough Pittsburgh will retain salary. A lot of mystery on what Anthony Beauvillier will go for. Cheap, having a productive season, can play anywhere in small segments. Yet, Pittsburgh able to sign him for one year @ $1.25 million shows the rest of the league isn’t high on him anymore. A 4th or 5th round pick has been the talk with him. Anything better will be seen as a major win for the Penguins. [/hide]

—2026 Draft Picks are coveted among sellers. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Tristan Jarry is headed back to Pittsburgh.

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The best thing for the Penguins long-term would have obviously been a loss last night. The more they lose the better to try to increase the percentages for a Top-5 pick. Pittsburgh plays their cards right and with the goaltending they get, finishing with the fourth worst record in the NHL isn’t out of the realm possibility right now. But, it will be so Penguins that Thursday’s thrilling win see’s the aging core go on a little run here and Pittsburgh ends up with the eighth or ninth worst record in the league, instead of Top-5.

Still, at the end of the day the organization needs nights like last night every once in a while, especially on home-ice, where you have a game that had just about everything; The Alex Nedeljkovic meltdown, the thrilling comeback, to go with some of the aging core turning back the clock like Evgeni Malkin/Erik Karlsson did against the Flyers.

That was just a fun night and on par with the Buffalo game earlier in the season.

You look at how good Sidney Crosby still is, to go with the fact that Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson can still give you a great game here and there, it just adds to the disappointment that the nostalgia core will likely end their careers in Pittsburgh over the next couple years without winning a playoff round since 2018. Sidney Crosby hasn’t won a playoff round since his age 30 season. It’s house money when you got three Stanley Cups out of the deal, but looking back it’s going to be remembered as such a massive failure by this organization that Sidney Crosby’s early to mid- age-30 seasons were so mismanaged in critical areas.

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— The among praise for Mike Sullivan out of the Four Nations Tournament has been something. Around the league all you hear is how ‘elite of a coach he is’ was back on display when you have great talent around him. Some outside of Pittsburgh who have argued Pittsburgh should be as aggressive you can be this summer out of respect to Sidney Crosby, believe Pittsburgh doesn’t use Sullivan enough as a recruiter. Despite the collapse of the Penguins, Sullivan’s stock with executives and players (outside of Pittsburgh) is rising. Sullivan was looked at by Team USA players in that room as a coach they would love to play for and see why Sidney Crosby has no interest in playing for another coach in Pittsburgh. That said, it’s going to be another spring as the Penguins venture into some dark years, where it’s not going to stop teams To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Over the last 48 there’s been a lot of pump To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— The center market is flooded right now with a slew of options available. But To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Pittsburgh has primarily shopped the 2025 Vancouver first-rounder (NYR) for a long-term impact To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Last March in his Post-Trade Deadline Press Conference Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas made it a point multiple times to mention Erik Karlsson as part of the core and a player he envisioned as an asset to young players coming up and potentially still being part of the solution when the Penguins were ready to truly compete again.

That held firm for a while and into this season. No Trade Demand is coming but there’s been a nudge from the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

And the Penguins are ready to accommodate things, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Ottawa has been a situation both sides have kicked around privately. Should Karlsson end his Hall-of-Fame career where it began? Indications are the Senators Brass has the same concerns we’ve seen in Pittsburgh. Is Karlsson going to be motivated for a fringe playoff team and does he elevate them enough when you’re more than one piece away? Then there’s the $5 million signing bonus Karlsson is owed July 1 that is going to be a factor for a place like Ottawa. Karlsson is only owed $16.5 million over the next two seasons, but $11 million of the $16.5 million is due through a signing bonus that has casted even more doubts Karlsson is a route Ottawa will go. The Senators have dished out some massive contracts to their own, Jake Sanderson, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot each making around $8 million per season and all five received $0 in signing bonuses for the length of their eight-year deals. Smaller market teams like the Senators just won’t do it…..

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

Contenders to Watch If they emerge ahead of the deadline:

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[hide] Two Darkhorse Teams there’s been some rumblings out of the Four Nations linked to Karlsson: Florida and Vegas…………..[/hide]

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— It would not stun some around the league that Pittsburgh emerges as a ‘surprise’ destination for defenseman To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— As more teams have Rickard Rakell on their board with the rising cap and his ability to mesh with high-end talent, the buzz around the Penguins hasn’t changed in that there’s no urgency to move Rakell as the team is still prioritizing keeping some talent around Sidney Crosby in the Top-6 for next season. Pittsburgh has put a high ask on Rakell. Some of the more interesting calls on Rakell, though, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Among the most calls the Penguins are getting on pending free agents is To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Pittsburgh has put a third round asking price 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 Washington Capitals 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins felt like another reality check for the Penguins organization of how big of a gap now exists between the Penguins and Capitals……. It’s a massive one.

2022-2023 Season | PIT 91 Pts, -2GF | WSH 80 Pts, -10GF

2023-2024 Season | PIT 88 Pts, +4GF | WSH 91 Pts, -37GF

Washington after earning the final wildcard spot last season with a Minus-37 Goal Differential, have suddenly transformed into a machine with a Conference Leading 82 points and a +61 Goal Differential. The Penguins meanwhile enter Sunday with a conference worst Minus-42 Goal Differential. The Capitals pretty much rebuilt themselves overnight at the NHL-Level and they are not only a serious Stanley Cup Contender this season but most around the league see sustainability with this group due to more help coming from their prospect ranks and tradeable assets to keep improving at the NHL level. Scouts feel the next three years are going to be golden for the Capitals organization.

Alex Ovechkin might have 26 goals in 40 games but watch that game yesterday and Ovechkin who was just going through the motions, is really far down the list of why the Capitals have emerged as one of the premier teams this season. They are not reliant on him by any means. This is just a team that’s deep 1-18 on the ice with size, speed, skill and have evolved into a systematic machine with how well they clog the middle of the ice defensively. As good as Sidney Crosby remains, Pittsburgh is so behind the eight-ball when their best player is pushing 40 years old and he’s likely to remain their best player for another season or two at least. That’s the risk they took when they didn’t value retaining a Jake Guentzel who again is having a phenomenal season and was one of Team USA’s best players on the ice in the Four Nations Tournament. And some of the Capitals turnaround this season has been luck, let’s not discount that. Even the biggest Jakob Chychurn fan could not have expected him to resemble prime Erik Karlsson some nights.

Still, Kyle Dubas keeps talking about teams the Penguins can look at as examples in their retool. He’s often mentioned the Rangers, Kings and lately has thrown out the Capitals. The Rangers one has always been a hard one to get behind. They accelerated things by signing the premier winger in free agency in Artemi Panarin in July 2019. Unless you’re going out and signing Mitch Marner or Mikko Rantanen this summer, you can’t use the Rangers template too much and when New York publicized their retool around 2018 and 2019, they still had the likes of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad just entering their prime to also build around and accelerate things. New York also had some goalie prospect named Igor Shesterkin coming up through the ranks. Pittsburgh doesn’t have those type of difference makers on the roster now or coming up through their system.

For the present, yesterday’s game highlighted again how bad Pittsburgh has to fix their goaltending situation, while the Capitals goaltending situation has also played a big factor in their quicker than expected turnaround. That’s one example with the Capitals — Pittsburgh has to look at. —

“We beat ourselves in so many ways,” Mike Sullivan said of Saturday’s loss. “I thought when they got their fourth goal, it’s a 3-2 game, it was 5:43 in the second period. Shots were 19-9. We had twice as much offensive zone time as we did in the defensive zone,” Sullivan said. “We felt pretty good about where the game was at even though we were down a goal. And then we chased offense……When you chase offense, and you don’t have a recognition of risk reward. You end up giving your opponent’s easy offense. And as a result, that’s what we get. We beat ourselves in so many different ways., that’s the most disappointing part.”

You want to give your franchise icon Sidney Crosby a prayer of competing for a wild card spot next season and accelerate things a little, Pittsburgh has to find a true No. 1 goaltender. Unless you really want to tear things down to the studs and play for a Top-5 pick, throwing out these 1B level goaltenders is never going to cut it over an 82-game season. Every avenue has to be exhausted including gambles (health reasons) such as targeting To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

The Tristan Jarry demotion was supposed to be an opportunity for Joel Blomqvist to get a serious look as the starter. Yet, things have strongly went Alex Nedeljkovic’s way. However, the organization as a whole is becoming less and less optimistic Blomqvist is a No. 1 capable goaltender. The view around him has become maybe To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The biggest optimist could not have predicted what’s played out for the National Hockey League with the Four Nations Tournament. The buzz, coverage all over has been something unforeseen since Saturday Night. Say what you want about fighting but three fights in nine seconds is what draws in average viewers and USA-Canada on the Sweaters added a totally different element. The videos of USA chants in bars around the U.S. was something. All week I’ve never been at so many random places like Lowes and have cashiers talking about Saturday night. The Tournament has been a massive win for the game of hockey and the betting market is seeing Game 7 type results leading into today.

Unfortunately for the league, too bad they can’t fast forward right into the NHL Playoffs out of this tournament. The lull with almost two more months of the regular season to go will see a lot of this extra buzz around hockey die out and it’s unlikely long-term the Stanley Cup like ratings USA-Canada will get again tonight will lead to NHL seeing a great spike in tv ratings.

–One hope among teams is the league office see’s the extra jolt this tournament has given and start getting with the times of adopting a 7-10 Play-In Tournament that rivals the NBA. Gary Bettman and Bill Daly have been strongly against it but eventually money almost always wins out and there is going to be a bigger push for this moving forward.

–As great as the tournament has been for a publicity standpoint, how would you feel as a Stanley Cup contender if an injury wrecked your season? Vegas knows that feeling right now with Shea Theodore injured and while the Bruins are not a serious Cup contender right now, they are in wild the card chase and just lot their star defenseman for multiple weeks. Even in Pittsburgh where the Penguins are not really trying to make the playoffs, there’s questions inside the building that Sidney Crosby will be healthy enough to play To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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: –The mood around Mikko Rantanen continues to be an 8 year, $100-$104 million offer from the Carolina likely still won’t get it done before the deadline. Rantanen is regarded as wanting to see what the field has to offer, and his potential free agency for months has been looked at a unique situation in that he’s going to be open to just about anywhere, contenders and non-contenders. Mitch Marner is viewed around the league as being much more guarded in where he will consider signing with compared to Rantanen where even some rebuilding teams think they will get an opportunity to make a pitch, among them being the Philadelphia Flyers. The $100 million dollar question between now and the deadline is whether Carolina gets cold feet and flips Rantanen.

— Buzz around the league this week in regard to Pittsburgh potentially flipping their newly acquired first-round pick for an impact forward in that 27 or younger range is keep an eye on the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Will Brad Marchand finish his career in Boston? The veteran winger is a name to watch and is expected to be a last-minute call by all parties involved. A lot of smoke around Marchand and Edmonton this week and Marchand’s also been heavily linked to the Dallas Stars in league circles………….To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Pettersson Fallout: The Marcus Pettersson Six Year, $33 Million Extension with the Vancouver Canucks officially signed on Feb 6, was essentially verbally agreed upon prior to the Penguins and Canucks trade happening. The league frowns upon sign and trade type deals but the Penguins in the few days leading up to the deal gave Pettersson’s agent To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

One thing that’s become evident in the fallout of Pittsburgh-Vancouver deal is Drew O’Connor remained very popular in trade talks despite his huge drop off in Pittsburgh this season. Edmonton got wind Pittsburgh was including O’Connor in the Pettersson trade and tried To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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1st Round Pick Buzz: The Penguins brass believes like a lot of management teams — mid-to-late first round picks — lose more aura in trade talks after a selection is made. The Vancouver (NYR) pick is more valuable right now through June than it will be in July. That’s just how it goes. Pittsburgh’s own 2025 selection is off limits due to where it may fall but teams sense Pittsburgh has a list of as many as 3-4 young targets, they would be willing to move the Vancouver pick for.

Canucks Linked to Rakell? To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Karlsson Buzz: Buzz among scouts on Erik Karlsson from the Four Nations Tournament: Pittsburgh still never fully To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The months long dance between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks saw the two sides get to the finish line in a five-player deal Saturday morning that sends defenseman Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Danton Heinen, Defenseman Vincent Desharnais, forward prospect Melvin Fernstrom and a 2025 First Round Pick (Conditional), the Canucks acquired Friday Night from the New York Rangers.

PIT Receives:
F Danton Heinen
D Vincent Desharnais
F Melvin Fernstrom
2025 First Round Pick (Conditional NYR)

VAN Receives:
D Marcus Pettersson
F Drew O’Connor

The key points of the deal for the Penguins To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

“Moving two long-time Penguins is never an easy decision,” GM Kyle Dubas said. Marcus and Drew have competed day-in and day-out for the organization since the day they arrived.”

For months the writing has been on the wall for both and in the last couple weeks buzz emerged of Pittsburgh packaging Pettersson/O’Connor and became fixated To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

1st Round (4): 2025 (2), 2026, 2027

2nd Round: (4): 2026 (2), 2027 (2)

3rd Round: (7): 2025 (3), 2026 (2), 2027 (2)

“Tonight’s trade continues to move us in the direction set one year ago which is to continue to add young prospects, young players, and draft capital to the Penguins as we chart our course to return the club back into contention as urgently as possible, said Dubas. The addition of Melvin Fernstrom also gives us a prospect that was highly regarded at the 2024 draft and the Rangers first round pick draft pick provides us with another strong asset that we can use to acquire an elite young plyer in the draft or via trade.”

Vancouver with the wheeling and dealing Friday night and into Saturday on the JT Miller trade and now the Marcus Pettersson trade, saw an important part of the deal for them in the Pettersson/O’Connor trade was also getting some contracts off the books for now and next season, giving them more deadline flexibility.

Pittsburgh in taking on Heinen and Desharnais add $4.25 million to the cap for next season. Heinen signed through 2025-2026, carries a $2.25 million cap hit and Desharnais, 28, is also signed through 2025-2026 with a $2 million cap hit. We will obviously see if both have long stints as some could argue their spots should be going to younger players. Heinen, 29, returns to Pittsburgh and has 6 goals and 12 assists in 51 games. He put up 17 goals in 74 games with the Bruins last season and can still produce and will immediately move into the top-9. Desharnais (6-7, 226), adds a right hand shot and size to bottom pair. Penguins coaches of late have been frustrated of playing a lefty on their wrong side and are starting to sour again on PO Joseph. [/hide]

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Inside Buzz: The Penguins front office prior to leaving for the road trip had a pro scouting To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

The meeting is said to have left more questions than answers.

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What’s changed in Pittsburgh is questions inside its own building if Kyle Dubas still an open war chest moving forward with the rapidly increasing salary cap. In June of 2023 he was told he always would. Has that changed 18 months later?…………..

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

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As the Penguins sit near cellar in the Eastern Conference, talk in league circles has turned to whether a change in philosophy happens by tearing things down to the studs. And what rival executives mean in this stance is not the core jumping ship, everything is complicated with the legacy players and even a Bryan Rust, but Pittsburgh looking to aggressively move To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

The two names to watch To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Buyer’s Remorse or eyeing an influx of cash? Fenway Sports Group, majority owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, have hired a firm to officially put the Penguins on the market this week. Two club officials confirm an ESPN report that Penguins ownership is eyeing a sale of a minority stake of the franchise and the group ‘expects’ to remain majority controllers of the franchise.

However, there is skepticism around the league that will hold. While the public stance is expected to be that FSG is taking a Liverpool approach and eyeing more of an investment, there are strong indications FSG is willing to sale a ‘significant’ minority stake of the franchise with an open mind that To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

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: Jim Rutherford is very unpredictable so many shouldn’t be shocked that the Canucks drama has gone from JT Miller is 99% getting traded to now the rest of the league believing Elias Pettersson could be moved any day. The Pettersson noise has gotten very loud since the Mikko Rantanten trade Friday Night as Rutherford has brought in three-team scenarios to the table surrounding the star forward.

Could Pittsburgh be a player here?

Buffalo and Vancouver are very deep in the process of a Pettersson trade as the Sabres line up with the Canucks stance that any Pettersson trade has to include a center coming their way. But playoff revenue is very important to the owner and Rutherford has pressure to bring back multiple NHL players in return to not hinder a playoff push. That’s seen Rutherford explore avenues to try to facilitate a three-team trade. There are whispers To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

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Wild Card Race Trends Based off P%

Pittsburgh enters Sunday with the 2nd least amount of points (48 pts) in the Eastern Conference and the 2nd worst Points% in the East @ .471.

