Latest Pens Buzz: Crosby/Contact; Scouts take on Malkin; On Re-alignment, Sullivan & Jeffrey

*Sidney Crosby wants more contact in practices from his teammates but he’s unlikely to get the type of game situation contact he seeks at anypoint before he returns to game action.

Crosby took a decent bump from Deryk Engelland but other than that, there was limited contact Crosby’s way in Tuesday’s practice.

With teammates, as expected, being shy about hitting Crosby, it might be ideal for the Penguins to hire Ryan Clark and he can do headbutt exercises with Crosby on the side.

Steve Sullivan has 0 goals in 13 games and when he’s in the goal scoring areas for prime scoring chances, he looks like an old player on the decline, similar to Alex Kovalev last season.

However, he could still be worth a look with Sidney Crosby on the right side with lets say Chris Kunitz on the left side. Why? Because of his vision and ability to distribute the puck, something that is still a strength in his game.

*One possible scenario that could deter Sidney Crosby from returning November 11th? The Penguins playing the following night @ Carolina in back-to-back situations.

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One scouts view on Evgeni Makin: “Not finishing enough plays…….{Still an} immature player….”

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The Penguins are furious about potential re-alignment that will have them in separate divisions from the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. The Flyers “publicly” have come out in support of keeping Pittsburgh and Philadelphia together in the same division but league sources say behind the scenes the Flyers are not making much of a fuss and likely won’t in the end.

Under the current realignment proposal that is gaining steam and support, Philadelphia is said to not have a big issue with it, which would still have several of their rivalries intact through division play, including the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, among others.

From a development standpoint, I’m told some members of the Penguins organization feel that the ideal situation for Dustin Jeffrey would be to have him playing in Wilkes Barre, getting top six minutes, top special teams minutes. Problem is — Jeffrey’s eligible for waivers.