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Sidney Crosby

Penguins, Sidney Crosby Making Progress On Extension

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After beginning formal extension discussions late last month, the Penguins are close to keeping their franchise cornerstone in the mix for a few more years. Sources tell The Athletic’s Rob Rossi that Pittsburgh should formalize an extension for captain Sidney Crosby in the coming days. The three-time Stanley Cup champion could earn an AAV as high as $10MM on a three-year deal, Rossi indicated back in April.

Crosby, 37 next month, is coming off arguably his best season in quite some time. Over his 19 seasons in Pittsburgh, he’s passed the 40-goal mark three times – including last year. He placed top 10 in Hart Trophy voting for first time since 2021 and top 10 in Selke Trophy balloting as well for the first time since falling just short of being a finalist in 2019. He hasn’t hit the century mark in points since 2018-19, but he did still churn out 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points while playing in all 82 games for the second straight season – the first time he’s done that – to lead the Pens in every offensive category by a wide margin.

The all-time great is entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4MM extension signed immediately upon becoming eligible for one in 2012, a deal that’s seen him play the healthiest hockey of his career. The 5’11” pivot missed a good chunk of what would have been his prime seasons due to concussions, playing only 99 out of 212 regular season games between the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. Since then, injuries have held him out for more than 10 games in a campaign only twice.

The sooner a deal gets signed, the sooner speculation quiets down that Crosby may finish his career anywhere else than Pittsburgh. That’s one of the primary reasons for getting an extension done early this summer, as a league and team source told Rossi that the pending deal is viewed as “a commitment to Pittsburgh” by both Crosby and the Pens’ front office, led by general manager Kyle Dubas.

A cap hit starting with a 10 would be the richest of Crosby’s career, which may seem puzzling as he ages, but it’s likely fair value considering their inability to frontload a new deal as they did with his previous extension, which only paid him $3MM in actual salary in each of the past two seasons and will do so again this year. It’s right in line with his market value, too – Evolving Hockey projects a three-year, $10.82MM AAV deal for Sid the Kid if he inks an extension this month. A full no-move clause, as he had for all 12 seasons of his previous deal, should be expected.

Crosby’s extension won’t quite fall under the same rules as a normal contract. He’ll be given a 35+ contract due to his age, which prevents the Pens from reducing his cap hit by giving him a signing bonus in the second or third season or otherwise front-loading the contract with salary.

Multi-year 35+ contracts aren’t all that common solely because of a player’s age, but they do happen. Former Stars defenseman Ryan Suter is a recent example, inking a four-year deal that was actually backloaded, paying him more salary in the last two years of the deal than in the first two years. That allowed the cap hit to be calculated as normal, equating to the actual average annual value of the contract ($3.65MM). It also allowed them to buy out Suter this offseason and actually receive a cap benefit from doing so. Expect Crosby’s deal to carry a similar backloaded structure or award him even compensation across all three years.

As for the Pens’ roster construction, getting cost certainty on a Crosby extension is imperative for Dubas as he attempts to retool on the fly and get Pittsburgh back to playoff contention in his captain’s final few seasons. They’ve missed the postseason for two years in a row, their first time missing the playoffs in the Crosby era since his 2005-06 rookie season.

[RELATED: Penguins Options To Play On Sidney Crosby’s Line]

With Matthew Nieto expected to start 2024-25 on long-term injured reserve while he recovers from knee surgery, giving Dubas $4.42MM in cap space left to work with this summer – for now. While they’ve had some turnover among their depth defensemen and forwards, they’re expected to run it back with the same top-six forward group and top-four defenders that they ended 2023-24 with. The Penguins are hoping those additions, which include Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevin Hayes, are enough to make up the three-point gap that kept them out of a wild-card spot in the East last season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Penguins Options To Play On Sidney Crosby’s Line

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The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly took a swing at acquiring veteran free agent winger Vladimir Tarasenko to play in their top-six forward group alongside Sidney Crosby but lost out on his services to the Detroit Red Wings. Tarasenko signed a two-year $9.5MM deal with the Red Wings and the Penguins’ interest indicates that they aren’t satisfied with their top two lines as they head into what is likely to be a transitional season for the franchise. The Penguins have Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Michael Bunting returning next season and finished last season with youngster Drew O’Connor replacing Jake Guentzel on the top line as Crosby’s left winger.