51 Games in and 31 to go, the Penguins are currently playing at a 77-point pace, 10 points off last years mark. The Final Wild Spot over the last week has trended up near normal levels with Ottawa, Columbus playing at a 90-point pace. Time is just running out and the math is brutal right now.

And what has played out in the most negative way for the Penguins is the trend of others. The Penguins 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, has lost 11 of 15 games since Christmas Break.

Ottawa Senators | 49 GP, 54 Pts, .551 P% | Ottawa without their #1 goaltender have bounced back with a 6-3-1 run after losing six of their previous seven games before their current 6-3-1 run that started January 11th with a 5-0 thrashing of the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

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Columbus Blue Jackets | 50GP, 55 Pts, .550P% | L10: Columbus 7-2-1 | Since December 19th the Blue Jackets are 12-4-2, accumulating 26 of possible 36 points, including a six game winning streak from Jan 4 – January 16. All six wins were against teams currently outside the playoffs, a stark difference from the Penguins who have just one win in their last six games against teams currently outside the playoffs.

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Boston Bruins | 51 GP, 56 Pts, .549P% | L10: Boston 5-3-2 |

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New York Rangers | 48 GP, 52 Pts, .542 P% | L10: New York 7-0-3 | Since January 1st the Rangers are 8-1-3 and with a lot of cap space to be active and boast the best goaltender in the game where catching the Devils isn’t crazy talk.

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Montreal Canadiens | 49 GP, 53 Pts, .541P% | L10: Montreal 6-2-2 | Since getting embarrassed by the Penguins on home ice in a 9-2 drumming on December 12th, the Canadiens have put together quite the turnaround with a 13-5-2 run over their last 20 games. On December 13th the Penguins were five points ahead of the Canadiens in the standings. Now Montreal is five points ahead of the Penguins with two games in hand.

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Detroit Red Wings | 49 GP, 51 Pts, .520P% | L10: Detroit 6-3-1 | The Red Wings have some life in the Wild Card Race by popping off a 10-4-1 run under Todd McLellan. On Dec 31st with the Penguins-Red Wings New Years Eve matchup, Pittsburgh was seven points ahead of the Wings. 26 Days later the Red Wings are three points ahead of the Penguins with two games in hand.

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New York Islanders | 48GP, 49 Pts, .510P% | L10: New York 7-3-0 | Riding a four-game winning streak, the Isles have put together a 7-2-0 run and have the goaltender where you can’t rule them out just yet.

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Philadelphia Flyers | 50GP, 50 Pts, .500P% | L10: Philadelphia 5-4-1 |

Related posts:

League Chatter: Penguins linked to Bruins in trade talks? Latest on Penguins – Canucks Trade Talks Rumors: Penguins – Sabres emerging as a trade match? Rumors: Penguins were involved in serious trade talks with Sharks prior to Sheahan deal

LATEST PENGUINS BUZZ

50 Games In: Pittsburgh’s 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks was just another lackluster performance that plays into Kyle Dubas’ belief since the summer that this team isn’t worth wasting future assets on. I’m in the crowd where the Penguins are a better hockey team than the .480 Points% says they are but we are 50 games in, and this is what they are.

Return for O’Connor? Whispers are Pittsburgh was offered a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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~~~ Bold Predictions ~~~

I asked one Eastern Conference executive this week to predict the scene around the Penguins a year out. This executive believed losing would see two ‘legacy players’ prioritize family instead of retiring Penguins and Kyle Dubas would get his wish of really starting a true youth movement. Among the Bold Predictions:

*Mike Sullivan, Penguins agree to a mutual parting and Sullivan is the next head coach of the Minnesota Wild, while Kyle Dubas has his long-term coach already on the staff in Sullivan’s best friend David Quinn……….

*Kris Letang is a member of the Montreal Canadiens by this time next season…………

*Evgeni Malkin finishes his career with the Florida To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

*Tristan Jarry is a member To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

*Erik Karlsson surprisingly remains a Penguin in 2026 and becomes To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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NHL Buzz: Latest talk is even those in Jim Rutherford’s inner circle believe he has buyer’s remorse on Elias Pettersson and in a perfect world would love to move on from Pettersson before his NTC kicks in. Whispers are Pettersson is not Rutherford’s cup of tea and his lack of competitiveness drives Rutherford nuts and the former Penguins GM does not believe Pettersson is a true superstar. Carolina, Columbus are out there but add Seattle to the group of teams that has really tried to get Pettersson. However, the whole Canucks situation is just a PR nightmare with two stars feuding and in-season trying to swing a massive trade where on paper you’re going to lose either is tough sledding. The best move for the Vancouver Canucks would be to find a way to take this to the summer and really on both, Pettersson and JT Miller………The noise isn’t going away that Rick Tocchet is bracing to be the fall guy in Vancouver…………… Ducks goaltender John Gibson who evaluators prior to the season have felt was shot physicality, is starting to put some good tape together where a GM or two is going to be intrigued about bringing him on board. Gibson posting his best save percentage (.914) since 18/19…………Don’t look now but the New York Rangers look back and have lots of room to add between now and the deadline……

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~~~~Penguins becoming less optimistic of taking enough steps forward next season? ~~~~

Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas has always been open for business on just about everybody except Sidney Crosby. The whole league knows it and has known it for a very long time. The mood around the Penguins in league circles, though, really started to change mid-week after Pittsburgh’s debacle of a homestand and loss last Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken. Rival clubs indicate Pittsburgh is sending signals sneaking into the final wildcard spot does not excite this management group one bit and management with their internal projections now regard 2026-2027 as the most likely season strides are made of being a legitimate playoff team and some in the Penguins organization believe that might even be wishful thinking.

Now or never? Penguin coaches came out of that homestand bracing for this to likely be the last two to three weeks this current roster is together. A message from the Penguins coaching staff prior to the road trip was said to be To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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-The Penguins and Erik Karlsson’s reps at Newport Sports have in recent weeks discussed Karlsson’s future and where things could go. Karlsson who has grown close to Sidney Crosby over the last couple months, sources say, is content To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

One longshot team that checked into it is Don To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— With his No Trade Projection ending after the season, Bryan Rust continues to be the most popular player on the Penguins roster from NHL executives in constantly checking in to see if Pittsburgh would consider moving Rust. Detroit and Vancouver aggressively tried to gauge Pittsburgh’s willingness to discuss a Rust trade last season and one Penguins source joked Lou To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Saturday Night the Washington Capitals showed how far ahead they are in their soft rebuild/retool and they have more help coming in the future from their farm team. Don’t be stunned we see a Capitals-Oilers Stanley Cup Final. This team has a legit shot to get there, and it will be fascinating to see how aggressive they are or aren’t leading into the deadline. Most impressive with their turnaround is the systematic machine they’ve become. This isn’t talent overwhelming the opposition. Despite sneaking into the final wildcard spot and getting steamrolled in the first-round last spring by New York Rangers, you can’t discount the importance of playing meaningful hockey last season has had in the turnaround this season. That’s something the Penguins have to weigh in how missing the postseason three straight years can easily lead to five or six straight and it just gets so hard to stop the bleeding. Still, the Penguins enter today with a .490P%, 3rd worst in the conference, so being in full-out sell mode remains valid for now………

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—- Tristan Jarry getting jettisoned to the minors saw Kyle Dubas get crushed by the National Media for his disaster 2023 summer. Even the biggest Dubas fan can’t sugar coat how poor of a first summer he had. The low-risk 2024 Summer signings/trade are looking like a much different story. Nothing Dubas has done moved the needle by any means, Penguins are playing at a negative 8-point place than where last years’ club finished, but they’re going to be able to flip some guys and might have found a longer term option in one or two.

Flip Candidates? On Kevin Hayes we might be headed towards a B+ grade for the Penguins by seasons end. The draft picks gave an instant B grade for the acquisition and they’re getting quality play from Hayes who has emerged as one of the Penguins top-9 forwards. Not to mention he’s been undervalued by the coaching staff.

Matt Grzelcyk was a train wreck to start the season and has had quite the turnaround in two months. The 31-year-old, has become an assists machine with a career-high 24 on the season, including 10 power play apples where he’s transitioned onto the top unit. Pittsburgh has a top-5 power play, at 27.1%, and Kris Letang/Erik Karlsson are barely part of the top unit. Defensemen with a pulse land a 4th-rounder at the deadline and Grzelcyk will net the Penguins a return, though, the coaching staff have strongly pushed for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Anthony Beauvillier: Another player undervalued recently by the coaching staff? Beauvillier is turning in a nice bounce-back season with 11 goals in 48 games. If he can get hot leading into the deadline, it’s not a stretch a team desperate for depth would move a third rounder for Beauvillier.

Longer term options? Cody Glass acquired from Nashville in a salary dump, entered the New Year right in the thick of the evaluation process where the Penguins have been ‘lean’ stick around beyond this season, even prior to this game taking off a bit in the last handful of games. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Related posts:

Penguins trade pursuit of Erik Karlsson remains on-going after Free Agency Splashes Rumors: Ottawa approached Pittsburgh in February about an Erik Karlsson Return Penguins reach agreement on three-team trade for star D-man Erik Karlsson Blockbuster: Penguins acquire Erik Karlsson

After the loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday night waivers was a strong possibility on Monday for Tristan Jarry. Whispers are head coach Mike Sullivan who even now still regards Jarry as the best goaltender in the organization, bought Jarry one more game. And Sullivan is not the only one. Veteran players in that room looked at Jarry as their best goaltender which is why yesterday had such a somber mood. Tuesday night’s collapse was finally the breaking point where Kyle Dubas took the decision into his own hands and at the end of the day Dubas didn’t want to keep prolonging a failed mistake.

Dubas who said he made the decision he did to sign Jarry within a few weeks on the job and has to live with it, feels the Penguins were at the point where they were forcing the situation.

“I think it’d speak worse of me if it was a mistake, and we prolonged it and continued to try to force it,” said Dubas. “If there are mistakes that I make, I try to rectify them and come out here and face the music.”

“I think we had committed to when he came back from WBS, giving it some good runway,” Dubas said of Jarry…..”Had a good stretch there, won four in a row against good competition and then from my view of it, it was just be patient, see the way that it unfolded and as we got through this date in mind, being important for us because we’re about to go on the road for a couple weeks and felt that would be enough time to measure it. At this point, just feel it’s best in the long run for the team and for Tristan to allow Joel to come up here. We think over the past year and a half with his play in Wilkes and when he’s been up here with us, he’s earned the right to have a go at it and we get a chance to see what he can do in a prolonged look.”

Will someone eventually take a chance on Jarry? Jarry’s agency Newport Sports is quite powerful around the league, and they often facilitate To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

“The reality is Tristan Jarry is a legitimate NHL goaltender,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think you make the All-Star team twice if you don’t have a certain level of talent and you’re not capable of making timely saves.”

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: Among the burning questions is Dubas gave the vibe this isn’t going to be a situation where Blomqvist is coming up and only plays once out of every four games. Still, the Mike Sullivan factor remains. Dubas does not enforce lineup decisions due to Sullivan’s stature and To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Where Blomqvist stood out during his callup earlier in the season was his side-to-side movement and ability against high-danger situations. Yes, the leaky goal or two was sometimes there a game but these were very intriguing attributes of his game, especially during a time where the Penguins were a train-wreck defensively.

High-Danger Save% (All-Situations)

1. Joel Blomqvist | .875SV%
2. Alex Nedeljkovic | .772SV%
3. Tristan Jarry | .762SV%

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Wild Card Buzz Entering Thursday via Points%

1. Ottawa | 47 Pts, .547P%
2. Columbus | 48 pts, .545P%
3. Montreal | 46 pts, .535P%
4. Boston | 49 pts, .533P%
5. Detroit | 44 pts, .512P%
6. NYR | 43 pts, .500P%
7. Philadelphia | 44 pts, .489P%
8. Pittsburgh | 44 pts, .478P%
9. NYI | 41 pts, .477P%
10. Buffalo | 39 pts, .443P%

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Related posts:

Latest Pens Buzz: Pressure mounting on Kyle Dubas to provide a shakeup before hard discussions need to be had by end of Feb On Penguins – Devils: Making teams pay for mistakes, Penguins beat New Jersey the way they are built to play Latest NHL Buzz: Dubas had bold backup plan if Karlsson pursuit failed? Latest Pens Buzz: Could Ned’s Latest charge change current 24-25 Goaltending Plans & More Buzz

The Penguins held the Seattle Kraken to just two shots on goal through one period and total of 10 shots allowed after forty minutes. Yet, it was another night where the Penguins just couldn’t close out a game.

Seattle scored twice 49 seconds apart in the third to erase a 2-1 deficit that saw the Penguins night come crashing down. Pittsburgh let Jamie Oleksiak walk into the zone with respect and fear like he’s Cale Makar to tie the game at 2-2 as Evgeni Malkin gives him a love tap on the way past him. Just Alumni-Game like defense there by 71………

Then moments later the Eeli Toivanen go-ahead goal was just a lot of puck watching and not being in lanes from the Penguins top line where all five players on the ice are pretty much caught on the strong side of the puck. Pittsburgh had 5-on-3 numbers from an innocent Kraken zone entry that led to the go-ahead goal in the back of their net.

1. Zone Entry
2. PIT>SEA
3. Breakdown

Lazy defense that Mike Sullivan fuming and everything that went wrong with this club in the first six to seven weeks of the season has reared its ugly head again during this homestand. These weren’t mistakes by young players. The Oleksiak goal you had your second line on the ice and so-called top pairing D in Marcus Pettersson/Kris Letang. Toivanen goal the top-line was on the ice in a tied hockey game.

“What needs to change is the commitment to play defense,” said Sullivan. “That’s what I think. And we weren’t willing to play defense. We didn’t spend a lot of time in our end tonight, but the time that we did, we weren’t committed to play the right way. They scored two goals in the third period on nonevent scenarios. It wasn’t like we were under siege, but we didn’t pay attention to details.”

‘Nonevent scenarios’ was spot on by Sullivan.

The belief in the organization is Pittsburgh will have to have some separation in the wildcard chase by the time the Four Nations Tournament ends for Kyle Dubas To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Penguins Goaltending is Something Else.

Tristan Jarry | 22 GP, .886 SV%

Alex Nedeljkovic | 19 GP, .886 SV%

*66th, 67th ranked Save Percentage in the NHL*

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: Penguins asking price on Marcus Pettersson changing? [hide]The Penguins for months have kind of taken the Jake Guentzel model in shopping deals for Pettersson, looking for quality over quantity. Since early November they’ve aggressively sought a return that could land them a Nils Hoglander + a Vasily Ponomarev (type prospect) return. Whispers are Pittsburgh is no longer dead-set on those type of returns. Teams believe you offer Pittsburgh a first-round pick with nothing else attached, their accepting that offer this morning………[/hide] How bad did the Penguins negotiate against themselves in the summer of 2023 with the Tristan Jarry contract? Jarry’s agent Craig Oster had To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Latest Pens Buzz: Sullivan Coaching Chatter; Penguins gauged market for Marcus Pettersson to get ‘Value’ feeling before summer extension decision & More Buzz Scouts Buzz: Penguins game plan for a pace dictating Predators defense Post-Morning Skate Buzz: Bylsma comes to the defense of Sidney Crosby & more buzz leading into tonight’s opener Latest Penguins Buzz on Mike Sullivan Taking Over

A five game homestand that included three opponents Pittsburgh at the time was separated by three points or less, was a golden opportunity to stack some points before a seven-game road trip where the Penguins have won just six out of 21 times this season way from PPG Paints Arena. Accumulating three out of a possible eight points thus far on the homestand, Pittsburgh has to get tonight’s game against the reeling Seattle Kraken. The Kraken have dropped 11 of their last 15 games and there’s plenty noise of a GM change is looming with some wondering if Ron Francis will last the next month.

Could that lead to former Penguins coach Dan Bylsma being one and done in Seattle? If wholesale changes happen in the front office with Francis and Jason Botterill gone after the season, it’s hard to see Bylsma getting a second year in Seattle.

Pittsburgh has won just two out of nine games since Christmas Break, but they’ve played a lot better than their record indicates during this stretch which has led to frustration that this is just who the Penguins are. As mediocre the wild card chase is with Ottawa and Columbus currently slotted in the final two wildcard spots (Points%) at an 87 and 88 point pace, Pittsburgh enters Game #46 tonight and still hovering at an 80-point pace. Essentially need to win 22 out of the next 37 games just to get to 88.

