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Evening Notes: Penguins, Henrique, Matthews

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The Pittsburgh Penguins could be set for a flashy end to an era, with NHL insider Kevin Weekes sharing that the team’s departure from head coach Mike Sullivan could come via a coach-trade (Twitter link). Pittsburgh hasn’t yet granted Sullivan, who is set to begin a three-year extension next season, permission to talk with any other clubs. That control is invaluable in the current NHL, with four teams currently without a coach and plenty more questioning their bench-leader. Pittsburgh has been no stranger to coaching drama in the early offseason, recently relieving two AHL coaches and one NHL assistant of their duties. These moves came despite Sullivan being “vehemently opposed” to changing his staff, says Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link).

Sullivan took over Pittsburgh’s head coach role midway through the 2015-16 season and quickly carried the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. He’s held onto the role despite three changes in general manager and one change in ownership – ultimately becoming the second-longest tenured active coach in the NHL, behind Tampa’s Jon Cooper.

The NHL hasn’t seen a coach-for-coach trade, though there have been coach-for-picks trades. This includes the Quebec Nordiques’ trading of head coach Michel Bergeron to the New York Rangers in 1987. Quebec received what would end up as the fifth-overall pick in 1988 in return, using it to select winger Daniel Dore. The Toronto Maple Leafs also traded Quebec exclusive rights to negotiate with then-AHL head coach Marc Crawford as a part of the 1994 trade that sent Mats Sundin to Toronto. Crawford went on to serve four seasons as Quebec/Colorado’s head coach, even leading the Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup.

While it’s hard to imagine what a coach-trade would look like in modern day, there’s no doubting that Mike Sullivan would carry significant value on the open market. He’s been an NHL head coach for parts of 11 seasons, and has Stanley Cup pedigree on his resume. He becomes one of the many talented, and long-tenured, coaches to monitor as NHL teams shake things up this summer.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Edmonton Oilers forward Adam Henrique has suffered an lower-body injury but isn’t expected to miss time, shares Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor (Twitter link). Gregor adds that the injury was suffered in Game 5 and forced Henrique out of practice on Friday. The Oilers won’t begin the Second Round until early next week, giving injured players a chance to heal up. Henrique has served in a top-six role since being acquired at the Deadline, recording two points in five games this postseason and nine points in 22 regular-season games with Edmonton.
  • Superstar forward Auston Matthews was present at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Friday practice after missing the last two games with an undisclosed ailment, shares Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe told Whyno that Matthews is progressing, though the team still isn’t sure if he’ll be available for Game 7. The Maple Leafs have come back from the brink of elimination in Matthews’ absence, forcing a Game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series. They’ll look to finish the comeback on Saturday, with or without their historical scorer.

Penguins Part Ways With Associate Coach Todd Reirden

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The Penguins are not bringing back associate coach Todd Reirden next season, the club announced Friday. He was on an expiring contract.

Reirden has served on head coach Mike Sullivan’s staff for the past four seasons, overseeing their power play and defense corps. The Penguins hired the former NHL defenseman in the 2020 offseason after he was let go as head coach of the Capitals, a role he held for two years.

Over Reirden’s tenure, the Penguins have had one of the most consistently underwhelming man-advantage units in the league. Their 19.9% power play success rate over the past four seasons ranks 18th in the NHL, surprisingly low considering the talent level of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin that they’ve had at their disposal nearly the entire time. General manager Kyle Dubas gave Reirden a new toy to play with when he acquired elite offensive blue-liner Erik Karlsson this summer, but it somehow had a worse effect. Pittsburgh’s power play clicked at just 15.3% this season, only ahead of the Blue Jackets (15.1%) and Flyers (12.2%).

The Penguins were middle-of-the-pack defensively, allowing 30.2 shots per game, only 0.4 more than the league median this season. The pairing of Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson had a strong campaign at even strength, controlling 54.7% of expected goals when deployed together, per MoneyPuck. But free-agent signing Ryan Graves struggled in his top-four role, posting worse results than Pettersson when utilized with both Karlsson and Letang.

Pittsburgh finished just three points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference this season. Even an average power play and slightly improved results from Graves likely would have given them the two additional wins they needed to return to postseason action.

