Jagr Weekend was a First-Class Operation: Top to bottom the Pittsburgh Penguins organization put on an amazing display with the retirement of Jaromir Jagr’s #68. President of Business operations Kevin Acklin deserves his popcorn. Acklin was the frontman in making this happening. It’s easy to put together a plan, but to enact it and deliver it so well like the Penguins organization did is something else altogether.

The Penguins have now set a precedent on how you go all out for a franchise icon. It wasn’t just the festivities Sunday afternoon with the hanging of #68 to the rafters. This was basically a 72-hour celebration that started on Friday and Pittsburgh knocked every step along the way out of the park. There were so many wow moments throughout the weekend and the Jagr highlights leading up to his speech just hit home what a powerful force he was on the ice. It was a good reminder of how unique and great of a player he was in that era. They didn’t deliver Six Championships together, but it was fitting the highlight reel showed the clip of Jagr/Lemieux torching the New York Rangers in the 1996 playoffs with John Davidson saying the Penguins had two Michael Jordan’s in Jagr/Lemieux.

A Season Ending Loss?

Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ice didn’t do their part. You just can’t lose that game in the fashion the Penguins did in giving up two goals in a 3:01 span late in the third period that included a go-ahead shorthanded goal against by Adrian Kempe. The Kings comeback was not stunning because this is who the current Penguins are; competitive on a nightly basis but every game is a struggle to get a clean two points. The Kempe goal just felt like a season ending loss to start a critical homestand. There was such an energy in the building — Sidney Crosby gets the opening goal as the power play was buzzing early with great movement/shot placement; Tristan Jarry was a brick wall; Despite all the grade-A chances Pittsburgh might have been giving up throughout, it just felt the hockey gods were not going to let them lose. — Instead, reality sunk again that the Penguins have Sidney Crosby and about 15 passengers right now on the roster.

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MORE BUZZ

Phillips Waiver Claim sign Pittsburgh won’t be adding? Time will tell if this holds true but one league executive’s immediate reaction (On Friday prior to the Kings loss) to the Penguins claiming Matthew Phillips in taking the Penguins up 49 contracts is the team will have no plans To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Whispers Mike Sullivan has soured on Puljujarvi already: On Saturday there were a lot of whispers coming out of the organization that Mike Sullivan left their coaching meetings Saturday morning with the tentative plan to scratch To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Lineup Buzz: More prominent wrinkles to the lines/pairings on Monday was P.O. Joseph getting first pairing reps with Kris Letang, while Marcus Pettersson moves back with Erik Karlsson. Based off performance To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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