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Whether you agree with the plan or not, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has a long-term picture plan and he’s not going to deviate from it. Still, frustrations among the fan base and even some in the organization is warranted that there are options without messing with the development of your young players in Wilkes Barre.

Among them, how long are we going to wait for the shoe to drop with the goaltending? Make a statement, waive one of them and sink or swim with Joel Blomqvist rest of the way. Anyone can see it.

It’s not just the goaltender. Pittsburgh is not dressing their best 12 forwards.

Pittsburgh right now is prioritizing the development of their young forwards in Wilkes Barre and they take pride in the season Wilkes Barre is having. That’s understandable.

Something, though, has to change with this Matt Nieto experiment and does carrying a Noel Acciari on the roster make any sense when you’re not really trying to win? Stop prioritizing these guys just because they can kill penalties.

Emil Bemstrom with 15 goals and 32 points in 30 AHL games, is worth a look to switch something up to give the Penguins some more offense in the bottom-6 and even a left shot option on the 2nd power play.

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Penguins GM Kyle Dubas will always be on the hunt for change of scenery young players. That isn’t changing. An emerging trend, though, around the Penguins is a buzz in league circles Penguins management has been involved in serious discussions with multiple teams, particularly clubs looking to shed a major salary. One league source indicated it’s a matter of time before the Penguins are involved in a blockbuster type trade that sees them taking on a pretty seismic contract that nets them enough significant future assets to take the risk. NHL executives contend To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

A name being floated connected to Pittsburgh is To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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*Tristan Jarry in Goal

*Michael Bunting to Play

*Evgeni Malkin Game Time Decision (Likely to Play)

Lineup:

Rakell-Crosby-Rust

Bunting-Malkin-Glass

O’Connor-Hayes-Tomasino

Beauvillier-Lizotte-Acciari

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Grzelcyk-Karlsson

Pettersson-Letang

Pickering-Joseph

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Tristan Jarry

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Ravens 28 – Steelers 14 (F)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are once again one and done in the postseason in a similar trend as the past three years of playoff exits; There is a major gulf between them and the elite teams in the AFC. The Mike Tomlin-led Steelers end the season on a five-game losing streak and the wildcard loss was an exclamation point of how much soul searching the organization has to do this off-season.

This is not only a talent issue. What the last five games showed everybody is the Steelers have a major scheme and body language problem. That is the biggest takeaway of what played out against the Philadelphia’s, Kansas City’s and Baltimore’s.

Baltimore just downright embarrassed the Steelers organization, setting a single game franchise record with 299 rushing yards (Most Ever Allowed by the Steelers), including 186 rushing yards by Derrick Henry. Lamar Jackson totaled 81 yards rushing and ‘Mr. Jackson’ just played with the Steelers all night. But this wasn’t a night you just tip your hat to greatness from Jackson and Henry like I’m sure the Steelers power brokers in the organization will do. You had one team that put their body on the line to get an extra yard at every instance and the other team in the Steelers shying away from tackles. It was an embarrassment.

It’s another offseason of the same questions.

When the Steelers went 98 yards to cut the score to 21-7 and give themselves a slimmer of hope, Baltimore immediately going 4 plays, 70 yards that was capped off by a 44-yard Derek Henry TD run was enough is enough, throw out your history with coaches, you have to clean house type of moment……….

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— Before diving into the QB future, everything starts with Mike Tomlin again. He has the contract security of making $18 million a year (with incentives), a No Trade Clause and he’s continued to show no signs of being willing to move on to another venture. Maybe he finally gets there as does the owner that a mutual parting or TRADE is best route for everybody, but at the very least, Pittsburgh’s five game implosion should get both coordinators fired. That includes Arthur Smith. Against elite teams, he got out schemed like he should be coaching high school football. Smith was below the line with his in-game management ability and consistently had a lack of answers when going off script, especially in short-yardage situations. Smith downright coached scared in the stretch run. He had no answers, handcuffed his QB and the rushing attack taking a major step back despite better quarterback play was alarming as it gets. Sometimes you just gotta say what happened is unacceptable and send a message. — 29 Yards Rushing in a Playoff Game —

QB Future: Russell Wilson after the game said he has a lot of ball left in him. The QB draft class and free agent class is brutal. Some team will watch those brilliant throws he made in the second half and believe with the right talent/coordinator around him, they can get more out of him than the Steelers did which I believe is an accurate stance. He will have a market. Pittsburgh at a minimum has to leave the door open but a lot will depend on the direction. With the likes of Patrick Maholmes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow going nowhere for years to come, Pittsburgh needs to look in the mirror and consider bold moves like Trading T.J. Watt who is entering the final year of his contract. Can you toe-the-line of staying competitive while getting significant draft capital for depreciating assets like Watt? A forward-thinking organization stuck in that 9-8, 10-7 peril the Steelers are in has to start thinking about this route. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins got a massive two points in a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers that takes away the pain of Tuesday night’s collapse. It was quite easy coming in to chalk this one up as a likely loss. Playing the Oilers has become a house of horrors and a terrible matchup for the Penguins. To come out flying in building up 4-1 and 5-1 leads to go with a number of moments where the Oilers had opportunity after opportunity to storm back, Pittsburgh didn’t break. A wonderful battled tested game from the entire lineup to the goaltender. We saw a playoff mentality from the Penguins and quite the momentum swing around the team 24 hours prior to Thursday’s win.

Stars Shine

Sidney Crosby | Goal, 2 Assists | Since Thanksgiving Crosby continues to carry the Penguins on his back. Barring a legitimate splash from the General Manager to add one or two Top-9 forwards, Pittsburgh is going to need another 35+ games for the Crosby line to carry them into the postseason. Rakell-Crosby-Rust combined for 3 goals, 4 assists in the win. If Crosby at his age and with the Four Nations Faceoff looming can maintain this level the rest of the way, it will be quite the feat.

Connor McDavid | 3 Assists | McDavid on the ice looks like he was created by a computer. The lack of Cups will always haunt his resume to some but not enough realize we all could be watching the Greatest Offensive Talent that’s ever played the game.

Leon Draisaitl | 2 Goals, 7 SOG, 8 Attempts | Draisaitl netted goals 30, 31 on the season and is scoring at a 62 goal pace. While Draisaitl doesn’t possess the dynamic flashiness McDavid does, his ability to control the play in such a methodical way is something else and so rare. Not to mention he can put the puck in the net from anywhere in the offensive zone.

Another Goaltender Swing? Coming into the homestand Pittsburgh mapped out Tristan Jarry to start the first two games of the homestand. That changed with Tuesday’s third period debacle. Alex Nedeljkovic’s 40 save performance, and a number of sprawling saves has re-opened the door for him to take some starts away from Jarry. Still, last season’s late run was a mirage for Nedeljkovic. You start trying to throw him there out too much, the consistency starts lacking which is why he is who he is. But there’s no denying his battle level is night and day above Jarry’s and when Nedeljkovic is on his game, he has moments where he comes up with those big saves to jumpstart momentum and get the crowd into the game.

Have Penguins found something with Hayes at 3rd line Center Spot? Talk in the Penguins organization was when came out of the lineup last month is the coaching staff no longer believed Hayes could play at a good enough level 5 vs 5. This is a guy who isn’t quick enough off the boards to play the wing effectively anymore but put him at center and give him some wingers who know how to at least stick handle, Hayes can still create 1-on-1 offense when he has time and space. Hayes has been a welcomed addition in someone outside of the Crosby line creating their own offense. Word is assistant coach To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

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A five game homestand was a golden opportunity this week for the Penguins. There is also the chance a bad homestand sinks the Penguins. Despite points in three straight, the Penguins are now riding a four-game losing streak and have lost five of six games since Christmas Break with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers coming to town Thursday night.

A 3-1 lead with eight minutes remaining saw things come crashing down for the Penguins, where getting a clean two points from the Columbus Blue Jackets was there for the taking.

“We had complete control of the game,” said Mike Sullivan. “We don’t execute on an exchange on our breakout. The puck ends up in the back of our net,” Sullivan added as Dmitri Voronkov scored with 7:55 left to play and Adam Fantilli scored a power play goal with 2:36 remaining in regulation off a Blake Lizotte slashing penalty.

Sullivan was critical of the time and space Pittsburgh gave on both goals against.

“A lot of it just boils down to details,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we’re pressuring collectively as well as we were. And so we’re giving them time and space to operate….The opportunities to clear we don’t get them.”

The talking point after the game was again Tristan Jarry. Defensive breakdown/Puck luck were bigger factors than Jarry not making a save but this just always seems to be the story with Jarry.

He struggles to close games and early goals against continue to be a maddening trend. It’s about on par with the Steelers first quarter offense this season.

In 19 Appearances, Jarry has allowed a goal 13 times within the first ‘five’ shots of a game | 1st Shot – First Goal | Jarry has now allowed a goal on the first shot an alarming six times this season after Columbus scored on their first shot Tuesday night. Second later the Jackets also hit a right post that almost got past Jarry.

Tristan Jarry gives the Penguins a better chance than Alex Nedeljkovic but that shouldn’t be a pat on the back for Jarry. There just continues to be no signs Jarry is ever going to be the guy to carry a meddling team.

The fan base is in its right to believe the best goaltender in the organization is currently in Wilkes Barre because of blown decisions by the General Manager. The two-year deal for Nedeljkovic has been a major issue for the Penguins to be able to move on from him and Kyle Dubas nightmare 2023 Summer continues to pop up with the commitment he gave Tristan Jarry and a defenseman on the roster signed four more seasons with a cap hit pushing $5 million a season that’s now a regular in the press box.

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— If Pittsburgh eventually falls out of the race, the disappointing part will be that Erik Karlsson has finally looked the part of a game changer on the ice. Shift in and shift out he’s impacting the game at a level management dreamed of with the August 2023 trade. Karlsson’s explosiveness has looked the best it has in years.

— : Rickard Rakell with 20 goals on the season and on pace for close to 40 goals, remains an extremely unlikely To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— : Michael Bunting is a possibly different story. Bunting is very well likely internally by the Penguins but there’s some smoke around him To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Pittsburgh’s Top Three Lines were all 60% or better in driving possession in the shootout loss to the Blue Jackets . Bunting-Glass-Beauvillier were @ 81.3CF%, O’Connor-Hayes-Puljujarvi 64CF%; and the Crosby unit at 60CF%

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–

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The Penguins starting tonight embark on a five-game home stand vs Columbus, Edmonton, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Seattle. Five Games in Seven Days, Pittsburgh will already be at the 46-game mark by next Wednesday. Pittsburgh needs to come out of the homestand 3-2 and ideally you want to get wins against Columbus and Ottawa, among the glut of teams in the mix for the final wildcard spot and there are opportunities emerging for two wildcard spots to be in play as the Boston Bruins coaching change boost is starting to wear off a bit.

Points% Entering Today

Boston .536%; Ottawa .526%; Montreal .513%; Columbus .500%; Pittsburgh .500%; Philadelphia .487%; Detroit .487%.

Below that group is New York Rangers .474% and the New York Islanders .463%.

This is a pretty large homestand for the Penguins where they need to do some damage to start some sort of separation as the Penguins enter tonight 11-7-2 on home ice, compared to the road where the Penguins have won just six of 21 Road Games thus far this season.

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— Anthony Beauvillier fifth on the team with 9 goals has seen himself fall out of favor with the coaching staff since the break. With Pittsburgh aggressively trying to move a forward to create some roster flexibility, there’s been some trade rumblings around Beauvillier in recent days with one deal out West for a minor league forward in return. Beauvillier is expected to be a healthy scratch with Jesse Puljujarvi in contention to dress for time in a month. Pittsburgh actively tried moving Puljujarvi over the last little while to no avail so far.

— Kevin Hayes has looked excellent in two games after being a healthy scratch for nine games. Pittsburgh is still running out a fourth line that is pretty much non-playable and demoting Blake Lizotte to the fourth line has taken away his effectiveness. Adds another layer to how impressive the Penguins turnaround has been when they’re not even dress their best 12 forwards……….

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— A few teams have made it known of interest in acquiring both To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell in his final year as Hurricanes GM, had a blockbuster trade worked out for Elias Pettersson. No surprise there is some smoke around the Blue Jackets who have the young assets to be in the ball game. The Canucks, though, have pressure on them that despite Pettersson not having a No Trade Clause, they are expected to be considerate where they send him if they decide to move the 26 year old star. Super Agent Pat Brisson has been heavily involved and two destinations out there, Buffalo and Columbus are not strongly favored by the player and his camp. There are some surprise teams the Canucks have engaged with, including the East leading Washington Capitals.

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Lineup

Rakell-Crosby-Rust

Bunting-Malkin-Glass

O’Connor-Hayes-Puljujarvi

Nieto-Lizotte-Acciari

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Pettersson – Letang

Grzelcyk – Karlsson

Pickering – Joseph

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Starting Goaltender: Tristan Jarry

: Matt Grzelcyk with 20 Assists in 41 games is averaging 0.49 Assists P/G. His career average is 0.27 Assists P/G. With the front office not keen on paying Marcus Pettersson the long-term money he deserves, the organization right now is said to be ‘strong lean’ on keeping To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! The Penguins internally are already mapping out the roster for next season where spots have to be allotted for Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty and there’s noise in the organization 2021 2nd round pick Tristan Broz is also starting to be grouped in with those two of players of young players who will be ready for roles to start 2025-2026 and provide an impact. Some in the organization feel Broz is even above Koivunen and McGroarty are being ready to play in the NHL now. Not ceiling as Koivunen has the highest of the three but NHL ready and maybe safest player of the three could be Broz who has Bryan Rust attributes………..The numbers are certainly not there but ‘as of today’ continue to get the impression Cody Glass is a player the Penguins will have To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Eastern Conference can be regarded as having six Safe Playoff Teams in Washington, New Jersey, Carolina, Toronto, Florida, and Tampa Bay. Hard to see any of those six not making it. Pittsburgh last season down the stretch had two windows to get in; 3rd Place in the Metro and the last Wildcard spot. This season things are most likely going to be limited to the final wild card spot or possibly both wildcard spots in a best-case scenario. The odds were much stronger to sneak in last season due to 3rd place in the Metro being up for grabs to go with the wildcard spot.

Pittsburgh dropping two of three out of the break against the Islanders, Red Wings has them still sitting around a .500 PT%, playing below last year’s pace and for now six points off the final wild card pace. Wrote about it a few weeks ago, Pittsburgh with the hole they put themselves in, need that final wildcard spot to likely settle around 86-87 points. With 43 games to go, Pittsburgh will need to play around .600 hockey the rest of the way to get to the 90–91-point range, which is accumulating 52 out of a possible remaining 86 points. Something to keep in mind, the last 16 games the Penguins have played right around .600 hockey……………..

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Will die on the hill that making the postseason this season should have more weight to Penguins management than it does. It can have a big financial windfall long-term in not losing the average fan and just getting a buzz around the team moving forward that they can actually toe this line of somewhat being interesting and still build for the future. When you start missing the playoffs three consecutive seasons, it easily starts leading to six or seven straight non-playoff seasons when your improving prospect base is still bottom-10 and the core is on its last leg. Doesn’t mean Kyle Dubas veers off his long-term plan, but let’s not act like moving a second rounder or third rounder for something that helps now is going to crush the future. If the Penguins continue on this swing of playing around .600 hockey for next couple weeks, this month is the time to make some tweaks to better position themselves than wait.

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The Penguins believed they dodged a bullet on Kris Letang. Letang was skating towards the bench in Saturday’s game vs the Islanders and felt his knee buckle and [hide] there were significant concerns internally imaging was going to find something wrong. Instead, all Letang is dealing with is a tweak and could return Sunday. [/hide]

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The Penguins and Jesse Puljujarvi’s agent Markus [hide] Lehto continue to try to work on a solution. Puljujarvi prior to Christmas made a soft trade request due to a lack of playing time, according to a source, and the two sides have been trying to work out a new destination. Puljujarvi’s $800,000 minors salary is problematic for some teams if they acquire him and things don’t work out. A Penguins source said Mike Sullivan will never play Puljujarvi again after the request, though, I think the individual might have been joking? or Not…….. The Puljujarvi camp was led to believe the former 4th overall pick was going to be claimed by the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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A significant development in Vancouver has emerged where the Vancouver Canucks are heading down the path of no returns where NHL executives around the league strongly believe one of JT Miller and Elias Pettersson will be traded by the deadline. The Canucks internally have pretty much made the decision the two can no longer co-exist and it’s bringing down the organization.

So who goes?