O’Connor played well for the Penguins, but he would be better served as a third liner in an ideal world. But given the Penguins’ lack of cap space, and apparent eye towards the future, none of their options will be ideal, but they do have some options when it comes to Crosby’s left winger next season.

Trade Options

Nikolaj Ehlers: Ehlers hasn’t been given an opportunity to be a top-line player with the Winnipeg Jets despite being one of their most effective players. He is the type of player that has thrived with Crosby historically, as he has high-end skill, is a high-level thinker, and is very deceptive and skilled at finding open space. The issue with Ehlers is that he is a year from free agency and the price tag to acquire him will be far too high for the Penguins’ taste given their apparent pivot to acquiring draft picks and younger players.  Murat Ates of The Athletic reported a few weeks ago that Ehlers isn’t likely to extend in Winnipeg but given his age and recent injury history, it’s hard to imagine the Penguins acquiring and extending him long-term.

Patrik Laine: The 26-year-old has fallen on hard times in recent years with the Columbus Blue Jackets but remains an intriguing option on the trade market. Laine is a former second-overall pick who has dealt with injuries in recent seasons but can still score when he is healthy. The Tampere, Finland native was a point-a-game player from 2021-23 but had just nine points in 18 games last season. While the drop in offensive production is alarming, Laine averaged almost four minutes less per game in ice time and wasn’t playing with a skilled center. That being said, his injury issues are a concern and could reduce the cost of acquiring him from Columbus. Laine is a liability defensively and doesn’t necessarily compete on every shift, however, if he were to play on the Penguins’ top line, he would be the best pure goal scorer that Crosby has ever played with.

Unrestricted Free Agent Options

Max Pacioretty: The 35-year-old Pacioretty is well removed from his days as a perennial 30-goal scorer as injuries and the aging curve have slowed down his production. Last year he dressed in 47 games tallying four goals and 19 assists while registering a -14. Pacioretty’s offensive numbers don’t look terrible at first glance, however, nearly half his points came on the power play as he tallied just two goals and 10 assists at even strength. Pacioretty won’t be expensive to sign on a one-year deal, but he hasn’t played more than 47 games in three seasons and his body likely wouldn’t be able to withstand the stress of playing almost 20 minutes a night next to Crosby.

James van Riemsdyk: van Riemsdyk is another former 30-goal scorer on the wrong side of 35 but is coming off a decent offensive season with the Boston Bruins. The Middletown, New Jersey native posted 11 goals and 27 assists last season in 71 games and wasn’t a burden on his teammates. The former second overall pick doesn’t have the pace to play in the top six anymore and would likely be a non-factor in transition which would be a big problem playing with Crosby. JVR could work on the Penguins’ power play and would give the team a net-front presence that they’ve lacked since trading Patric Hornqvist in 2020, however, he might not be physical enough at this point to be effective in the role. At this stage of his career, van Riemsdyk is best served as a fourth-line winger, something the Penguins have more than enough of.

Internal Options

Drew O’Connor: is coming off a career year in which he posted 16 goals and 17 assists in 79 games (all career highs). While those numbers aren’t earth-shattering, they are a remarkable improvement on his previous career year in 2022-23 when he posted just five goals and six assists in 46 games. O’Connor is not a pure offensive player and doesn’t possess strong passing skills or a great, however, he is fast and physical and plays a smart game. All traits they were possessed by one of Crosby’s former long-time wingers Chris Kunitz. O’Connor might be the easiest option for Pittsburgh to slide in alongside Crosby and might be the one they have to use if they don’t facilitate another transaction.

