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Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Rust, DeSmith

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Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry is back skating. He has not practiced with the team but took to the ice after yesterdays practice in Colorado. The Penguins defense has been decimated by injuries in recent days as Petry, Jan Rutta, Dmitry Kulikov and Marcus Pettersson are all sidelined with various ailments. Things have become so dire for the Penguins that even potential call-ups Ty Smith and Xavier Ouellet are hurt as well.

The timing of these injuries could not be worse for Pittsburgh, they are in a dogfight with the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have been forced to dive deep into their AHL lineup to find replacements for their injured rearguards and are now using the Taylor Fedun to fill out their roster. Fedun played Monday night against the Ottawa Senators and was fine in a sheltered role, but should the Penguins defense ever get healthy he would likely be the 12th defenseman.

Petry has not had a great first season in Pittsburgh, he has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries throughout the season. When he has played, he has largely been okay, but with a cap hit of $6.25MM the Penguins can’t afford for him to be just okay. The Michigan native has 26 points in 52 games and has been a valuable part of Marcus Pettersson’s development this season, but he has had trouble at times matching the foot speed of the young forwards on some of Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference rivals.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Bryan Rust left yesterday’s Penguins practice in disgust after taking a Jason Zucker shot off his right hand. Rust returned a short time later and no update was provided on the incident. Pittsburgh will not practice today, which means we likely won’t have any updates until their game this evening with the Colorado Avalanche. Rob Rossi did tweet that Rust’s return to the ice for practice appeared to be a good sign. It has been a difficult season for the 30-year-old forward, he has 38 points in 69 games which is well off his near point a game pace from the three previous seasons. He has appeared visibly frustrated in recent weeks, the most obvious instance being in Monday’s game against Ottawa when his failure to clear the zone on a Senators powerplay led to the game winning goal.
  • Rob Rossi of The Athletic is also reporting that Casey DeSmith did not participate in Penguins practice yesterday. While he was not injured, he was apparently forced back to the team’s hotel with an illness. Not much else is known, but it could create another interesting development for the Penguins as they have a back-to-back tonight in Colorado and then in Dallas tomorrow against the Stars. DeSmith stood on his head earlier this season with a 41 save win against the Avalanche and would have presumably started tonight or tomorrow’s game. Should he remain sick it could force the Penguins to use Jarry in both games, which is something they may be hesitant to do given Jarry’s play lately. The Surrey native has struggled in recent weeks having been pulled in four of his previous 11 starts, this has cratered his save percentage which now sits at just .907 for the season. Not ideal for a goaltender who is just over three months away from unrestricted free agency.

Marcus Pettersson Put On LTIR By Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman Marcus Pettersson has been put on LTIR retroactive to March 18th. Pettersson left in the third period of Saturday’s 6-0 loss against the New York Rangers with what is being described as a lower body injury. Pettersson was shuttled back and forth from the bench to the dressing room a few times in that game but was eventually shutdown when it became out of reach.

The Penguin’s defense has been decimated by injuries in the past week. Right shot defensemen Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta are both already sidelined by ailments, and now Pettersson has joined them. The Penguins open the week against the Ottawa Senators this evening and will have to try and battle without half of their starting defense. They already brought up Mark Friedman on the weekend, and now have recalled Taylor Fedun who skated with the team this morning at practice.

Fedun is the captain of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and last played in the NHL during the 2019-20 season when he had 9 points for the Dallas Stars in 27 games. Fedun won’t offer the Penguins much offense, but he is a defensively sound and capable replacement for the Penguins short term. So far in the AHL this season, Fedun has 10 points in 53 games.

It’s a tough break for Pettersson and the Penguins as he has really flourished this season in an expanded role. He has spent large stretches on the Penguins top defensive unit next to Kris Letang and has played some terrific hockey. Coming into Saturday’s loss, Pettersson had 11 points in his previous 10 games and was just a single point away from matching his career high. This is a far cry from a year ago when the Penguins tried to move on from Pettersson but couldn’t find any takers for the Swedish defenseman.