Two sources close to the situation indicate head coach Rick Tocchet is at the point where he can’t stand Miller and has been a strong advocate behind the scenes for trading Miller, while the front office is more lean trade Pettersson. Tochett’s weight in the organization, though, is not as strong as it once was and close associates of Tocchet indicate To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

NHL teams regard the Canucks as drastically undervaluing Pettersson, while drastically overvaluing JT Miller. Pettersson, 26, and signed for seven more seasons, 3/4 of the league To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Kansas City Chiefs rolled to a 29-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day and another December collapse is eerily similar to past years, or is it? This year is different because less than two weeks ago there was a unanimous feeling around the Pittsburgh Steelers their ceiling was possibly more than just winning one playoff game. The Steelers have gone from being a team looked at that could beat anybody in a one game playoff if things broke their way to suddenly looking like a team that is crumbling in all phases.

Pittsburgh’s Christmas Day loss to the Chiefs was different than the past two losses. 0-3 in the three-game gauntlet with three straight losses of 14 points, 17 points and 19 points, what the Chiefs did to the Steelers was mentally break the Steelers on the coaching, offensive and defensive side of the ball. Even after the Ravens loss there was still a ‘belief’ around the team.

Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid was Tom Brady/Bill Belichick Esque in those haunted meetings of Steelers past in how Brady/Belichick would just torment the Steelers scheme wise in being a step ahead at every turn. The Chiefs are what a Super Bowl/Elite Franchise looks like. The Steelers had every look of a pretender Wednesday afternoon.

The biggest question is whether there’s even a glimmer of hope to any of this being fixable? The last time the Steelers were remotely good enough to at least win a playoff game was in 2020 and when the collapse started, they never recovered. Mike Tomlin has an even bigger task with this group because the doubt inside the team has taken over. They went from a high of believing they were a Super Bowl Contender to now looking like a bottom-tier playoff team that will get waxed by a Buffalo, Baltimore in the wildcard round and or likely be a 1-2 pt underdog against the Texans, a caliber of team two weeks ago the Steelers looked head and shoulders above.

Finger pointing on the defensive side is really hitting home. Multiple players after the game are sending signal after signal to beat reporters there’s a bad apple among the group. The Steelers defensively were in disarray and that group remains a bigger issue than the offensive side of the ball. Let’s not forget this was a 16-10 game in the third quarter. Kansas City only put up 29 points, but it felt like they put up 50 in just how smooth, dominant they were at moving the ball…..On the offensive side, though, George Pickens’ frustration with Russell Wilson was seen for the first time this season. The blame game, doubt everywhere in the room is the Steelers biggest issue moving forward.

Even with Russell Wilson I can’t remember a bigger swing in the pendulum than what’s happened to him. Less than 14 days ago it was all about ‘you gotta give him the Baker Mayfield contract’ after the season and he looked everything of the part that the Steelers truly had their QB for at least the next couple seasons. I’m one of the biggest Wilson backers out there and have been from the start. But, another bad outing against the Bengals, do you consider a quarterback change going into the playoffs just to try to provide a spark? You can’t rule out anything. It’s crazy how quickly things have gone south.

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Bryan Rust on his OT winner beat Jusso Saros with his eyes before the puck even left his stick. He’s really sent a message to Team USA these last couple weeks.

We will see where this all goes but the mood in the Penguins room is just so drastically different than three to four weeks ago. There’s a belief starting to emerge. Thursday’s 5-4 come from behind win was against a Nashville team that is better than their record. Talent wise, up and down the lineup, Nashville has a much better roster than Pittsburgh and especially in goal. And the Penguins didn’t do themselves many favors. You had the lazy stick, tripping penalties; there were a lot of cracks defensively in the neutral zone and Tristan Jarry struggled with his rebound control and was off his angles for much of the night.

Pittsburgh’s Four Best Players; Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson won them two points. The biggest difference between Karlsson’s last season in San Jose to now has been his inability to blow shots past goaltenders for the last year in a half. His third period blast showed that ability is still there. If he can get his shot to come back to life the Penguins are going to be in good position.

Rumblings

What might be most impressive with the Penguins turnaround is good arguments can be made the club is not even dressing their best lineup. Matt Nieto really one of their Top-12 forwards? Also have to factor in there’s been some slippage in Evgeni Malkin’s game, especially 5 vs 5. Pittsburgh’s second line is just not good enough.

An intriguing development emerging is whether there’s a way for Kyle Dubas to toe the status quo future/present line between now and the deadline in maybe losing ground in one area of the club and gaining in another area?

There’s a belief in the Penguins organization in the last couple weeks due to the d-man market, they may nab a better return for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! But, is it time to look more seriously at being in the buying mode for immediate and not the typical buy-low type moves they’ve been doing for the last year?

NHL GM’s are like vultures right now peeking the Sabres interest in trying to build offers for youngsters Dylan Cozens and Zach Benson. The futures considerations here is too risky for the Penguins…….

A name to watch, though, is To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins taking Kevin Hayes off the St. Louis Blues books over the summer continues to be the gift that keeps on giving for the Penguins organization. Wednesday, the two sides struck another deal with PO Joseph returning to Pittsburgh for nothing more than future considerations. Indications are based off games played Pittsburgh [hide] at worst will surrender a sixth-round pick eventually. The return of Joseph was pretty much a waiver claim with the Penguins dealing with injuries, ect. At the end of the day, though, when healthy Pittsburgh’s three best left-handed defensemen are clearly Marcus Pettersson-Owen Pickering and now Joseph. Don’t think the coaching staff will see if that way as internally they have remained high on Matt Grzelcyk and we will see how this plays out. Joseph was a little undervalued by the Penguins brass over the summer. He has some really good moments down the stretch last season in a #1 pairing when Kris Letang’s game had really taken a nose-dive last spring.[/hide]

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Playoff Buzz in Pittsburgh? (.500P%)

Long, long, long way to go, but for first time all season, some believers are coming out of the woodwork among coaches, evaluators around the league that not to write the Penguins off as a Last-Team-In playoff caliber team. Quite the turnaround from late November……… Mike Sullivan and his staff are earning a ton of praise for changes made to how Pittsburgh is defending the neutral zone of late. One former Penguin tells me Sullivan has adopted the same bottled up the neutral zone trap system he implemented in the 2017 post-season when Pittsburgh played less of a run and gun style than the 2016 run.

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Rumblings

The Penguins are bracing for a 2-3 week timetable regarding To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Could Pettersson have played his last game as a Penguins? To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!……….. Woes: Nashville won the offseason and enter tonight’s matchup dead-last in the NHL in points (24) and points% (.375). Predators are also dead-last in Goals For with 72. They are trying to grind out 2-1 games now and it’s only a matter of time before the ball eventually drops with the head coach due to the great suppression from their high-end players and it’s not just the newcomers. Roman Josi 85 points in 82 games last season, 23 points in 29 games and a minus-21 rating this season. Filip Forsberg 94 points in 82 games in 2023/2024, 22 in 32 games this season. Unless father time has hit everyone at one time on that roster 30 and over, just stunning drops offs down the line…………

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Pre-Game Buzz

— Cody Glass and Philip Tomasino get to face their former team tonight and you got some obvious motivation for both when you face a team that didn’t believe in you and in Glass’ case Nashville basically paid a draft pick price for Pittsburgh to take him. Of the two the spotlight is on Tomasino. His phenomenal start, as expected, has leveled off a bit. Pointless in his last four games and just 3 shots on goal during that span and a drop off in creating has been noticeable since the Avalanche game………

— Interesting Goaltending Decision Tonight: Do you reward Alex Nedeljkovic for a solid start against a pretty good Kings team or go right back to Tristan Jarry? Three games in five days and games looming against New Jersey, Philadelphia, Nedejkovic seems more likely to go tonight if he’s going to see any action in one of the next three games, though, don’t be surprised if its Jarry. Until futher notice, the coaching staff is no longer looking at things on a game by basis. Jarry is the #1. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins have won six of eight games, yet they still enter Saturday with the 5th worst points% (.484, 9th worst in NHL) in the Eastern Conference. It still shows the hole they’re in and after a 9-2 thrashing of the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh is still sitting with the second worst Goal/Differential in the East.

It’s going to take at least a good six to eight weeks run for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas to possibly veer off path, even a bit………

Excluding the Outlier Covid Seasons, since the 2011-2012 season no team in the Eastern Conference has made the postseason with a point% below .555. Last season 91 points and a .555% got you in. Could this year’s threshold be closer to the 86-87 mid .530’s point% range for the final spot in the Conference? The Flyers with the eighth best points% in the conference entering Saturday are playing at an 87-point pace; Boston ninth in the conference in points% also playing at an 87-point pace.

The Penguins hole obviously remain large. They are still sitting at a 79-point pace, eight points below the current projections. However, the club is slowly crawling back to relevancy in the standings and if and I mean if they are still hanging around in six weeks, the organization needs to think hard about prioritizing making the post-season. That’s not going out and moving a first-round pick for a rental, but if the right player or players are out there, even say a player in their early 30’s that can help, moving a third rounder for a true rental or even a second rounder should be on the table. They’re running into a problem where they have a really spoiled fan base, and the gate revenue is starting to become troubling to some in the organization. The Penguins are seeing a realization that the fan base is going to stay home for a bottom-tier or even mid team. Spending hundreds, thousands of dollars to watch aging stars for a team that’s half trying to win with this present/future plan isn’t something the city is getting behind. That’s becoming a talking point in the organization. If this becomes a down year where you can possibly get in with 86, 87 points, first-round playoff revenue and changing the mood of the franchise could go a long way.

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MORE BUZZ

— Despite losing his no trade protection this coming July 1, the Penguins have and will continue to operate like Bryan Rust has full no trade protection into the future. Multiple clubs who have tried to trade for Rust over the last year believe because of Rust value on the ice and in the room, Pittsburgh has tabbed him next to Sidney Crosby as the only two untouchables on the roster. And the Penguins have received significant offers for Rust over the last six to nine months. We’re talking To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— During contract negotiations in the summer, Pat Brisson and his associates at CAA Sports presented Sidney Crosby with a deep dive into the Penguins organization in a sense of what they projected were going to be some really rough years from 2025-2026 on out. They gave Crosby every bit of information they could to make sure he truly realized what he was continuing to sign up for. Among them of a detailed To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— The dream scenario for some rival General Managers, including one with close ties to Sidney Crosby, has long been the Penguins collapse between now and February, Sidney Crosby after playing for Team Canada just can’t take it anymore and To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Kyle Dubas with five years left on his contract and a belief in league circles he has an eye on other ventures through FSG’s massive networks down the road, has made it his top priority that the Penguins history is too rich to let them completely bottom out. Dubas has built up the draft pick war chest and the prospect base is improved with a number of players who project to be some sort of contributors. However, there is nothing in the system or on the roster that is going to move the needle significantly between now and the next year or so.

The Penguins internally, at least Chairman Tom Werner keeps portraying this message to close friend Pat Brisson as the two speak multiple times a month To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

It’s 2025 Free Agency.

Financially Pittsburgh’s ownership group can compete with the Rangers, Maple Leafs of the NHL in doing a $100 million dollar contract with $90-$92 million of it paid in signing bonuses. Under the Lemieux group that wasn’t feasible, but it now is under FSG.

At the end of the day the Penguins owe it to Sidney Crosby to try get him a new running mate where you no longer have to rely on a Sidney Crosby inching towards 40 years old being your best player anymore. Pittsburgh behind the scenes right now should be setting the stage like so many rival clubs are already doing in trying to get a seat at the table this summer for Mitch Marner or Mikko Rantanen.

Marner despite the Kyle Dubas connection is said to be a really tough sell. He likes the big city lights or would be drawn to the California beaches, sources say. Maybe Marner being sold on being the man for years to come could be a major selling point + less taxes/cost of living than staying in Canada or signing in New York/California, but Mikko Rantanen is regarded in league circles as being a different story.

Indications are his camp plans to push a $14 million+ a year price tag and will be willing To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! You’re not going to get a star through the draft like Rantanen unless you pick #1 down the road and acquiring a Marner or Rantanen type via trade sometime down the road would also crush your prospect/draft pick system. Getting a seat at the table which would mean a willingness to do a 7 year, $100 Million deal and Pittsburgh should consider it as the price of doing business. Despite the fact you would be signing Rantanen for Age 29 through compared to Age 28 through for Marner, few are in this league with a 6-4, 215 frame as skilled and dynamic as Rantanen who is absolutely not just a product of the Avalanche’s free-wheeling system.

Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has often liked to use the Rangers retool in the late 2010’s as an example of what he’s trying to build in Pittsburgh. If you want to accomplish that you have to go out and get your Artemi Panarin like the Rangers did in free agency. That type of talent is never coming to Pittsburgh via trade with the system Pittsburgh currently has…….To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to be regarded in league circles as ‘lean’ trade Drew O’Connor than possibly playing things out and resigning O’Connor in season or after the season. A main factor at play is the Penguins have To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

To their dismay, one feeling around the team is the coaching staff in particular have been bracing [hide] for an O’Connor trade sooner than later. An NHL executive with a Western Conference team that has intertest in O’Connor expects O’Connor to be moved within the next month and said once Pittsburgh gets comfortable internally with To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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MORE BUZZ

— The Penguins four game winning streak has quieted the scrutiny towards Mike Sullivan for now. Had Pittsburgh moved on from Sullivan after the Utah game, if there’s one franchise that would have hired him within five minutes it’s tonight’s opponent the New York Rangers. New York has constantly had their ear on Mike Sullivan’s situation in Pittsburgh dating back to the 2023 summer……..

— The Penguins in the draft pick buying business potentially taking on Jacob Trouba’s To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— Hearing Bryan Rust ended up the 16th rated To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— The Rangers shopped Chris Kreider around in attempt to clear space and get assets for a big return at young star. Vancouver, Boston, Carolina, To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Ownerships message to Sidney Crosby’s camp back in August was an organization buy-in of Kyle Dubas plan of 2024-2025 being in a sense a pause year of trying to accumulate assets with the intention or at least a push from ownership to being aggressive towards re-tooling the roster for the 2025-2026 season. Are we seeing some signs of all parties being aligned?

The Penguins are starting to emerge in league circles of a team that’s no longer just obsessed of buying change of scenery players on the cheap. They’re starting to get in some discussion’s To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

But, what we’re starting to hear on the Penguins is management targeting that low 20’s to 27 year range on trade candidates with term. There has certainly been discussions between the Penguins and To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Signs in the industry the Penguins might eventually be aggressive in trying to compete in 2025-2026? When the Boston Bruins put To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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More Buzz: How much did Kyle Dubas and his staff like David Jiricek? Pittsburgh’s last offer To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Following the Utah loss the Penguins looked close to 100% finished with the season. Talent, coaching issues, core showing sign after sign they don’t want to be coached anymore, it’s been quite the turnaround this week. Things were truly getting close to being unwatchable and it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet.

At least for a week there’s been one vital system change with less risk taking with Pittsburgh’s D-men in pinching along the wall. It took years for this to happen, but I’m told the team had a lengthy film session prior to Tuesday’s game of changes in this area.

“I don’t think it’s by coincidence we’re able to string three in a row here. I think the style of game that we’re playing is conducive to winning, and it gives us a chance,” head coach Mike Sullivan said after Saturday Night’s 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames.

Was this week a fluke or something to build on? We will find out quickly with Florida, New York Rangers, Toronto and Colorado looming on the schedule over the next four games.

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Key Takeaways/Rumblings

Tomasino 2 Goals in 3 Games: I am always cautious with these change of scenery players to give a good 15-20 games before we draw any long-term conclusions. The adrenaline rush more often than not rubs off and what so-so players have been for their career will often play out. However, the Penguins have given Philip Tomasino a chance from the start in putting him involved right away in a second line and second power play role. Maybe they’re finally learning on the fly here for once. The Malkin/Tomasino line was severely underwater for the second time in three games together (17 CF% vs VAN, 33 CF% vs CGY) so that’s something to still keep an eye on and we’ll see if he can hold up in a 2nd line role long-term, but on the second power play unit alone Tomasino has given the Penguins a better skilled option on the left side.

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Lizotte/Beauvillier finding key role together? | The Penguins coaching staff always looks for pairs of two’s with their forward group and they might have something with the Blake Lizotte/Anthony Beauvillier. Beauvillier now up to 7 goals is over matched in a top-line role but is much better suited in a speed/skill role as a bottom-6 forward. There’s a nice mesh developing with Beauvillier’s creativity and Lizotte’s speed/energy game. Lizotte in averaging just 10 minutes a game, is up to 4 goals in 10 games and similar trend to his play in Los Angeles, he’s posting positive underlying numbers with a 60 Scoring Chance For Percentage thus far.