Brayden Yager: Pittsburgh’s 2023 first-round pick (14th overall) is coming off an incredible season with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors in which he posted 35 goals and 60 assists in 57 games. He is likely a season or two away from being ready for the NHL, but the Penguins might opt to give him a nine-game audition to see what they have in the youngster. Yager is a sneaky good shooter and is excellent at taking passes in his shooting pocket, allowing him to fire off shots quickly and accurately. If he can show in training camp that he deserves a longer look he could play his way onto Crosby’s wing for at least a few games if not longer.

Crosby’s Next Winger

The Penguins had issues finding Crosby a linemate early in his career but eventually found a perfect match with Jake Guentzel. Now with Guentzel signed long-term in Tampa Bay, the Penguins are tasked with finding new linemates for Crosby in what will be the final stretch of his NHL career. While all of the options above present some downside, the Penguins are unlikely to find another Guentzel-like player and will need to make some type of concession heading into next season while keeping an eye on the future.

Extension Notes: Crosby, Faber, Reilly

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Hoping to keep extension discussions away from the media, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reported earlier that the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kyle Dubas, has begun extension negotiations with Sidney Crosby. There have been no rumblings on any specific terms between the two sides but the contract is at least expected to keep Crosby in Pittsburgh until his retirement.

It will be the first time in over a decade that Crosby has had to negotiate a contract as he’s entering the final year of a 12-year $104.4MM contract signed in Pittsburgh only three years after the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Averaging a sentimental $8.7MM salary for each year of the deal, it has arguably been one of the best-value contracts in league history.

Over the life of the contract, Crosby has scored 354 goals and 931 points in 802 regular season games while winning two Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythe trophies, one Hart Memorial Trophy, one Ted Lindsay Award, and one Art Ross Trophy. Entering his age 37 season, Crosby may be looking for a three- or four-year agreement with the Penguins that could see an AAV near or above $10MM a year.

Other extension notes:

  • Michael Russo of The Athletic reports the Minnesota Wild and rookie defenseman Brock Faber are expected to meet today to begin contract negotiations. Faber will enter the final year of his entry-level contract during the 2024-25 NHL season but is extension eligible on July 1st. There is no doubt that Faber is a player to invest in as the University of Minnesota product finished second in Calder Trophy voting this past season. Averaging nearly 25 minutes a night for the Wild, Faber scored eight goals and 47 points while playing in all 82 games and proved to be an effective quarterback on Minnesota’s powerplay.
  • Another product of the University of Minnesota is looking to sign a contract extension with his current team. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports that the New York Islanders are working on an extension with defenseman Mike Reilly. After receiving little to no ice time with the Florida Panthers, Reilly was eventually claimed off waivers by the Islanders and gained the opportunity to make a significant impact. In 59 games after the waiver claim, Reilly scored six goals and 24 points in New York while also picking up some time on the powerplay. As the Islanders dealt with numerous injuries to their blue line last season, Reilly represents a capable depth option that can play in nearly any situation.

Penguins GM Kyle Dubas Discusses Offseason Plans

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Last offseason was an eventful one for Penguins President and GM Kyle Dubas.  He wound up losing his job in Toronto only to be hired by Pittsburgh soon after.  Meanwhile, a search for a GM resulted in Dubas simply removing the interim tag from himself.

On the ice, the Penguins were active both on the trade front and free agency.  They added Erik Karlsson in a three-way deal with San Jose and Montreal and Reilly Smith from Vegas on the draft front while adding Ryan Graves, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Lars Eller (among others) on the open market.  But the end result wasn’t an improvement in the standings as they finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division for the second straight year and missed the playoffs.

This time around, it appears the Penguins will be taking a different approach to their summer activity.  Dubas told NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman that the priority will be replenishing their younger assets:

The major focus for us is on right now acquiring as many young players, as many prospects and as many draft picks as we can to try to infuse the team with really good young talent, young players and then have that stocked up for the future as well and attempt to get us back into contention as quickly as we can.