Reirden becomes a free agent, and while he likely won’t be under consideration for any head coaching vacancies, could still land on an NHL bench somewhere next season. Before assuming the head coaching job with Washington in 2018, he’d spent four years there as an associate and assistant coach under Barry Trotz. His first NHL gig came with the Penguins in 2008, serving as the assistant and head coach for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for three years before spending another four as an NHL assistant.

Evening Notes: Bjorkqvist, DeSmith, Bardakov

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Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Kasper Bjorkqvist has signed with Ilves in Finland’s Liiga (according to Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). The 26-year-old has spent the past two seasons in Finland after spending parts of three years in the Penguins organization where he largely played in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Bjorkqvist was the Penguins’ second-round pick in 2016 (61st overall) but was never able to find his offensive game as a professional in North America tallying just 10 goals and four assists in 65 career AHL games. He was able to get into six NHL games during the 2021-22 season, posting a single goal. Since returning to Finland two years ago to play with Kärpät, Bjorkqvist has dressed in 82 games tallying nine goals and 14 assists.

While he will remain in Finland in the near future, Bjorkqvist’s NHL rights will remain with the Penguins.

In other evening notes:

  • Vancouver Canucks play-by-play voice Brendan Batchelor tweeted that Canucks goaltender Casey DeSmith has a lower-body injury but should be good to backup for the Canucks tonight when they try to end their first-round series against the Nashville Predators. DeSmith practiced with the Canucks this morning, but it appeared in the game day skate that Artūrs Šilovs would be the starting goalie for Game 5. There is a possibility that DeSmith could start tonight, but Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet stopped short of announcing his starting goalie.
  • Colorado Avalanche prospect Zakhar Bardakov has reportedly signed a one-year extension with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. The 23-year-old was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL entry draft (203rd overall) and has yet to sign an ELC with the Avalanche after he was traded on March 1st of this year along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for Kurtis MacDermid. While Bardakov has signed in the KHL for another season, he could come to North America in 2025. Bardakov posted six goals and six assists in 51 regular season games last season with SKA.

Latest On Penguins Coaching Staff

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The Penguins have not received any formal requests to speak with head coach Mike Sullivan about other league vacancies, general manager Kyle Dubas told The Athletic’s Rob Rossi. However, that doesn’t mean they’re not internally debating the future of the rest of their coaching staff, as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports internal discussions about the future of their assistants have “contributed to noise” about Sullivan and increased other teams’ interest in his services. Rossi added that the Devils are interested in Sullivan to succeed Lindy Ruff, who they fired and replaced with interim boss Travis Green midseason, but haven’t submitted a request to speak with him.

While there’s no concrete indication yet that the Penguins are considering moving on from Sullivan, it does appear the futures of associate coach Todd Reirden, assistants Ty Hennes and Mike Vellucci and goaltending coach Andy Chiodo are uncertain. Reirden and Vellucci have either held NHL head coaching roles or generated interest in head coaching roles in the past and may get interviews for the five-plus vacancies around the league if Pittsburgh opts not to bring them back. They both signed two-year deals in 2022 that finished up in 2023-24 and will no longer be under contract with the Pens as of July 1.

The Penguins have already made one coaching change this summer, opting to part ways with a pair of AHL coaches, including bench boss J.D. Forrest. It was an unexpected choice, as a middling WBS squad finished ninth in the AHL with a 39-24-8-1 record.

The NHL club, meanwhile, fell short of the postseason for the second straight season despite a 42-goal, 94-point campaign from captain Sidney Crosby. It’s their first time missing the playoffs in back-to-back years since they were out of postseason contention from 2002 to 2006.

Firing Sullivan would mean Pittsburgh is still on the hook to pay him a reported total of $16.5MM over the next three seasons, thanks to an extension signed under previous GM Ron Hextall in 2022 – that certainly qualifies as a deterrent.

Penguins Sign Filip Larsson To Two-Year Deal

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced another signing today as they’ve inked goaltender Filip Larsson to a two-year contract that will run through the 2025-26 season and carry an average annual value of $775K in the NHL. The 25-year-old Larsson spent last season with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League where he posted a 19-9-0 record with a 1.93 goals against average and .920 save percentage.

Larsson’s two-year, two-way deal will breakdown as follows (via CapFriendly):

  • 2024-25 – $775k / $400k
  • 2025-26 – $775k / $500k

Larsson was selected in the sixth round (167th overall) by Detroit in the 2016 NHL entry draft and played a year in the NCAA at the University of Denver, posting a 13-6-3 record during the 2018-19 season.