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Pickering Continues to Look the Part | 2022 1st round pick Owen Pickering returned to the lineup and game after game the 20-year-old looks the part. The Penguins didn’t expect him to be NHL-ready this soon but he has certainly arrived. The Pickering/Ryah Shea pairing had a team-best 67 CF%, on the ice together for 14 shot attempts and just 7 against. 5 vs 5 the pairings was on the ice for 2 Goals For and 0 Against, including 0 High Danger Chances Against. The pairing was +70% in Scoring Chance Percentage.

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Rumblings: The price Minnesota gave up for defenseman David Jiricek has certainly taken some aback, especially among pundits, but not really in league circles where the view from the Wild’s end is that’s a risk you take when you’re in their position. Quite a few NHL executives that love the move for Minnesota long-term as the Wild brass & others view Jiricek’s ceiling as a top-2 pairing defenseman for years to come……. ………The Penguins and Ryan Graves agent Allain Roy To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Are the winds changing in Pittsburgh?

Pittsburgh eyes their first three game winning streak of the season Saturday night and this group actually played a smart brand of hockey Friday night in a 2-1 win over the Bruins.

What’s been a positive so far this week is the Penguins stacking two wins in games that were against two different styles of opponents. A little more run and gun game against the Canucks and a more structured type of win against the less risk Bruins.

The Penguins got an up and down Canucks team on a back-to-back with a goaltender who would probably get lit up right now in the ECHL and the Penguins were able to take advantage after their embarrassing play over the weekend. The Boston game played out in a likely manner. Boston can’t score at home and under interim coach Joe Sacco the Bruins have tightened things up and are trying to win close games. You saw the Penguins smartly take the game as it came to them. Pick their spots when to be aggressive and it paid off in coming away with a one-goal win.

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More Buzz

— Tristan Jarry back-to-back wins and has secured points for the Penguins in three of his last four starts. Jarry’s 31 save performance was not only the first time in 13 starts he allowed less than two goals but how the Penguins and Jarry closed out the game was a possible building block. Against the Bruins Jarry played big and you’re seeing Jarry start to take games away from Alex Nedeljkovic and it’s time to start having a conversation about Nedeljkovic who projects to start tonight at home against the Calgary Flames. Nedeljkovic with a team-worst .877 SV% on the season, has an abysmal .758 High Danger Save Percentage through 11 games. The pressure is going to start turning on him pretty soon.

— Say what you want about him but when Erik Karlsson is on like he has been the last two games, this team looks a lot different. With Kris Letang no longer having any elite level offense left in him, the coaches have finally figured things out that pairing Karlsson with the Sidney Crosby line is a must.

— Drew O’Connor is a winger who is at his best when he plays a heavy game down low like the third period against the Bruins. The center experiment was way overthinking things…….

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— The Penguins brass have been trying to trade for Canucks winger Nils Hoglander dating back to last year at the deadline when Pittsburgh pushed for Hoglander in the Jake Guentzel trade talks but the Canucks front office would not put him on the table. This year is a bit different….. Hoglander in the first year of a 3-year, $9 million contract, is certainly being shopped around in deals by Vancouver. A 24-goal scorer last season with a 20.0 shooting percentage that alarms some teams who are not surprised with the regression, along with his smallish stature, Hoglander is really struggling this season with 2 goals and 3 assists, managing just 23 shots on goal in 22 games. Still, since cap space was cleared with the Lars Eller trade, strong indications the Penguins have made multiple attempts to acquire Hoglander that wouldn’t necessarily involve Marcus Pettersson. Rumblings are Vancouver has eyed a possible forward for forward swap in the Hoglander PIT-VAN talks, league buzz centering around [hide] Drew O’Connor as a player of interest from Jimmy Rutherford & Co.[/hide]

— David Jiricek’s agent Allan Walsh is said in league circles to be strongly trying to facilitate a Jiricek trade to the Minnesota Wild. Pittsburgh has had their pulse on things for a few weeks now and if things got to the finish line where it would cost one of Rutger McGroarty or Owen Pickering, strong sense in Penguins organization the play would be to move To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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

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Buzz: We are definitely in new times with where things stand with the Pittsburgh Penguins when you see some of the local media and fan base getting excited about the Penguins acquiring Philip Tomasino. Kyle Dubas continues his stance of targeting former high draft picks that for a number of reasons have become change of scenery/reclamation projects. Tomasino has been one of those cases we see so often where he made some initial noise in his age 20 campaign and then has struggled to become a regular NHL player over multiple seasons that have now included two different GM’s/Head Coaches. Despite pretty good speed and ability to create 1-on-1 offense to go with solid underlying #’s, something has just been missing with Tomasino and will Mike Sullivan become the third coach to not view him as a reliable NHL player?

One evaluator advocated there’s not enough snarl in Tomasino’s game and his skill is not overwhelming enough to offset a poor all-around game. Sounds like Tomasino will fit in with Pittsburgh……… Nashville head coach Andrew Brunette pretty much called Tomasino lazy in his season ending press conference last May saying “I think he [Philip Tomasino] needs to take hold of our identity we’ve created here, and he has to have a little more of that in him…..Different times this year where he wanted the skill first without the work, I’m not sure he has a chance to play for us next season,” Brunette said…….Preds GM Barry Trotz was less critical but also cited last summer of Tomasino not being committed enough off the ice and his skill needed to match the off-ice habits……..

I get the analytic folks around here that have barely watched Tomasino but look at Tomasino’s AHL stats/ driving play/scoring chance numbers and are fawning over him, but how Nashville coaches viewed Tomasino is what you hear behind the scenes all the time of how teams see a league-wide problem with some many young players that have the skill to make it but don’t have the drive/want to do the tough work. Sam Poulin taking a few spots before Tomasino is a similar issue for Pittsburgh. Less high-end skill than Tomasino, but can skate, has an NHL body, but doesn’t have a mean trait in him on the ice and will likely never figure out how to adapt and make it at the NHL level as a 4th line level player. As one NHL source said of Tomasino, some are content to just be an AHL star.

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MORE RUMBLINGS

— The early feedback on Tomasino is Pittsburgh having the chance to hit on his skill would mean putting him immediately in the top-6 and give him an actual long-run. You sack him with fourth line minutes right away he’s likely not going to make it is a pretty big consensus among those with some background on Tomasino as a player on and off the ice.

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Trade Winds: The Penguins in recent days have been regarded as being aggressive in trying to shakeup their [hide] defensive corps. Will any move be one that moves the needle even a bit or will it be the same focus Pittsburgh has taken at the forward position? Low risk, high draft pick ‘Change of Scenery’ type targets? There was a lot of buzz around the league last night of Owen Pickering for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Sources say Pittsburgh scouts have filed multiple evaluation reports To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday Night dropped their 14th game out their last 19 and you’re seeing game after game where the Penguins are overwhelmed in just all three phases against even average teams like Utah that can skate, play an actual system and oh year play hard.

This hockey club is getting obliterated on multiple occasions now. Nine of the Penguins 12 losses this season have been by three goals or more and in many of these it like five or six goal losses.;

6-0 loss to the Rangers, 7-1 loss to the Stars, 5-1 and 4-1 losses to the Hurricanes, 6-2 loss to the Blue Jackets, 4-1 and 6-3 losses to the Jets, 4-0 loss to the Oilers where they gave up almost 100 shot attempts and now Utah comes into the building on a three-game losing streak and skate all over the Penguins and deliver a 6-1 win.

The Penguins enter Sunday with the NHL’s Worst Minus-34 Goal Differential and the next closest team is San Jose at Minus-27. That’s an indictment on the players and coaching staff.

The box score Saturday night was pretty telling of the eye test. Sidney Crosby lone goal scorer in the game, had 7 shots on goal. No other Penguins forward had more than 2 shots on goal (Evgeni Malkin & Noel Acciari 2 SOG). The other nine forwards had 1 shot on goal or less. That’s a team just going through the motions.

This line the organization has tried to tow has clearly failed where ‘we think the older core is still good enough to keep the team interesting combined with what they feel is an elite coach behind the bench, while the General Manager tries to prioritize the future.’

It’s bombing. The Penguins fan base is spoiled, there’s no denying that, and the team is heading down a path where they’re going to lose the average fan for now and the even the diehards are not going spend $100’s of dollars a night to go watch a team that doesn’t play with any heart. The Philadelphia Flyers for example is a rebuilding team that lacks star young talent, but they keep the fan base interested because they have an identity and play hard every night. The head coach has laid the foundation and culture a city can buy into.

The Penguins have to figure something here on this end and some of their older core is doing no favors in setting the example.

Kris Letang is just absolutely shot as a player. The signs were there dating back to last season and their being reinforced this season. Diminish ability, disinterested defensively, former GM Ron Hextall now looks like a genius where he so called disrespected Letang with constant 2-3 year offers before FSG stepped in during June 2022 talks and forced Hextall’s hands to do the six year deal. There’s even times the great Sidney Crosby has looked disinterested at times this season and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Could the team lose an Evgeni Malkin mentally as season progresses? This group has won so much, we’re already seeing this is not going to be as easy for them to want to bring it every night, especially in the dark days of January and February.

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Browns 24 – Steelers 19 (F)

Brutal Loss, Embarrassing Loss, there’s a number of ways to chalk up the Steelers 24-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns Thursday Night. Falling to 0-8 in road divisional Thursday Night games, the Pittsburgh Steelers once again got the Mike Tomlin experience. I’m a major Tomlin backer. He’s perfect for this team, city, and his ability to deal with today’s type of player is significant asset in the building and wanting players to come to Pittsburgh. But this has to go down as one of Tomlin’s worst coaching performances in his great career and there’s no denying that. On National TV, Tomlin’s Coach of the Year chances took quite a hit in how just decision after decision backfired. Hard to remember a game where it felt like every critical decision went south. While the loss was a stain on Tomlin’s COTY chances, where do you start with Arthur Smith?

An atrocious night from the Steelers play-caller. Smith really went out of his way to honor Matt Canada on the one-year Anniversary of Matt Canada’s firing. For a guy who strives to re-emerge as hot coaching candidate again this off-season, Smith was so bad in prime time, this night will do a lot of damage to how he’s viewed in league circles, no matter how much good he does from here on out. For all of the head scratching decisions from Tomlin/Smith that constantly shot the team in the foot from the first series on, what team with the game on the line puts their back-up quarterback in the game to try to throw a bomb down the left side when you needed four yards?

The Justin Fields change of pace spark has to be an element of surprise like it was against the Baltimore. The Steelers tried to push it and push it way too much vs the Browns. Aside from the 30-yard Fields run that sparked a 6 play, 69-yard drive that got the Steelers life, the team was discombobulated every time Fields came on the field. If this is how it’s going to be moving forward, the Steelers have to find a happy medium. Running a QB out there for a play and one back on isn’t going to work. Russell Wilson had just delivered a go-ahead touchdown in a snowstorm and was 18 of 22 at the time with 3:30 remaining in the game. You need four yards and your QB1 was completing 90% of his passes, yet you keep him off the field for your backup quarterback to not try to use his best skill of running to keep the clock going or even a roll out, but a low percentage deep pass? That was insanity on so many levels.

Stat of the Game: Russell Wilson on 3rd/4th Down vs the Browns:

12/13, 203 yards, 1 TD, 144.4 QB Rating

Russell Wilson’s deep passing game is hiding a lot of warts with the offensive coordinator in that there remains little to no creativity from the Steelers offense, a problem since 2019. Smith is not fooling a good defensive coordinator with these mimic formations when he throws a Connor Heyward, Cordarrell Pattersson on the field.

At the end of the day, this was a game the Steelers needed at least a C-Level Coaching performance from their head coach/coordinators since a lot of their big guns were no shows. T.J. Watt had a dud performance while Myles Garrett was a game wrecker; Minkah Fitzpatrick was in no man’s land for much of the night in coverage and Joey Porter couldn’t make a stop down the stretch. The good news for the Steelers they still control their destiny for the AFC North. The negative is it’s not hard to see Joe Burrow torching this defense next Sunday and suddenly you’re sitting at 8-4. Not taking care of business against a then 2-8 Browns team could have consequences.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered their eighth blown multi-goal lead of the season in Tuesday Night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s now eight times out of 21 games. Leading 2-0 after forty minutes, the Penguins saw a two-goal lead once again evaporate for the second straight game in the third period.

The Penguins started strong. They were back pressuring in waves that was seeing them stifle the Lightning early on zone entries and offensively there were signs of life in the Penguins getting to the tough areas in he net-front area. First 20-30 minutes of play, Pittsburgh was putting a workman-like performance together. As the game progressed, though, all of that started to go out the window.

Tampa Bay despite trailing, kept gradually carrying the play and out-attempted the Penguins 57-22 over the final forty minutes of regulation. The third period was as lopsided in play as you would see. Tampa out-chanced the Penguins 18-3 in the third period that saw the Lightning force overtime.

Overall, in the game the Lightning out-shot the Penguins 35-19 and a staggering 85-38 edge in shot attempts.

Mike Sullivan after the game was as heated as he’s been all season in calling out his club.

“We have to compete harder. We need more guys to compete harder and pay more attention to detail. And we need to take more pride in playing defense,” Sullivan said.

Is the language Sullivan is speaking basically an indictment on him and his coaching staff? Kyle Dubas sacked him with the roster he gave him but lack of compete, pride and attention of details continue to be signs of a group that can’t get by on talent anymore and doesn’t want to do the hard work it takes to off-set other areas.

We all know the logistics surrounding Sullivan and how many facets there are if the Penguins decided to move on from him. Last thing they want to do is do it in-season out of respect for the two-time Stanley Cup Winner but is management’s hands eventually going to be forced?

Things are headed down a path where Sullivan is no longer being evaluated on wins and losses. Development, structure/attention to details, a team always playing hard as more young players come into the lineup is of more importance in the evaluation process and this staff isn’t getting A’s and B’s on that front. They’re more in the mold of bringing home D’s.

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

These were not the Tampa Bay Lightning of three years ago. They no longer have three legit scoring lines that come at your in waves, but it was still night and day of the talent disparity. However, that’s not to say there should be excuses for how below average the Penguins are with the little things on the ice that to make up for the lack of talent, they have to be near elite at to overachieve this season.