The Penguins will try and overcome this hurdle beginning tonight at home to the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh currently sits seven points ahead of Ottawa for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games to play. The Penguins have been on a slide having lost three games in a row, including the blowout loss to the Rangers. The Penguins have been an uneven team throughout the year having gone on several lengthy winning and losing streaks. For now, they control their postseason fate, but with a surging Florida Panthers team sitting one point back, they could be prone to a letdown in what has been a disappointing season thus far.

Injury Notes: Duclair, Pettersson, Kane

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The Florida Panthers had a nice bonus at practice today when Anthony Duclair joined the group, albeit in a non-contact sweater. The injured forward is coming back from an Achilles tear last summer, and finally getting closer to getting back into game action. Head coach Paul Maurice spoke with reporters including David Dwork of WPLG Local 10, explaining that the timeline.

I’m hopeful we can get him into a full practice prior to the [All-Star] break, where he’s banging. That way he knows how to train in the break. There’s a chance [he could play] before, but realistically we’re thinking just after the break he can be a player for us. 

Maurice went on to explain that as soon as he is fully healthy, Duclair will go right back into the lineup, even if there is some rust on his game. Of course, to activate him the Panthers will need to make some other transactions, as some of his $3MM in cap space is currently being used while he is on long-term injured reserve. Duclair had 31 goals and 58 points in 74 games last season.

  • Not only is Marcus Pettersson out of the lineup tonight for the Pittsburgh Penguins – he’s not even on the trip. Pettersson did not travel and is still dealing with the illness that has kept him off the ice. The 26-year-old has turned into one of the team’s most reliable players this year, logging nearly 21 minutes a night and providing outstanding defense in a bigger role.
  • As expected, Patrick Kane confirmed to reporters including Mark Lazerus of The Athletic that he will make his return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup tonight after missing a few games with a lower-body injury. All eyes are on Kane as the trade deadline approaches, and while he continues to climb up the all-time points list. His 1,207 regular season points put him 48th, just two behind Bernie Nicholls and three behind Bobby Clarke.

Metro Notes: Penguins, Thompson, Mukhamadullin

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The Pittsburgh Penguins went into yesterday’s free agency frenzy with eight defensemen already under one-way contracts for the upcoming season. Then they made their biggest signing of the day a three-year deal for Jan Rutta. Now, with too many defensemen and not enough spots, it appears a trade is coming.

General manager Ron Hextall admitted as much at a press conference yesterday, explaining there were a “couple too many” defensemen with the team now. It should come as no surprise then when David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that John Marino and Marcus Pettersson are both “out there” in trade talks today. The two defensemen are both signed for at least three years and at least $4MM per season, meaning these won’t be scrap heap buys for anyone who is interested.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to hire Rocky Thompson, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The former minor league enforcer parted ways with the San Jose Sharks last September, explaining that due to a medical exemption that prevented him from taking a COVID-19 vaccine, he was not permitted to continue as the team’s associate coach. Thompson has a strong coaching resume that includes stints as the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires and Chicago Wolves, though as Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic notes, it is unclear what kind of restrictions his vaccination status will lead to next season.
  • It appears as though Shakir Mukhamadullin could be spending another year in the KHL, as he is listed in the league transfers as signing a new contract with Ufa Salavat Yulaev, the club he has spent the last several seasons with. The New Jersey Devils prospect did sign his entry-level contract in the NHL but it includes a European Assignment Clause. It is likely that this new KHL agreement is in case he fails to make the Devils roster out of camp, and will lead to his return overseas instead of assignment to the AHL. There’s no rush for the 20-year-old, though he will burn the first year of his ELC no matter where he plays this season.

Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel Added To COVID Protocol

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Nov 12: Despite clearing the protocol yesterday, Pettersson and Ruhwedel are still ineligible to travel with the Penguins to Canada for tomorrow’s game against the Ottawa Senators. With that in mind, the team has actually placed both back on the protocol, for the time being, allowing them to recall Juuso Riikola and Louis Domingue for the short road trip. Pettersson actually also suffered an injury last night in his return and played just four minutes, but there was no update on his status today.

Tristan Jarry will not travel with the team to Canada either, meeting them in Washington for Sunday’s game against the Capitals instead. This explains Domingue’s recall, as he will serve as backup tomorrow night.