He never played an NHL game while in the Red Wings organization but did play seven AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2019-20 season posting poor results with a 2-5 record along with an .843 save percentage and a 4.01 goals-against average.

After a stop in the ECHL, Larsson went home to Sweden where he spent the past four seasons split between the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan. In the last three seasons, Larsson has posted some incredible numbers in Sweden, twice topping a .920 save percentage. It will be interesting to see if he can duplicate some of that success on North American ice.

Larsson’s signing creates more intrigue in the Penguins crease as it is possible there could be significant movement in Pittsburgh’s net after starter Tristan Jarry didn’t start in the Penguins’ final 13 games after backup Alex Nedeljkovic nearly led the team to an improbable spot in the NHL playoffs. Nedeljkovic is an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and many in Pittsburgh feel that he might have priced himself out of town with his strong finish to the season. The Penguins also have 22-year-old Joel Blomqvist who appears ready to challenge for an NHL spot next season as a backup. Larsson’s addition adds another option for the Penguins this summer as they look to get back into the playoffs next year.

Penguins Sign Sam Poulin To Two-Year Extension

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed young forward Sam Poulin to a two-year two-way contract extension with an average annual value of $775K. The contract runs through the 2025-26 season and likely signals that the Penguins expect the 23-year-old to break the NHL roster next season after he played just six NHL games over the past two seasons including three games this past year in which he went scoreless. Thus far in his limited NHL action, Poulin has tallied a single assist.

Poulin would have become a restricted free agent on July 1st. His new contract will break down as follows (Figures courtesy of PuckPedia):

  • Year 1: $775K NHL/$100K AHL
  • Year 2: $775K NHL/$325K AHL

The Penguins 2019 first-round pick (21st overall) spent the bulk of the 2023-24 season with the Penguins American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he had an offensive breakthrough posting 16 goals and 15 assists in 41 games. Poulin’s 31 points ranked him fourth on the team in scoring and was his best offensive season in professional hockey despite dealing with injuries and illness for a big chunk of the year.

The Blainville, Quebec native likely would have seen more time at the NHL level but the timing of his injuries was unfortunate as he found himself hurt on several occasions when Pittsburgh needed to bring players up from the AHL. When he was eventually recalled after the NHL trade deadline, he was ill on multiple occasions which led to him being scratched for much of his stay on the NHL roster.

Poulin will have ample opportunities to make the Penguins out of training camp as the Penguins have been underwhelmed by the offensive output of their bottom six forwards for several seasons in a row.

Penguins Will Not Bring Back AHL Coach And Assistant

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’re not renewing the contracts of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach J.D. Forrest as well as assistant coach Kevin Porter after they led Wilkes-Barre Scranton to its highest win total in six seasons.

The AHL Penguins finished third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and had numerous Penguins prospects getting their first taste of professional playoff hockey, however, the team lasted just two games as they were eliminated by a lower-seeded team in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this past Friday.

Forrest was promoted to head coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back in 2020 after he’d been an assistant coach with the team since 2016. He coached the baby Penguins in each of the last four years, missing the playoffs twice while getting eliminated in the first round in their only two playoff appearances under his leadership. While Forrest won just 113 out of the 252 games he coached, he didn’t exactly have a strong lineup as the Penguins’ minor-league system has been one of the worst in the NHL for quite some time.

Assistant coach Porter was a previous Penguins player, having dressed in 43 regular-season games with the team during their back-to-back Stanley Cup seasons in 2016 and 2017. Porter tallied just three assists during that time and eventually wrapped up his playing career as the captain of the AHL’s Rochester Americans in 2019-20. The 38-year-old has been Forrest’s assistant for his entire run as head coach of the team.

Penguins Notes: Pettersson, Nedeljkovic, Smith, Rakell, Bemstrom

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While Sidney Crosby’s potential for a contract extension will certainly dominate the offseason speculation in Pittsburgh, he’s not the only Penguins player of note who is eligible for a new deal.  Blueliner Marcus Pettersson will be entering the final year of his contract next season, making him eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.