Assistant coach David Quinn who netted a three-year contract this summer from the Penguins, is not only best friends with Mike Sullivan, but also has a very close relationship to FSG chairman Tom Werner that was not realized until very recently. Some inside the organization believe Dubas could sell To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Notebook Buzz

~~~Rumblings, Musings, Opinions ~~~

Vasily Ponomarev vs Jake Guentzel Tonight! Guentzel returns to Pittsburgh for the second time, his first trip as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As i stated the morning after the Guentzel trade, the Penguins did a lot better with their return than most pundits gave them. Still, there is always going to be second guessing surrounding the Guentzel situation. Guentzel was always going to resign for $8.5-$9 million a year if the new front office had actually made a ‘real’ offer to him and showed him some love that he was a priority. At the end of the day Dubas was just locked from the start that there had to be a significant change somewhere and Jake Guentzel was always going to be it since he was a pending UFA and didn’t have the nostalgia around him the future hall-of-famers. Guentzel was the easy out to make. Still, many in the organization believe the forward-thinking move was to resign Guentzel and trade Bryan Rust who had significant trade value around the league………….

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— Buzz inside the Penguins organization: Kyle Dubas does not see Kris Letang in the same light as Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin (which is fully understandable) and an interesting development is that there is a bit more interest in Kris Letang than you may expect with the significant declining play, contract and health history. Letang is said to have a passing interest in finishing his career in Canada and is not locked in that it’s Montreal or nobody. Sounds like the Penguins are under the assumption Letang would at least give consideration To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— The Penguins callup of Owen Pickering caught a lot around the league by surprise. Not that Pickering hasn’t been on an uptick trajectory and there’s evaluators who see a #2 pairing ceiling from the 2022 first-round pick, but with just a handful of games under his belt in WBS and only 20 years old, he’s viewed as a young player who you would bring up when you’re sold on him staying in the NHL. However, could this be a full-time callup? The thinking has changed where the Penguins front office brought him up with the intention that he has the ability to stick. San Jose was San Jose, though, when evaluating the young guys. A great test this week against Tampa Bay, Winnipeg and Utah……….

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Something feels special about the 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers. The culture, type of bounces, turnovers they create, it’s reminiscent of the early Mike Tomlin years…………This is a really complete team with depth and even young depth that hasn’t reached their ceiling in a number of areas……..A downfall for the Steelers jump this season to a legitimate AFC Contender? Even with the 9-1 Chiefs looking vulnerable, the AFC is loaded. While the Steelers can beat anybody, there’s also four or five others you can say the same thing about. Among Them: Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City, LA Chargers. While the Houston Texans are not on that tier, there is phenomenal QB play from the clear Top-6 teams in the AFC where anybody in that group could get hot and win multiple playoff games. You can’t say that about the NFC…………If there’s one team nobody would want to see as the 7th seed it’s the Cincinnati Bengals because of Joe Burrow. The sooner the Bengals are put out of their misery in the playoff race, the better…….

–The Steelers have a legitimate game changing QB and are getting the best quarterback play since 2018 Ben Roethlisberger and after one so-so game the Justin Fields crowd is back in full-force. Call me shocked………. Has there been a bigger turnaround in a matter of four weeks than Patrick Queen?. He has looked like an All-Pro the last couple weeks………Biggest takeaway/Concern from the Steelers Offense vs Baltimore? Did the Ravens put the blueprint out there on taking the top away from the Steelers passing game? Pittsburgh’s group of receivers don’t create enough separation quickly enough in the short and intermediate game where the Ravens might be onto something………

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— 3 Years or Less of Paul Skenes in a Pirates Uniform? That’s the gut-wrenching reality for Pirate fans. Skenes taking home NL Rookie of the Year Monday Night, will be eligible for free agency in 2029, his age 27 campaign. Will Skenes command a $500-$600 million contract by then? The clock will start ticking on the Pirates to trade him after the 2027 season………

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

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A sense in the Penguins organization is a new reality is starting to set in with the older core. They believed over the summer the GM didn’t believe in them but there’s a feeling the wheels are being set in motion there’s nothing they can do to stop a tear down of the roster for this season. It feels real now. If Vancouver calls up today and offers a Second-Round Pick and Nils To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Management is prepared for some pain this season with the hopes of building things back up next season, though, 2026/2027 might be more realistic.

At the end of the day, a frustration among players and coaches who have been around for quite a while in Pittsburgh seems to be is how Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas took one swing in the summer 2023 to try to extend the window, signing low tier players to multi-year deals and then just sat on his hands all last season till he decided to trade Jake Guentzel. There is still some head scratching in the organization on that front………

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Under the Microscope

Mike Sullivan: Everything is complicated with Sullivan from the logistics surrounding him from the close relationship with Sidney Crosby, FSG thinking he’s the Bill Belichick of the NHL, to even the reality in the organization can we really move on from a coach who was recently named head coach to lead Team USA? There are individuals in the organization who felt over the summer this made Sullivan even tougher to move on from and Dubas is said to have thought the lure of the staff on Team USA could be a strong recruiting tool when the Penguins want to be aggressive again. However, there’s certainly a little bit of heat internally on Sullivan for the first time in the Kyle Dubas era. Deliberations are on-going [hide] if he’s truly the right fit for this change in direction that started last spring More so than wins and losses, some of the young guys coming up and how they perform is going to have meaning where this goes. It’s not Sullivan’s fault Sam Poulin likely isn’t a true NHLer but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

In what’s starting to be a multi-year trend, another topic of discussion sources say is a number of useful players in their 20’s seeing their games faceplant out of nowhere. Drew O’Connor and Michael Bunting among them so far this season. O’Connor no points and a minus-13 rating in his last 12 games.

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Connor McDavid on Thursday night became the 4th fastest player (659 games) in NHL history to hit the 1,000 point plateau. Still just 27 Years old and primed to dominate the league for years to come, does he have a shot to become the second player ever to hit 2,000 points?

~~~~ Fastest to 1,000 Points ~~~~

Wayne Gretzky – 424 Games

Mario Lemieux – 513 Games

Mike Bossy – 656 Games

1980’s era hockey or not, Gretzky in 424 games remains remarkable as does Lemieux in 513 games, especially considering the team’s Lemieux had around him the first couple years of his career. When you factor in the era McDavid is playing in, under 700 games is quite the feat. Looking at some of the all-time greats of the Sidney Crosby era and McDavid was almost 100 games faster than Crosby, nearly 200 games faster than Malkin and close to 300 games faster than the likes of Steven Stamkos and Patrick Kane; Sidney Crosby 757 games, Evgeni Malkin 848 games, Alex Ovechkin 880 games, Steven Stamkos 945 games, Patrick Kane 953 games.

Then you look at McDavid’s peers right now and its the same story, he’s 200, 300 games above their projections. Auston Matthews 660 points in 575 games, not on pace to hit 1,000 points till around 875 games if he continues on current trajectory; Nathan MacKinnon 932 points in 808 games, has a shot to hit the 1,000 points mark this season but projects to not do so till around the 870 career game mark. McDavid’s Teammate Leon Draisaitl with 872 points in 732 career games has a chance to be the third fastest player since the 2004-2005 lockout to get to 1,000 points. He’s going to be in contention to top Malkin’s 848 games mark.

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The core and Mike Sullivan all knew barring a great start to the season, the Penguins pivoting before Thanksgiving to acquire more draft capital and opening spots for AHL players was always going to be the end game for General Manager Kyle Dubas. Reason being Dubas told the Sullivan’s and Crosby’s of the organization straight up over the summer this was going to be the plan. This talk that Dubas and ownership guaranteed Sidney Crosby they would try to win this season is some bad info out there. Since early June Crosby and his inner circle have been aware of this being the plan. They were never happy about it especially after being led to believe near end of last season the team would be aggressive again (last summer) but no one can accuse Dubas of not being upfront with the power brokers in the organization.

While Dubas continues to do a great job of accumulating draft assets, this is basically a punt season he put in place back in June, where the front office see’s room for growth internally next season that could open the door to being more aggressive in the trade and free agent market. One team source says next summer the Penguins could have a ‘Capitals’ type aggressive summer, but the counterpoint is everyone To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

MORE BUZZ

— The Penguins set a price on Lars Eller back in June of a second-round pick or a combination of a 3rd and 5th round pick. The whole league has been aware of this for months. There was hesitation to move Eller over the summer, due to push back from the coaching staff, but the coaches, Eller had no say on this one after the start to this season. It was just a coincidence the Penguins sent Eller back to Washington. This wasn’t a situation of trying to find the best landing spot for the player.

Who’s Next?

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson and his family genuinely would love to sign an extension with the Penguins and stay in Pittsburgh. Petterson’s agent Peter Wallen has made that know to the Penguins for months. Pittsburgh, though, sent out To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Another name to watch where you could see some more immediate movement league sources say is Noel Acciari. Acciari’s graded internally among the Penguins Top-5 forwards and Pittsburgh has gauged the market for a return as high as a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Others: The belief is the Penguins are more lean trading Drew O’Connor To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Don’t look for Cody Glass to be moved anytime soon. Once healthy there is said to be a strong interest from the front office in seeing his role grow. They think there is more to his game and seek a bigger role for him………..Penguins enter tonight with the 27th worst Points% (.412) in the National Hockey League. Next Three Opponents: Detroit (.464%), Columbus (.400%), San Jose (.382%)….. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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PIT Receives: 2025 Fifth Round-Pick, 2027 3rd-Round Pick

WAS Receives: Lars Eller

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Trade Buzz: As mentioned, multiple times here over the last month, Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas planned to give this current group 15-20 games before it was time to pivot in a direction fans wouldn’t be happy. Here the Penguins 16 games in and the trade of Eller to Washington is the start of Pittsburgh being open for business on all of their pending UFA’s. The Penguins had an opportunity to move Eller just prior to July 1 to the Buffalo Sabres that would have landed [hide] Pittsburgh a second-round pick. There was pushback from the coaching staff that prevented the deal but Eller being one of the first pending UFA’s traded in the young season is far from a surprise as Pittsburgh comes out of the deal with 2027 3rd rounder and 2025 5th rounder. If someone’s offering you a third-round pick for Lars Eller now, you have to move on it after the hesitation over the summer. The Penguins currently have 29 draft picks & likely counting at their disposal over the next three drafts. 2025 (10), 2026 (9), 2027 (10). [/hide]

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In what continues to be a trend against upper echelon teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins were once again ran out of the building in a 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. This one was a bit different in the Penguins allowing a franchise worst SIX GOALS in the First Period. It was as bad as an implosion you will see as Joel Blomqvist couldn’t make a save in the Stars scoring three goals on their first eight shots and Alex Nedeljkovic came in a said let me top that young rookie.

Dallas would quickly put three goals past Nedeljkovic on just four shots as the Stars put together a 50% shooting percentage in the first period frame, scoring Six goals on 12 shots. It was an unbelievable sequence.

First Period Save Percentage: Joel Blomqvist 5 Saves, .625SV%; Alex Nedeljkovic 1 Save, .250 SV%

“I’m not going to say I’m frustrated because I’m not,” Mike Sullivan said. “I’m determined. I’m determined to move this team forward in the right direction more consistently. I know we are a way better hockey team than what we displayed out there today. I know we have a group of guys to get better every day.”

Does a loss like this and let’s also chalk it up as another blowout loss against a Stanley Cup level contender add any pressure to the room? If anything, it just plays into how Kyle Dubas viewed this group in the summer.

Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas sat on his hands all last season when the Penguins needed a jolt and were actually trying to win before pivoting to trading their second best forward at the deadline. After showing his hand this summer that he doesn’t believe this group can compete, the team can likely only look in the mirror to try to continue to tread water. Some of the young help in Wilkes Barre just isn’t totally ready yet such as Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering, Rutger McGroarty or Tristan Broz who has been a pleasant surprise.

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MORE BUZZ

— It will be interesting how the coaching staff reacts to Joel Blomqvist’s first really poor start in goal. Strong indications are Alex Nedeljkovic was scheduled to start Wednesday barring a great performance from Blomqvist. If I was Tristan Jarry’s camp, though, I’d be livid if Jarry’s not in goal vs the Red Wings.

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— As much concern there has been with Erik Karlsson’s nonchalant attitude and questionable practice habits as written here last week, Kris Letang has looked cooked as a top-2 level pairing defenseman since the calendar hit 2024 last January and there continues to be a belief in the organization Letang has lost the drive to bring it every night. On pace for 31 points, Letang in year three of a six year deal, will have already been paid just north of 65% of his total $36.6 million contract by seasons end. Could Letang call it a career after this season? Think next season is more likely…….Some around the league have always felt Letang would finish his career in Montreal as a veteran presence to show a young team the ropes but even with his former agent Kent Hughes at the helm, multiple league executives have thrown cold water on the idea that it makes any sense for Montreal to explore this over the summer that a trade to his hometown is going to motivate a soon to be 38 year old who has won three Cups……………

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— League Buzz: Erik Karlsson to CTo read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins continue to operate their goaltending situation on kind of a week-to-week and even game-by-game basis. Despite the organization believing Joel Blomqvist is too good for the AHL, had the Penguins got blown out Friday night, there was a chance Joel Blomqvist goes down to Wilkes Barre with Tristan Jarry coming up just from the standpoint of logistics.

Instead Blomqvist shined brightly in the 4-2 win and gets a consecutive start tonight against the Dallas Stars, a top-flight Stanley Cup Contender. One thing with Blomqvist is the way things have broken is the team keeps throwing him out there against higher end teams. It’s been a great evaluation tool. Leaky goal a game aside, the eye test thus far continues to match the #’s where he’s the far superior goaltender against chances inside 35 ft; Blomqvist .886 HDSV%, Nedeljkovic .754 HDSV%; Jarry .800 HDSV%.

Will we see Tristan Jarry in net this week where the Penguins have four games in six days?

The Penguins continue to take a tough stance on Jarry who will be in the press box To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Wednesday’s starter against the Detroit Red Wings is said to be penciled in for now as being Alex Nedeljkovic’s net but subject to change depending on Blomqvist’s performance tonight against the Stars. If Jarry gets consideration to start at all this week, the buzz is on To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Penguins gave consideration to calling up one of Sam Poulin and Emil Bemstrom due to the Cody Glass and Kevin Hayes injuries. Poulin got the nod yesterday due to the team wanting to get him practice reps with the big club even if he doesn’t dress during the callup.

— Matt Nieto scored Saturday night in his first AHL game and has really defied odds in the organization in his return from multiple knee surgeries. Many never thought he’d be in contention to play this season, let alone this early. Team wants to get him a couple more games and things continue to track where he’s going to get a shot with the big club. Internally the team feels they owe it to him.

— Drew O’Connor back on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell is in quite the rut. No points in his last 10 games and a minus-12 rating during that span.

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What We Learned: Penguins 4 – Capitals 2 (F)

The Penguins had their typical 2-0 lead they find ways to get and then in the second period the game started to slip away. The Capitals got it tied and Joel Blomqvist kept the Penguins afloat that allowed the Penguins to remain in the ball game in the third period and to the Penguins credit they put together a great third, especially in a back-to-back for a team that’s so reliant on a core pushing 40 years old.

Playing for the first time in 10 days Blomqvist shined in the win with 32 saves and faced a barrage of high-end chances. Blomqvist allowed a leaky goal on the Rasmus Sandin first period marker as Blomqvist got caught leaning wrong way and we’re often seeing that once a start from him. But, game in and game out you’re seeing Blomqvist highlight the potential he has, and he’s clearly been the Penguins best goaltender in combating high-end chances. And the #’s meet the eye test. Quite frankly he’s the goaltender that gives the Penguins the best chance to go on a mini run. I just don’t think the organization see’s it that way yet……

Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic have each appeared in seven games and there’s a pretty drastic difference.

Blomqvist .886 High Danger Save % (8 Goals Allowed on 70 Shots) | Nedeljkovic .754 High Danger Save % (14 Goals allowed on .754 SV%)

And then you have to weigh the competition each goaltender has faced. Blomqvist through seven games has faced Detroit, Toronto, Buffalo, Carolina, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Washington. Nedeljkovic Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim, Montreal, New York Islanders, Carolina.

The goaltending winds seemed to be changing where the Penguins planned to send To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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More Buzz

Penguins have points in five of six games and treading water at 6-8-2, 14 pts, .438%. Some around the league feel as bad as coached the Penguins have looked at times, especially the first couple weeks, the team might be overachieving with the lack of talent on the roster. The league view is that this is clearly a bottom-10 roster and there’s certainly a sentiment in league circles that as long as the Penguins are treading water the GM owes it to Sidney Crosby to try to move a mid-draft pick for some forward help before it’s too late. Will Kyle Dubas see it that way? 4th liner Noel Acciari is one of the Penguins top-5 rated forwards in their internal modeling, team sources say. Coming in the team planned a 15-20 game evaluation before making any type of move or swinging things the other way in going less experienced. One scout this week called the Penguins top-9 ‘Atrocious’ beyond the obvious four and there’s been some worry about Lars Eller after the hot start. Eller’s looked cooked this week against better competition and Eller is a big reason that forced the Penguins hand Friday night after the second period in the Caps win.

Through 40 minutes the O’Connor-Eller-Rust line was at 27% in possession and just getting ran all over the ice against the Capitals Top-6. Rust back in the lineup, though, allows you to split up Malkin-Crosby-Rakell and going Bunting-Malkin-Rust was a big swing in the third period where Rust created the game winning goal with a great power move in setting Malkin up for the eventual game winner. A positive sign for Malkin is how he’s scoring in those tough areas in finding space. And Michael Bunting has found his game this week with a first period goal off an Erik Karlsson setup and the Bunting-Acciari-Puljujarvi line was on the ice for 12 shot attempts and just 3 against before Bunting’s move up to the second line. Bunting has to be Penguins 5th best forward moving forward and we’re seeing about a five to six game run here where he’s getting back to the basics of not trying to be a player he’s not. Aside from Lars Eller, Drew O’Connor’s game is also really in a rut with no points in his last 10.

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— The Erik Karlsson Experience. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan called Karlsson out Thursday night without naming him and Karlsson responded right out of the gates with a goal and primary assist in 1:41 of ice time to open the game. There was more to this than Karlsson just having an awful game against the Hurricanes.

There’s been some issues building up internally where Karlsson is said to be developing a Phil Kessel type reputation with Sullivan and even Sidney Crosby to a little extent where there’s been some frustration with the practice To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins surrendering third period leads is unlikely to go away this season. That’s just something built in them and with the lackadaisical defensive play for stretches and system deficiencies, it’s going to be a trend that will likely continue with this group where they have moments that they can’t put together a full 60-minute game. That’s just whom they’ve been for a while now.