The stated goal of trying to get younger should come as no surprise.  After all, the Penguins had the highest average age of any NHL team in 2023-24.  But it also then stands to reason that Dubas might not be as aggressive when it comes to adding veteran win-now pieces.  Per CapFriendly, they have a little under $13MM in cap room and if prospect Joel Blomqvist ultimately replaces Nedeljkovic (a pending UFA), they won’t have any key free agents of note to contend with; there will be room to add pieces as a result.

In that scenario, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dubas look to some of the younger options on the open market such as Jake DeBrusk or Anthony Duclair, players who can help the team but are still a few years younger than the average age of the team to help them get a little younger and quicker.

Meanwhile, one of the other items on their summer to-do list will be working on an extension for Sidney Crosby.  Dubas had this to say about getting his captain extended:

The key for us is, because of the importance of it and how much Sid means to the organization and the city, we want to keep that as quiet as possible and go through it.  And then hopefully as we get through this summer, get a sense where everybody’s at and then let everybody know at the right time.

The 36-year-old has been Pittsburgh’s franchise forward since he was selected first overall back in 2025.  He has averaged more than a point per game in all 19 NHL seasons, tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record while Crosby now sits tenth in all-time scoring.  He has carried a cap hit of $8.7MM since the 2008-09 season and with how he has played since then, there’s a case to be made that he could get that much or more on an extension.

The length of the deal will ultimately dictate what happens on that front as it’s quite possible that Pittsburgh could do what they did with mainstays Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang when their deals were up, giving them a longer term than expected in an effort to keep the cap hits down.  One way or the other, it seems quite likely that a new deal for Crosby will get done at some point this summer.

Penguins, Sidney Crosby To Discuss Extension This Summer

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With the Penguins missing the playoffs for the second straight year and the team potentially heading for some sort of reset, some have wondered if they could consider parting with franchise icon Sidney Crosby.  However, speaking with reporters today including Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the captain certainly isn’t thinking like that, indicating that he expects to have talks about a contract extension this summer.

It will be the first time in quite a while that Crosby will be discussing a new deal.  He’s about to enter the final year of a 12-year agreement signed back in 2012.  That contract, with a term and a back-diving structure that is now illegal throughout the league, carries an $8.7MM AAV, the price tag he has had every year since the 2008-09 campaign.

In some ways, not a lot has changed over those years.  Crosby has produced over a point per game in each of his 19 NHL campaigns, routinely leading the Penguins in scoring.  Even this season, Crosby had the third-highest goal total of his career (42) along with his highest point total (94) since the 2018-19 campaign.  Suffice it to say, those are impressive numbers, especially for a 36-year-old.

Many players Crosby’s age use their performance as a barometer for when the time might be right to hang up the skates but that isn’t necessarily the case for the captain:

I’ve always just gone year to year, and that’s always served me well as far as how I evaluate my game and that sort of thing. There’s always a lot of factors, but I think that’s separate from talking contracts and, at my age and things like that, there’ll be a lot of factors. But as far as just evaluating my game, I don’t look any differently at how much longer I can play based off that.

Crosby can’t sign his next contract until July 1st as players must be in the final year of their existing deal before becoming extension-eligible.  While the Penguins certainly need to start to make their core younger, they’d be taking a big step back if they can’t reach a new deal with him.  That said, given how smoothly talks have gone in the past, it definitely wouldn’t be surprising if an agreement wasn’t in place at some point in the summer.

Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021).  Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen

Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram

Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen

Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington

Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen

Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell

Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin

Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski

Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene

Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon

Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais

Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson

Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi

Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia

Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron

New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar

New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck

New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick

Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux

Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier

Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby

San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey

Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord

St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont

Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov

Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen

Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo

Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie

Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit

Thoughts On Sidney Crosby’s Future In Pittsburgh

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to part ways with forward Jake Guentzel last Friday, it was not only emblematic of a retooling period for the storied organization but could be a sign of things to come. Still the oldest team in the National Hockey League by over a year on average, the current iteration of this Penguins team is certainly going quietly into the night.