While many expect Crosby will sign quickly, Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the team is optimistic that Pettersson will also put pen to paper on a new deal quickly this summer.  The 27-year-old is coming off his best season, one that saw him post career-highs offensively with four goals and 26 assists while also logging 22:40 per night, another benchmark that also put him third on the team in that regard.  Producing like and playing the minutes of a second-pairing defender should have Pettersson in line for a fairly sizable raise on his current $4.025MM price tag.

More from Pittsburgh:

  • Alex Nedeljkovic certainly played well down the stretch, playing a big role in their late push for a playoff spot. That performance may push him out of Pittsburgh altogether though as Rossi notes that the team is operating with the belief that the 28-year-old will get better offers in free agency than what the team can afford to offer.  That means that Tristan Jarry would return as the starter next season with prospect Joel Blomqvist potentially moving up from the minors to serve as the backup.  Nedeljkovic finished with 2.97 GAA and a .902 SV% in 38 games, positioning himself for a raise on the $1.5MM he received this season.
  • Still from Rossi, winger Reilly Smith wasn’t moved at the trade deadline with his market being thin due to having another year at a $5MM price point but the team believes there will be more interest this summer now that he’ll be a rental. The 33-year-old took a step back offensively in his first season with the Pens, going from 26 goals and 30 assists to 13 and 27 respectively, good for seventh in team scoring.  A capable two-way forward with over 100 playoff games under his belt, Smith should definitely have some suitors this summer but GM Kyle Dubas may need to retain salary to maximize the return for him.
  • One winger who struggled this year was Rickard Rakell who was limited to 15 goals and 22 assists in 70 games. If you take out the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, this was Rakell’s lowest output since his first full NHL season back in 2014-15.  Speaking with SportExpressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom, the 30-year-old indicated that he had been playing through a shoulder injury going back to his return to the lineup back in December (when he missed a dozen games due to that issue) which certainly could have played a role in his decline in production.  Because of the injury, Rakell has declined an invitation to play at the Worlds next month.

Evening Notes: Karlsson, Granlund, Bratt

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Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins star defenseman Erik Karlsson will play for Sweden in the IIHF World Championship in Czechia. The tournament, which goes from May 10th – May 26th will extend the 33-year-old’s season after the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention six days ago.

Karlsson had a disappointing first season in Pittsburgh but played very well down the stretch which coincided with Pittsburgh’s final push to try and make the playoffs. Although they ultimately fell short of securing a playoff spot, the Penguins’ late run gives reason for optimism as Karlsson finally seemed to find his offensive rhythm with the team posting three goals and seven assists in the final eight games of the regular season.

In other evening notes:

  • San Jose Sharks forward Mikael Granlund will reportedly play for Team Finland at the World Championship (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). The 32-year-old was a salary dump when he was traded as part of the Erik Karlsson move to Pittsburgh last summer but had a bounce-back season with the Sharks tallying 12 goals and 48 assists in 69 games. While his possession numbers continued to be poor, he demonstrated strong work on the Sharks’ powerplay posting a goal and 22 assists with the man advantage. Granlund looked like a buyout candidate last year, but with one year left on his contract at $5MM, he could potentially fetch the Sharks an asset at next year’s trade deadline if they don’t move him this summer.
  • James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now is reporting that New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt turned down Sweden’s invitation for him to play at the World Championships due to injury. The 25-year-old dressed in all 82 games for the Devils this season and had a career year posting 27 goals and 56 assists. Despite the ailment, it is not expected that Bratt will miss an extended period, which is good news for New Jersey as he enters the second year of his eight-year $63MM contract.

Brayden Yager Could Sign Entry-Level Contract After His Season Ends

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  • The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled a host of prospects to the AHL, including first-round pick Owen Pickering, who’s WHL season ended on April 19th. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton could be due for even more WHL reinforcements, with the fellow first-rounder Brayden Yager also likely to sign an entry-level contract and join the team following the end of his WHL season (Twitter link). This information comes following Kyle Dubas’ sharing that he hopes both Yager and Pickering could challenge an NHL roster spot next season. Yager is currently leading the Moose Jaw Warriors through the WHL Playoffs, set to meet the Saskatoon Blades in the league’s semi-finals. The 19-year-old centerman has 14 points, split evenly, through nine postseason appearances; after posting 95 points in 57 regular-season games. His availability for the AHL postseason largely depends on when Moose Jaw’s season comes to a close, though they could be poised for a run to the Memorial Cup with a two more series-wins.

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