Still, Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss was another step in the right direction of how the Penguins are carrying play. Last three games Pittsburgh @ 5 vs 5 has a high danger for% of 69%, 56%, 71%; The previous three games before Pittsburgh’s current three game points streak; 23%, 35%, 44%. Across the board there’s been marketable improvement in creating more chances than giving up.

This isn’t just because of offense, offense. Better systematic defensive play, structure over the last three games where the Penguins have buttoned things up has played a major part.

What you’re watching the next two games against Carolina and Washington isn’t whether the Penguins win or lose the next two, but do they hold up. When the Penguins have run into any good to great team this season, they’ve gotten run out of the building in almost every game from the standpoint of just being overwhelmed 5 vs 5. Over the last three games the Penguins have tightened some things up in the neutral zone and have made attempts to play a more defend the middle of the slot down low than pressure, pressure, and we’ll see if there’s any different outcome (in level of play) against the 9-2 Carolina Hurricanes whom on Oct 18th just steamrolled the Penguins in all three phases. That night looked like the Penguins sending an AHL team out on the ice.

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MORE BUZZ

Tristan Jarry not having some dominant nights in Wilkes Barre would have been quite concerning. For his part Jarry has answered the call with a 4-0 record and .946 SV%. Now we’ll find out how he handles the pressure when he makes his first back in the NHL as a lot of Jarry’s issues the team believes has been between the ears. And the Penguins would be wise to start him on the road…………..The Penguins and Tristan Jarry’s reps at Newport Sports, led by super agent Craig Oster, have held significant discussions of what the future is going to look like. There was a point during the week Pittsburgh took Jarry out of the lineup that the two sides were going to push forward with allowing To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Jesse Puljujarvi prior to getting back into the lineup Tuesday night and played well with a primary assist on Michael Bunting’s third period goal, was linked to St. Louis and To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!. Some around the league thought he had a chance to being moved over this past weekend……..The buzz is Pittsburgh’s top graded defenseman internally through 13 games is………..To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Prospects Buzz: A team source jokingly says the Penguins front office is walking around like Mike Tomlin these days with his Russell Wilson decision in how ecstatic they are with what they’ve seen from Ville Koivunen. Others didn’t see it this way but as mentioned here in the morning after the Jake Guentzel trade, the Penguins viewed Koivunen as the critical piece of the trade and a ceiling of a top-end prospect. Koivunen is possibly even exceeding early expectations with how well he’s creating 1-on-1 offense. Great poise and smarts with the puck and gets to the right areas where he’s tracking being NHL-ready very soon………..Early Hextall Draft Hits? The organization’s opinion has drastically changed on Owen Pickering over the last couple months. They legit now view him as having a #2 second pairing ceiling. Another prospect that is said to be playing well above their expectations and really dating back to last year in the evaluation process is 2021 2nd round pick Tristan Broz who has 4 goals and 2 assists in nine games. Sense in the organization is the Hextall regime likely definitely hit on Pickering in the 2022 first round but also possibly on Broz in Round 2 of the 2021 draft. He continues to look like a future bottom-6 NHL player…………McGroarty Buzz: Rutger McGroarty just 1 assist in seven games and struggling to create individual offense. Indications are McGroarty is in the middle of a learning curve to be a presence in the tough areas as the team feels he needs to get stronger. What the Penguins have worked with him is getting more shot opportunities. 4 SOG in Wednesday’s win. [/hide]

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How much stock we can put into the Penguins back-to-back home wins against the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens remains to be seen. However, in the short-term they had to come out of this homestand winning two of three and Pittsburgh accomplished that goal. The #’s show when you’re out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving it’s an uphill battle and even out of the race by November 1st it’s a brutal number for teams that miss the playoffs, especially when you weigh how little margin of error this team has.

Time was already running out. With a bottom-10 roster in the league, what’s always going to be problematic this season is the Penguins have to rely on everything going right. This hockey club was on life support coming into the homestand.

It can’t be understated that throwing the 2-4 lines in a blender and loading up a top line of Malkin-Crosby-Rakell was a seismic move that has saved the Penguins season for now.

It wasn’t just the #’s for Sidney Crosby who willed the Penguins to victory again Saturday night with 2 goals, ending the homestand with 4 goals and 3 assists, — factoring in on seven consecutive goals. — Crosby’s game found life this week and the shackles coming off of playing with crap.

“They’ve been unbelievable,” Crosby said of playing with Malkin and Rakell. Evgeni Malkin’s #’s took a hit this week with no points, but he was a major catalyst for the big week from Crosby and Rakell. Malkin’s read and react ability to play the wing was elite as it could get. He’s creating so much space for Crosby through the neutral zone and anyone go look at the Hockey Night in Canada post-game interview from Crosby and see the smile on his face when he was asked about playing with Evgeni Malkin. Defensively the move to wing also helps Malkin.

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Wake Up Call?

— You can make the argument Pittsburgh has only four legitimate top-9 forwards in Crosby, Malkin, Rakell and Bryan Rust. Game in and game out there is going to be immense pressure from those four upfront and that’s probably a recipe for disaster long-term. To overachieve this season everything comes back to the system and defending the right way. Yes, it was Anaheim and Montreal but will these two games be the wakeup call that was needed for the Penguins?

The last two games we saw marketable improvement with the little things such as defenders being in proper lanes that led to defending the slot and below the dot cycles better; less aggressiveness in the neutral zone was also a positive from the last two nights . To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

We’re going to find out quickly on the upcoming road trip against the Islanders, Hurricanes and Capitals, especially against the Caps and Canes who can drive play with the best of them right now. It’s easy to say disciplined against an Anaheim or Montreal. A nice test coming up this week.

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MORE BUZZ

Small signs of improvement from Michael Bunting the two games below the dots where he’s had more heaviness to his game. Bunting was on the ice for 8 scoring chances and just 3 against but it feels like he’s never going to score a goal, he’s showing zero ability to pick corners and beat a goalie 1-on-1. And Mike Sullivan’s body language on a Bunting turnover in the neutral zone was something last night where Sullivan threw his hands up in the air and motioned over to Mike Vellucci in disgust. The coaches remain frustrated in a feeling that Bunting is trying to be a player he’s not……….Matt Grzelcyk running the point on the top power play unit is just way other thinking it…………..Waiver Watch today? Rumblings last night Penguins were taking long look at To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Goaltending Winds Changing?

The Penguins went into the week with Tuesday night being an audition from Joel Blomqvist to possibly start all three games during the homestand if Pittsburgh would have won Tuesday. It did not play out that way after the Minnesota loss where as good as Blomqvist was in defending high danger chances, the leaky goals opened door to go back to Alex Nedeljkovic. Now the winds are changing where the organization is considering bringing To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Top Tier

New York Rangers | .722 PT%, +16 Differential (1st in Division)

The Rangers are a wagon and until further notice the clear top team in the division that is built to win in the playoffs. Doesn’t mean they’ll win the division but in the Metro, the postseason still figures to go through the Rangers. Early Trends in the Metro: Homegrown talent for the top-4 teams in the division. 2020 2nd round pick William Cuylle has come onto the scene in a third line role with 3 goals and 5 assists, all at even strength………

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2nd Tier

Carolina Hurricanes | .778 Pts%, 62 CF% (1st in NHL 5 vs 5)

The Hurricanes are a systematic machine. They are just steamrolling through the competition and Carolina added the Boston Bruins Thursday night to that group. On paper a slight step back was expected but this is always a team that just shows out in the regular season. 5 vs 5 the Hurricanes are 1st in the NHL in possession, Scoring Chances For %; and 2nd in High Danger For%. Noteworthy Player: Martin Necas whom the Hurricanes did everything to try to trade because they didn’t want to pay him, leads the team with 15 points through nine games.

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New Jersey Devils | 50 GF (1st in NHL), .615 PT%

The New Jersey Devils were always going to bounce back this season and we’re already seeing it. The big boys upfront are scoring at will, Timmo Meier looks much more comfortable in his second full season with the club and you know you’re an offensive powerhouse when Paul Cotter has 6 goals in 13 games as the third line center. The biggest question will be whether they can defend well enough to be a legitimate Cup contender? Jakub Markstrom’s .903 SV% follows a similar trend of the past two seasons where he posted an .892 SV% and .905 SV% in his previous two. New Jersey’s team high-danger save percentage at even strength is below .78%, a concerning # early on.

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Washington Capitals | .778 PT% (1st in Division), 60 HFCF% (1st in NHL)

Buy stock in the Washington Capitals? The Caps significantly upgraded their lineup over the off-season and look to have the perfect coach behind the bench in playing that win-now role but also developing homegrown talent. 23 Year olds Connor McMichael (5-5-10pts), Alliaksei Protas (3-6-9pts) have combined for 19 points through nine games and there’s just a lot to like with this club. It’s a very deep and versatile forward group. Washington’s driving play, creating high-end chances and even the older core of who’s left is also performing very well. Alex Ovechkin already has 5 goals on the season and scouts indicate John Carlsson looks the best he has in years. Defensively the Capitals are awaiting the return of Matt Roy who has appeared in just one game. The only pause is whether the goaltending is good enough……..

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Third Tier

Nobody

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Fourth Tier

Columbus Blue Jackets | .611 Pts%

Philadelphia Flyers | .409 Pts%

New York Islanders | .400 Pts%

Pittsburgh Penguins | .377 Pts%

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Buzz: Long-term protectory this season, there is a steep, steep drop off from the top-four teams in the division to the rest of the group.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been a surprise in the early going. They have a head coach who players actually like showing up to the rink each day to play for and Dean Evason will have them playing hard and the right way. Columbus is already showing they’re going to be a tougher out for clubs in the division. However, hard to buy into their start long-term. The defense and goaltending just isn’t good enough to make ends meet against the caliber of teams in the division and the underlying #’s are a bit suspect despite the hot start. What to like about this club, though, is the young forward group that is showing much improvement with Marchenko, Chinakhov taking steps forward, Fantilli should be better and the Blue Jackets were expecting a big season from Kent Johnson before his injury. Veteran forward Sean Monahan has been a great fit on and off the ice. Columbus is in good hands with Don Waddell at the helm. Bet on them being a problem next season just not yet this year………

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The Philadelphia Flyers missed their golden opportunity last season of playing so over their head. Could they do it again this season? The odds are going to be stacked against them. One thing about John Tortorella, though, he always finds a way to overachieve. Philadelphia was reeling and have now won three or four to keep their head above water. That team save percentage of .872 is hard to win in this league. Last season missing playoffs by a point with an .889 team save percentage was such a testament to Tortorella.

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Would you rather be the Pittsburgh Penguins or New York Islanders on who has best chance to be relevant this season after a putrid October? I’d lean New York because of Ilya Sorokin but it’s not a confident lean. New York is just a stagnant hockey club where the new coach hire adrenaline rush from last year has worn off. When Kyle Palmieri is your leading scorer with 7 points you know things have been stagnant. But, there is some more room to grow individually for a couple of their higher end players who have been major disappointments that I just don’t see with Pittsburgh. Mathew Barzal had a horrible month and that’s not likely to continue; Brock Nelson has been meh and same with Bo Horvat. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Penguins 2 – Anaheim 1 (F/OT)

It was just Anaheim but………….

The Pittsburgh Penguins (4-7-1, 9 pts) put together their most dominant performance of the season in how they controlled the ice in all three phases of the rink. There were a couple miscues, puck watching of course on the Alex Killorn goal and breakdowns late that almost sunk them in typical Penguins fashion. Yet, there was improvement in a number of areas, especially with Pittsburgh’s play away from the puck.

• Shots on Goal | PIT 46 – ANA 23
• Shot Attempts | PIT 98 – ANA 51
• Scoring Chances | PIT 48 – ANA 18
• High Dance Chances | PIT 23 – ANA 9

Sidney Crosby’s Night | 2 Goals (OT Winner)

Crosby had 2 goals on the night and netted the OT winner @ 2:35 of OT with a beautiful breakaway goal. Coincidence he has suddenly found his game? He’s having fun again with the switch of putting Evgeni Malkin on his line. 5 Points in his last two games, Crosby’s 200 ft game has returned. “You look at his offensive production at this point, he has a two-goal game tonight,” said Mike Sullivan. “He’s right back in the hunt, over a point-per game….But I just liked his overall 200-foot game on both sides of the puck. I thought he was just playing the game the right way. When he does, he inspires our group.”

Malkin-Crosby-Rakell Possession Monsters:

• On the ice together for (5 vs 5):
• 21 Shots For (78 SF%)
• 35 Shot Attempts (67 CF%)
• 17 Scoring Chances (68 SCF%)

Malkin-Crosby-Rakell combined for 15 even strength shots on goal among them and I get some saying the rest of the lines are too bare and against good teams it’s a valid argument, but both players need each other, and this is just fun hockey to watch with the skill and how all three read each other so well. Most importantly Crosby’s game has been jumpstarted and in a big way.

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Who is this Erik Karlsson Guy?

Erik Karlsson vs Anaheim:

• Assist
• 6 Shots on Goal | 21 Shot Attempts
• On the ice for 49 Shot Attempts (78 CF%)
• On the ice for 25 Scoring Chances (81 SCF%
• On the ice for 13 High Danger Chances & Just 3 Against

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MORE BUZZ

— Alex Nedeljkovic late flurry of saves has certainly earned him a consecutive start Saturday night vs the Montreal Canadiens, a homestand the Penguins have to come out of with two of three games…….Blake Lizotte played just 8 shifts (5:39 in his season debut). Hard to evaluate him in that one….. Cody Glass who assisted on Sidney Crosby’s Game Winner saw 21 shifts in the game, sixth most among forwards To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!……..

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What If the Penguins lose the next two games and lose bad? Do things reach a boiling point with Mike Sullivan?

It’s a topic no one inside the organization wants to go and the message is pundits are wasting their time writing about this. But, I’m not a propaganda puff-puff piece website in town like so many are, so here we go; First and foremost there are so many layers on the Sullivan front. Chief among them: Sidney Crosby doesn’t want another coach and made that clear again all summer in discussions with management; FSG thinks Sullivan with his Massachusetts’s ties is the Bill Belichick of the NHL. Kyle Dubas even with the power he has and near $6.5 million a year salary, cannot fire Sullivan without having Tom Werner on board. Sullivan is regarded in team circles as being beyond Dubas’ scope. Then there’s the fact of the commitment both sides made to each other last summer. The Penguins in May offered Sullivan permission verbally if he wanted to explore options. They gave him an out in the most respectful way. Pittsburgh knew about New Jersey but the sleeper team at the forefront of this was the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Both sides took a step forward to remaining committed to each other that even saw Sullivan getting close friend David Quinn a three-year contract to match his contract. That’s what makes things so complicated with the Penguins on a downward spiral. Let’s not sugar coat it, the Penguins are un-coachable right now with Sullivan behind the bench and when that transpires you just don’t turn things around with a blink of the eye. Bottom line — growing consensus in and out of Pittsburgh it would be To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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What if the Penguins put Erik Karlsson on the Trade Market? Would there be a market?

Erik Karlsson in the midst of a disastrous six game run on this losing streak is going to soon be a talking point if things continue down this path. Dubas has called Karlsson part of the Core Four and while mostly regarded as a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, there’s some in Karlsson’s camp who feel another trade may hurt his reputation and to just ride things out in Pittsburgh for his career. I’m sure many in Pittsburgh will say ‘no way’ but Karlsson is regarded in league circles as absolutely being tradeable, especially if Pittsburgh makes him a $7 million a year player as one league executive put it. The Ottawa reunion has always been out there but if and I mean if Dubas shopped Karlsson around this season, the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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MORE BUZZ

Sounds like the Penguins would like to get Vasily Ponomarev now healthy around four games in Wilkes Barre before a callup to the NHL club. Don’t think he’ll be in Wilkes Barre long. Emil Bemstrom is also getting strong consideration for a callup as Penguins internally have discussed shaking up forward group. I wouldn’t buy any real estate in Pittsburgh if I was Jesse Puljujarvi……..Indications are Penguins bracing for a 2-3 absence for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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With a flawed coaching staff and players that don’t have what it takes, the Penguins have a bad combination right now NHL: Rangers very intrigued about Bylsma if Penguins make coaching change? NHL Chatter: Penguins simply sending a message for Kessel to change with leaks? Latest Pens Buzz: Sullivan Coaching Chatter; Penguins gauged market for Marcus Pettersson to get ‘Value’ feeling before summer extension decision & More Buzz

Marc Andre Fleury night saw Fleury look vulnerable early on and really settle in after the first period in as the Minnesota Wild were victorious with a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday Night. A 26-save performance after fittingly seeing 29 shots, it was an emotional night for Fleury in capturing career win #563 and improving to 2-0 on the season as the surprising Wild are 6-1-2 at the nine-game mark.