Nov 11: The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting some reinforcements back from the COVID protocol, as both Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel have been activated today. To make room, Taylor Fedun and Juuso Riikola were assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Pettersson especially is a big piece to get back, given his role on the team in the early part of the season. Through eight games, Pettersson was averaging more than 18 minutes a night and had recorded four points. He still leads the team in +/- with a +7 in the early part of the year, and had been recording very strong possession statistics.

Both players were called game-time decisions by assistant coach Todd Reirden, who is still filling in while Mike Sullivan is in the protocol. Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin remain in the protocol as well.

Pettersson and Ruhwedal were both symptomatic, according to a report from the Associated Press, so it remains to be seen whether they will step right into the lineup with one day of practice and a morning skate. The Penguins could certainly use the help, given they have lost two in a row and now sit at 4-3-4 on the year, last in the Metropolitan Division.

Kris Letang Removed From COVID Protocol

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The Pittsburgh Penguins received some good news today as Kris Letang has exited the COVID protocol and will rejoin the club on Wednesday. It’s not all roses though, as both Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson have confirmed positive cases and have now entered the protocol. While Ruhwedel is asymptomatic, Pettersson is experiencing symptoms meaning he will miss at least ten days.

It’s not clear when Letang will jump back into the Penguins lineup, but the fact that he’s out of the protocol and ready to return to practice is a welcome one for Pittsburgh. The team was doing well to keep themselves above water through the early part of the season, but after consecutive losses, things were starting to trend down. With Sidney Crosby returning over the weekend and now Letang on track to join him soon, the team will look a lot more like they expected before long.

Still, losing two others certainly hurts, and head coach Mike Sullivan had the line blender out at practice today to deal with it. Juuso Riikola, who cleared waivers a few weeks ago, was quarterbacking the first powerplay unit (likely with the plan of Letang taking his spot soon enough) while Kasperi Kapanen was skating on the second unit and fourth line. Despite having eight points in the standings, the Penguins are in last place in the tough Metropolitan Division and can’t afford to fall much further behind if they have their eyes on a playoff spot.

Pittsburgh Penguins Content With Tristan Jarry As Starter

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Heading into the off-season, the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed destined to bring in a new goaltender. GM Ron Hextall more than hinted at his desire to add an established veteran to the mix alongside young Tristan Jarry, whose play suffered this past season. Yet, the status quo remains in the Pittsburgh net with Jarry and injury-prone backup Casey DeSmith. 

The root of this unexpected lack of change at the goalie position lies in the salary cap. Even with the departures of Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev, the Penguins are still right up against the upper limit. To this point, high-priced trade chips Jason Zucker, Marcus Pettersson, and Mike Matheson have yet to move, which leaves the team with little wiggle room in the free agent market. With what small space they had, the team opted to replace Tanev and McCann with Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen rather than address the goaltender position.

If and when the team is able to clear some space, perhaps adding a goalie will return to the forefront of their off-season objectives. The free agent market has largely been left bare, but the team could target a trade option such as Dallas’ Ben Bishop or Anton Khudobin, while Joonas Korpisalo, Alexandar Georgiev, and Malcolm Subban are other options believed to be available.

However, the team appears to no longer feel that they absolutely must add a goaltender before next season. Speaking with NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, Hextall stated that he believes Jarry is “going to bounce back” to starter quality for the Penguins this season. The 26-year-old did post a .921 save percentage and 2.43 GAA just a year ago, but those numbers fell to .909 and 2.75 this season. Most jarring was Jarry’s poor performance in the playoffs, in which he looked totally outmatched. Yet, Hextall – a former goalie himself – is confident that Jarry can return to form even without competition from a veteran addition. It seems he trusts DeSmith, who should be recovered from off-season surgery in time for the new campaign, as the backup again as well. This newfound confidence could be a product of the lacking talent available elsewhere or perhaps even some optimism for highly-regarded college free agent addition Filip Lindberg. Whatever the reason, the front office has changed their tune and Penguins fans have to hope that it all works out for the team as their championship window begins to close.

Offseason Checklist: Pittsburgh Penguins

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The offseason has arrived for all but a few teams.  It’s now time to examine what those clubs need to accomplish over the coming months.  It’s going to be a busy summer. What is on deck for the Pittsburgh Penguins?