As for the home team it was another reality check this is clearly a bottom-10 right now with the talent and lack of any structure to their game. The Wild are off to a great start, but no one was getting them mixed up with the Colorado Avalanche or Edmonton Oilers out west before the season. Two teams that finished a point from each other and you can see on the ice last night of two clubs going in vastly different direction.

This was another game where the opposing team was just so much more physical, faster to loose pucks in the tough areas and the Wild were a different animal with sustained back pressure. And the trend of having no clue how to defend continued for the Penguins. Second straight game the Pittsburgh Penguins got out to a 2-0 lead, only to allow four unanswered goals in suffering their sixth straight loss.

Trailing 2-0 with under three minutes left in the first period, Jakub Lauko and Freddy Gaudreau scored 55 seconds apart to tie the game at 2-2. Then Gaudreau scored a breakaway marker 1:38 into the second period to put the Wild ahead 3-2, as Minnesota scored 3 goals in a 4:35 span. That’s what happens to bad hockey clubs. The Lauko goal was extremely leaky from Joel Blomqvist and Pittsburgh never recovered. However, Blomqvist turned aside a number of slot area scoring chances early on so that stuff kind of evens out.

The Gaudreau breakaway goal highlighted where the Penguins are, and it was as bad as it could get. Pittsburgh had a 4-on-2 opportunity through the neutral zone and turned the puck over leading to a breakaway goal against.

The Penguins allowing a late goal at the end of a period also continued in the second period as Mats Zuccarello scored with 37 seconds remaining on once again a blown coverage inside the slot area where the Penguins had #’s down low. Anthony Beauvillier has his back turned to Zuccarello and Kris Letang the ‘Right D’ on the ice, is miles away of the play in the left corner. These types of blunders are not talent issues. Just basic coaching and a lack of care from those on the ice.

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Few Actual Positive Takeaways………

If there’s anything to possibly build on, it was the Malkin-Crosby-Rakell line. The move jumpstarted Sidney Crosby which was a primary goal of the switch. Malkin-Crosby-Rakell drove possession at a 67% clip, created 2 Goals For, and were on the ice together for all seven scoring chances Pittsburgh created 5 vs 5. Crosby had a different feel to his game. I’m sure the coaching staff will look at it and ‘go the rest of the forward was awful and can we actually stick with Malkin/Crosby together’ but this is the Penguins only hope. Malkin on the wing was strong in the neutral zone on zone entries as he remains a threat to create 1-on-1 offense. Rickard Rakell redemption season continues with 2 goals on 5 shots………….

Someone actually came off the bench to stick up for a hit on Sidney Crosby……….We are in different times…….

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The Pittsburgh Penguins 3-6-1 at the 10-game mark have imploded defensively this season and entering a three game homestand against three non-playoff teams (Though the Minnesota Wild are much improved) from last season, we haven’t even hit November yet and it feels like a must-win week for the Penguins. The Penguins absolutely have to come out of homestand with a minimum four of six points to the standpoint of staying relevant in the standings for at least another week. There is just not enough talent in the room or a lick of structured hockey to grind out games for the Penguins to climb out of any major hole this season.

Mike Sullivan who deserves a lot of the criticism he is getting for the Penguins system woes, see’s the writing on the wall.

There are a ton of arguments for the Penguins to pair Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby together on a line for at least a couple game run and we’re going to see it against Marc Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild. In small samples thus far, they’ve showed an excellent ability at driving play and quite simply Sidney Crosby’s game needs majorly jumpstarted. Crosby is playing with no pace and looks disinterested anytime he steps foot into the defensive zone. It’s something that’s never been seen from him in his career. Throwing a Jesse Puljujarvi or Anthony Beauvillier isn’t going to solve this. The Penguins have to try something with Malkin and Crosby together and it’s a positive sign Sullivan the coaches are leaning this way. Maybe they’ll turn back the clock and jumpstart the team in the short-term and the Penguins will still be somewhat relevant by Thanksgiving. Absolutely nothing to lose…….

Another worthwhile move we’re going to see vs the Wild Tuesday night is Kevin Hayes moving to the #2 center role. Hayes has impressed 5 vs 5 in limited action. His lack of quickness on the wall has made the coaching staff weary to play him on the wing in the top-9 but if you’re going to try him in the top-9, let alone the top-6, center is the way to go. Like Malkin/Crosby, Hayes as the second line center is worth a shot.

As for Crosby, any turnaround with this club this week figures to fall on the shoulders of Crosby and Erik Karlsson. The two players the organization views as their ‘two best players’ (at least they prior to the season), both have had a rotten five game stretch during this losing streak and any hope this season meant Crosby maintaining an 80–90-point pace and Karlsson taking a much bigger step or at least on par with what he brought to the table in the late spring run. It’s a big week for both……

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More Buzz

Injury Buzz: Bad News on the injury front as To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Dog House Bunting: Michael Bunting To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! ……..As much as Kevin Hayes deserves a shot in the top-6, that second line is something: Beauvillier-Hayes-Puljujarvi. Maybe it really is a different era…….Most Surprising Tidbits from Monday’s Practice: Status Quo with the D-Pairs. The coaches continue to see a different games than others. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-6-1, 7 pts) dropped their 5th straight game and at the 10-game mark are playing at a 58-point pace. Don’t think things are going to be that bad but Kyle Dubas at least has one thing going for him in holding onto Pittsburgh’s 2025 first-rounder.

More and more is becoming clear the Penguins missed their last window in the 2023 summer when a new GM on the scene tried to revamp the roster on the fly and hit on just about nothing before the pivot to a soft rebuild this summer. Listen, it’s hard to fathom for Penguins fans but the next three years you’d much rather be the Washington Capitals who have had their Cup core pretty much wiped out and rebuilt things quickly on the fly to set themselves up as a playoff level team again this season that should have some sustaining power in being competitive. Not to mention the lure of the Alex Ovechkin goal chase. The Capitals 2024 summer is going to further highlight Pittsburgh’s failure a year earlier. They did what the Penguins tried in the 2023 summer except they have a great chance at hitting some triples and home runs, while Kyle Dubas in his first summer to extend the window barely hit any singles that has the Penguins with a bottom-10 roster in the NHL right now that plays an erratic system.

Pittsburgh’s 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks saw the Penguins jump out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Anthony Beauvillier/Bryan Rust, only to see it quickly wiped out in the second period. Vancouver scored 3 goals in a 1:05 span and 4 goals overall in a 4:56 span. A Pittsburgh two goal lead changed to a two goal lead for the Canucks in less than five minutes. And the breakdowns just highlighted everything that’s wrong with the Penguins play away from the puck.

2nd Period Meltdown

Elias Pettersson Goal Breakdown | 4:06 2-1 PIT

I: You want an illustration why the Penguins are among the worst defensive teams in the National Hockey League in defending the slot? Look no further than the Pettersson goal. Four players puck watching in tight and absolutely no center help from Sidney Crosby in the slot who is defending the weak side post that should be Matt Grzelcyk’s zone. Through 10 games there has been no cohesion with the Penguins rotations down low.

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The Kiefer Sherwood and JT Miller goals 12 seconds apart were classic goals against of how the Penguins system sabotages them almost every night.

Kiefer Sherwood Goal Breakdown | 4:49 2-2

II: Bryan Rust on a zone entry runs into a line of defense + a 4th Canuck with back pressure that leads to a turnover just inside the zone. A poor decision from Rust but here we go again with the Penguins use of their d-men on the rush. Marcus Pettersson should be a security blanket. Instead Pettersson never reads the situation properly, fails to take a few steps back and he’s all-in towards offensive zone. The end game is four Penguins caught deep and a 2-on-1 goal the other way.

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JT Miller Goal Breakdown | 5:11 3-2 VAN

Anyone learn what happened on the Sherwood goal? Nope just next man up to make the same mistake. The JT Miller goal 12 seconds later is another inexcusable blown coverage, this time from Matt Grzelcyk who after a couple solid games to open the season, has a been a trainwreck and clearly over his head in a #1 or #2 pairing role.

Drew O’Connor turns the puck over; Sidney Crosby is caught deep and here we go with Grzelcyk in no man’s land just coasting towards the offensive zone on a clear play similar to Marcus Pettersson where his instinct should be to take a couple steps back. And again this is what the Penguins system calls for that makes their usage so frustrating.

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MORE BUZZ

— Mike Sullivan views Alex Nedeljkovic as his #1 but for how long? Nedeljkovic has posted a sub .885 SV% in all three starts. The whole organization fell a little too much in love with Nedeljkovic’s late season run that prompted them to sign him to a two-year contract a couple week prior to free agency. That was always a head scratcher with how close the organization felt Joel Blomqvist was……….Buffalo offered a second-round pick for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Is the Pittsburgh Penguins season slipping away already? A bad loss tonight vs the Vancouver Canucks and it could be game over already. It’s not just the 3-5-1 record for a club with no margin of error. It a myriad of issues where the talent isn’t good enough anymore to overcome certain games you want to take off like this group does.

The Penguins are a poor system team. The Penguins are poor at the little things. There’s no prime Crosby or Jake Guentzel running around to hide things. The cores not even at last year’s level where you could cover up some areas and hover around.

You can never deny trends.

Top Contenders are running the Penguins out of the building.

Edmonton just completely destroyed the Penguins in all facets. The Rangers game was bad, the Hurricanes game was probably even worse in how lopsided the play was; Last night’s performance — it’s hard to come up with words. Dressing the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins might have given the Oilers a better fight. —

Pittsburgh gave up 90 attempts/ 50 shots on goal, 26 high danger chances and 52 scoring chances. That is not a typo. Just a massive number, Edmonton produced 52 scoring chances. Pittsburgh could have lost 8 or 9-0 in this one.

The system issues are not changing till the coach changes.

Less than two minutes the game, Ryan Graves who is supposed to be a so-called defensive defenseman makes a blatant pinch (which is what the system calls for) but this is what’s constantly wrong with the Penguins play away from the puck. Everyone has the same priorities. Graves should never be pinching in this spot. Ryan Graves should probably never pinch under any circumstance. He’s a cone out there.

It’s not just system issues……Inexcusable mental defensive miscues are constant from players who are supposed to be Pittsburgh’s best defenders. The very next shift and this is all less than two minutes into the game, Marcus Pettersson gets himself into no man’s land and it’s almost a tic-tac toe goal in tight.

We knew coming into the season the Penguins were going to be a poor defensive team. There’s a system issue but it’s not all system. There were a number of signs last season after January Kris Letang was shot as a top-2 level pairing d-man. Almost 10 games in he looks ready for retirement and its a below average #1 and #2 pairing group. Those were obvious in August. They need help from the system but they also need to try themselves to off-set diminishing skill. But, the biggest problem with the Penguins defensively is no one wants to do the hard work. What’s been fascinating is at least through the first month you’d think there would be an adrenaline rush, especially after last year’s late run where the mentality would be ‘we have to do the little things’ to win with the talent on this roster. Instead, many are just going through the motions when the puck is in their own zone.

None more stunning has been Sidney Crosby’s lethargic play in the defensive zone. We’re not just talking a poor game or two. It’s been a trend all month. I never expected to see that day. Father Time can hit even a superstar like Crosby at any point when he’s at the age he is, but Crosby’s lack of interest in playing the d-zone has just been stunning. You don’t see many stops and starts from Crosby anymore in the defensive zone.

~So much for the core being so motivated with their own GM not believing in them ~

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

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LATEST PENS BUZZ

Sullivan knows pressure internally of 1st 15-20 game run: Seven games in watching Penguins defensively thus far this season, it’s the same old, nothing is changing with the system. Still, hard for Mike Sullivan do much of anything when their top pairing Right D looks to be on a retirement tour at times. System issues, yes, we all know that, but there’s already been some instances this season of questionable effort when things get hard in a game. That’s a bad sign already when the team should still have adrenaline rush of a new season.

The good thing the Penguins are at least still hovering around .500 for now and Mike Sullivan is well aware of the internal guidelines that this group was going to get a 15-20 game run before longer term decisions start coming from upstairs with the lineup, roster. That’s seen Sullivan take a much more-fierce mindset this season in practices and behind the scenes. One high-ranking source said this is the first time in Sullivan’s tenure of Penguins coach where he’s kind of transformed into ‘New York Rangers’ Mike Sullivan where under John Tortorella’s staff To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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UFA Buzz: A lot of buzz at least locally centers around pending UFA Marcus Pettersson and whether GM Kyle Dubas has the stomach to go term on Pettersson as most league observers view Pettersson as a similar situation as Jake Guentzel last season in that publicly the GM will leave the light on, but things are already tracking towards Pettersson being a deadline addition to someone. Very few believe Pittsburgh values Pettersson enough to go say a 6 x 5 deal or even 5 x 5 that could keep him, but time will tell on that.

A player rival teams are really watching is not Pettersson but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Ross Colton one that got away in Guentzel trade talks?: Colorado made an aggressive, sneaky play for Jake Guentzel last March at the trade deadline. There have certainly been some whispers in the Penguins organization that Kyle Dubas/Jason Spezza put too much stock into their familiarity with Michael Bunting and it wasn’t unanimous by any means to take the Hurricanes offer. Word is one prominent front office member To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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MORE BUZZ: Was Sunday’s game a classic case of if this is how the team is going to defend most nights, just go down swinging with Joel Blomqvist this season and let him develop as a strong consensus is emerging Blomqvist is too good for the American Hockey League?……..Tristan Jarry is expected to get action in one of the next two games. The organization believes a lot of his early issues are between the ears and there’s been a lot of work off the ice going over tape, ect……..Cody Glass has posted strong underlying #’s that’s seeing him get a little run on the third line and that’s expected to continue tonight. Glass has 6 goals in his last 51 NHL games………Lack of explosiveness in Sidney Crosby’s skating ability becoming a noticeable trend early on? One former NHL player tells me To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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“That’s why I’m Well Compensated”

Mike Tomlin stating facts after the Steelers 37-15 win over the New York Jets when asked about going against his coaching staff and front office on starting Russell Wilson.

The ‘Lone Ranger’ was on cloud nine after this one and you could see the body language for the first time in years. Tomlin believes he finally has a real quarterback and has the look of a coach who believes the trajectory is heading towards this team truly being a top contender this season.

We’ll find out soon enough with the second half schedule. Tomlin, though, has a pep in his step that correlates with the QB decision in the mold of thanks for your contributions ‘Justin’ but this isn’t a development year like 2022 and 2023 with the Kenny Pickett Experiment.

Russell Wilson on Sunday shuddered the QB discussion before time even ran out in the fourth quarter as the Steelers averaged 6.3 yards per play in the victory.

“I thought he was excellent,” Tomlin said of Wilson . “I thought he got better as the game went on. But I’m not surprised by that. It’s been a while since he played some ball, but I thought he settled in, knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well.”

From Wilson it wasn’t just the deep ball/intermediate passing game to go with the command of the offense at the line of scrimmage. It was the body language from the entire offense. Pittsburgh’s best offensively players were finally put in position to be their best players. The jubilant sideline afterwards from George Pickens to Najee Harris was striking.

Key Development? George Pickens was unlocked with 5 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Targeted nine times, Pickens drew a deep pass interference call, and he easily could have gone for 150+ yards receiving in this one. Pickens being properly used was a major development Sunday night in that Pickens was unlocked and having fun. Wilson’s ability to attack the Jets defense when the Steelers had favorable 1-on-1 situations from a Pickens or Freiermuth is something Justin Fields just can’t do. Pat Freiermuth was unleashed for a 30-yard reception, while Calvin Austin also hauled in a 36-yard reception in the middle of the field off play-action. Wilson’s ability in the passing game led to the Steelers gashing the Jets on the ground in the second half as Pittsburgh rushed for 108 of their 149 rushing yards in the second half.

Najee Harris had a breakout second half once again, finishing with 102 yards on 21 carries, a long run of 34 yards that was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Warren was another X-factor for first time this season. 44 yards on 12 carries and added 15 yards receiving with a nifty third down conversion for 11 yards.

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

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Sidney Crosby hits the record book with a first period goal tonight vs the Buffalo Sabres in clinching an NHL record 20th straight Point-Per-Game Season, passing Wayne Gretzky.

As Crosby moves to being the first NHL player ever with 20 point per game seasons, three Penguins are among the Top-5 All-Time in Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Mario Lemieux.

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