The Pittsburgh Penguins finished first in what was arguably the best division in the NHL this season. The East boasted the likes of the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and even the New York Rangers, the best team not to make the playoffs. Yet, Pittsburgh finished with 77 points for the fifth-best record in the league despite stiff competition. It seemed like Sidney Crosby and company were primed for another deep playoff run this season. Instead, it all came crashing down quickly in a first-round loss to the Islanders in which Pittsburgh could not counter New York’s smothering approach. The Penguins’ weaknesses were exposed in the postseason and must be addressed in the offseason, but the team currently lacks the flexibility to do much of anything.

Shed Salary

The Penguins cannot start adding until they do some subtracting. Pittsburgh is currently pegged to have just $3.2MM in salary cap space heading into the off-season, a projection that includes just 19 contracts. Forget improving the roster, Pittsburgh needs to create cap space just to preserve their current roster, as key restricted free agents Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese require new contract and the team will likely try to re-sign impending UFA defenseman Cody Ceci as well. Those three alone will cost well more than $3.2MM.

The Penguins could actually receive some help from the Expansion Draft – if they are lucky. Pittsburgh is likely to expose both forward Jason Zucker and defenseman Marcus Pettersson in expansion; the pair are talented players, but underperformed in 2020-21, especially relative to their substantial contracts. Either player would be a loss for the team, but the added cap space would more than make up for the departure.

If the Seattle Kraken instead grab Aston-Reese, Blueger, or Jeff Carter, the Penguins will be in trouble. Even if the pick is Zucker or Pettersson, new GM Ron Hextall will still likely work the phones in an effort to move some salary. Again, Zucker and Pettersson are both good players and the Penguins will not just give them away, but they could be had for a bargain price this summer as Pittsburgh is desperate to shed salary.

Add a Goaltender

What will the Penguins do if they can open up cap space? Hextall, a former goalie himself, has already hinted that adding a veteran netminder is a priority for Pittsburgh this offseason. It is difficult to look at the team’s postseason collapse and not attribute much of the blame to starter Tristan Jarry. The young keeper followed up a stellar 2019-20 season with a decent regular season this year, but he struggled greatly in the postseason and kept the Penguins out of several games. Backup Casey DeSmith actually outplayed Jarry this season, albeit in lesser games, but he himself is also streaky. More importantly, DeSmith is injury-prone and is not a reliable understudy to Jarry. The Penguins need a reliable veteran presence to push their young starter.

Of course, the popular prediction is going to be old friend Marc-Andre Fleury. The Vegas Golden Knights are also looking to shed salary and who better than Fleury, coming off an incredible season, to return to Pittsburgh to stabilize the net before he rides off into the sunset, retiring as Penguin. It all sounds great, but Pittsburgh taking on Fleury’s $7MM salary is an impossibility and Vegas retaining considerable salary, if any, is unlikely. A return for Fleury is probably not going to happen, but the shared history means it can’t be ruled out compeltely.

More reasonable targets include free agents  Frederik Andersen, Jonathan Bernier, James Reimer, Antti Raanta, Jaroslav Halak or Devan Dubnyk. Even a young UFA like Linus Ullmark or Chris Driedger could see Pittsburgh as a good opportunity to win a starting role and prove they can be a top option. If the Penguins are lucky, the market may actually drive down the salary requirements if there are a number of goalies interested in a great situation to win games and have an open competition in net. While free agency seems like the more viable route, trade options will be numerous and the Expansion Draft could shake up the market. Anton Khudobin stands out as an ideal trade candidate.

Improve the Bottom Six

Another area where Hextall and company have been open about their desire to improve is in their forward corps. The Penguins have no problem scoring, but their two-way play up front was a major concern this season. For Pittsburgh to take a step forward and return to postseason success, they must become harder to play against. That starts with getting better defensive play and physical engagement from their forwards. Hextall has harped on the Penguins needing to be more physical and has talked about adding size and grit this off-season, but it’s more than that. Pittsburgh was poor on the penalty kill this season, did not block shorts (particularly at forward) and their issues at the face-off dot continued through the regular season and into the playoffs. In nearly all facets of defensive play, the Penguins must improve.

With that said, retaining the likes of Blueger and Aston-Reese through expansion, getting a full season of Carter, and getting a healthy season from Brandon Tanev is already a great start to improved bottom-six play. The roster does not need a complete overhaul to improve team defense. That doesn’t mean that they can’t add another impact player though. Mark Jankowski, Evan Rodrigues, and Colton Sceviour were not the answer this season and all three are on their way out of town. The Penguins need to use what little cap space they may have left after re-signing their key free agents and adding a goalie to add another veteran difference-maker to round out the bottom-six.

Decide the Future of Malkin and Letang

What is to become of the Penguins’ long-time core? Crosby is still as good as ever and still signed for several years, but Malkin and Letang are entering the final years of their current contracts. Malkin is coming off a down year by his standards and will spend all summer rehabbing from an injury. Letang continues to show signs of slow but steady decline and is not playing up to his $7.25MM price tag. Yet, both players are still major contributors to the team and franchise icons. The new administration has vowed to stick with them, but for how long? Do they enter the season on expiring contracts and deal with the repercussions? Do they sign them to extensions this summer despite the concerns? Do they trade one? Both? There are major questions that need answering about the veteran stars. The front office does not want to hurt themselves in the short-term by moving on too soon from either one, but they also don’t want to hamstring themselves long-term by throwing out new contracts that aren’t necessarily warranted. It’s a difficult decision and one that will weigh on the team this summer.

 

 

Snapshots: Penguins, Waite, Fines

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are under new leadership, so no one has a clear idea of how they will operate at the upcoming trade deadline. Still, Josh Yohe of The Athletic did his best to create a “most-likely-to-leave” list, ranking the Penguins players and evaluating their future with the organization. While Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin remain in their own categories because of the legacy attachment to the franchise, some other rankings could raise some eyebrows.

Specifically, Yohe sees a potential trade coming for Marcus Pettersson, given the team’s left-handed depth and the young defenseman’s contract situation. Pettersson, 24, signed a five-year extension worth more than $20MM in the middle of last season, before the team brought in Mike Matheson (and his hefty contract). With John Marino’s new contract kicking in next season the Penguins have quite a bit of capital tied up on defense, which could lead to someone having to be moved out.

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced last night that Stephane Waite, the team’s goaltending coach, had been relieved of his duties and Sean Burke would take over as director of goaltending. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin confirmed to reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic that Waite was fired during the second period of last night’s game and the decision was not based on anything that happened recently, but a “pattern” that he had noticed. Burke was already under contract with the team through the end of the season and has not been given an extension at this time.
  • Nino Niederreiter has been fined $5,000 for his goaltender interference on Juuse Saros last night, the maximum allowable under the CBA. Niederreiter collided with Saros behind the net, making some contact with his head, and the goaltender left the game with an injury. The Carolina Hurricanes forward will avoid suspension, though this incident will be considered during any future supplementary discipline.

East Notes: Pettersson, Hischier, Johnson, Miller

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Slowly but steadily, the Penguins have been getting some of their defensemen back and it appears one more return is on the horizon.  Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that Marcus Pettersson practiced today without contact restrictions and could be available to suit up against Washington on Tuesday.  The 24-year-old logged over 19 minutes per game on the back end last season and would be a welcome addition to a Pittsburgh back end that is still without Brian Dumoulin and Juuso Riikola.

Still with the Penguins, goaltender Casey DeSmith was unavailable for a second straight day due to illness.  Maxime Lagace is up from the taxi squad for the time being to serve as Tristan Jarry’s backup.

More from the East Division:

  • While Devils center Nico Hischier remains on the CPRA list, there is some good news on his front. Corey Masisak of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that if it wasn’t for Hischier’s placement on the list, he’d be available to play.  That’s notable since the 22-year-old has not yet played this season due to a leg injury sustained back in December.  He’ll be a welcome addition over likely the next few days to a New Jersey lineup that sits 24th in goals per game this season.
  • The Rangers could soon be getting defenseman Jack Johnson back in their lineup. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the veteran, who has missed the last three weeks with a groin injury, could resume practicing at some point this week.  Meanwhile, fellow blueliner K’Andre Miller missed practice today with an upper-body injury and is questionable for Tuesday’s contest against New Jersey.  The rookie has made an immediate impact this season and has four points in 13 games while averaging 19:34 per game, second-most among all first-year players.

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