With the main core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson on the wrong side of 30, Pittsburgh is quickly encroaching upon a future where Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Marcus Pettersson lead the team. Not to be taken as a knock on either of those three players, but it will certainly not be good enough for the Penguins to be a competitive team in the Eastern Conference unless some major changes take place.

As difficult as it is to imagine Crosby wearing the sweater of any other team, it is becoming a disappointing end to one of the greatest careers in the history of the game. Last season, Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs for the first time in Crosby’s career since his rookie season, and are headed for the same outcome again this year.

Having one year remaining on his 12-year, $104.4MM contract after this season, Crosby will have the option to leave the only team he has ever known in an attempt to finish his career on a high note. However, being one of the most humble athletes in the game today, there is little to no insight into which way Crosby is leaning.

In this week’s edition of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman shows a lot of empathy with Crosby’s current frustration with the Penguins organization but believes the organization should do everything in its power to retain their franchise player. Friedman believes that if Pittsburgh were to offer Crosby a three-year, $30MM contract; that should be enough to get Crosby to remain with the Penguins.

However, to push back, Friedman’s ideas appear to be an oversimplification of the factors that have driven Crosby in his career. Even when he signed his mega-contract with Pittsburgh back in 2012, paying Crosby an AAV of $8.7MM was a bargain contract for the Penguins.

Owning three Stanley Cup championship rings, two Conn Smythe Trophy victories, and three Olympic Gold Medals, it is more than clear what has driven Crosby throughout his career. Being one of the most competitive athletes in sports history, Crosby is first and foremost concerned about winning, which is something Pittsburgh is not built to do over the next few years.

Of the top-10 highest point scorers in NHL history; Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, and Joe Sakic are the only three to have stayed with the same team throughout their careers, with the others not having the privilege of spending their entire career in one spot. Given that it is not irregular to see a generational player make a move like this, it would be inappropriate to think it would impact Crosby’s legacy in any way.

Nevertheless, if Pittsburgh pulls off some crafty moves this upcoming offseason, there is a legitimate chance they could turn things around. However, it is becoming increasingly likely that this organization is headed for a lengthy rebuild, which is something Crosby may not want to be a part of to finish off his incredible career.

NHL Names Eastern Conference All-Stars

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Sportsnet is reporting that the NHL has named the first 16 selections from the Eastern Conference. These players will appear in the NHL All-Star Game that will take place February 3rd in Toronto.

The game will be held in Canada for the first time since 2012 when it was held in Ottawa. Toronto hasn’t hosted the game since 2000 and it will be highlighted by Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews who was named alongside 15 other Eastern Conference players.

The league names one player to represent each team at the game, all of whom will be named this evening. After which the final 12 players will be decided by a fan vote on NHL.com as well as several of the NHL’s social media platforms.

The initial Eastern Conference players are as follows:

Atlantic Division

Boston: RW David Pastrnak (3rd appearance)
Buffalo: D Rasmus Dahlin  (1st appearance)
Detroit: RW Alex DeBrincat (1st appearance)
Florida: C Sam Reinhart (1st appearance)
Montreal: C Nick Suzuki (3rd appearance)
Ottawa: LW Brady Tkachuk (4th appearance)
Tampa Bay: RW Nikita Kucherov (5th appearance)
Toronto: C Auston Matthews (3rd appearance)

Metropolitan Division

Carolina: F Sebastian Aho (1st appearance)
Columbus: C Boone Jenner (1st appearance)
New Jersey: C Jack Hughes (3rd appearance)
NY Islanders: C Mathew Barzal (1st appearance)
NY Rangers: G Igor Shesterkin (2nd appearance)
Philadelphia: C Travis Konecny (1st appearance)
Pittsburgh: C Sidney Crosby (6th appearance)
Washington: LW Tom Wilson (1st appearance)

The first 16 Western Conference all-stars will be named during the first intermission of tonight’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

More to come…

Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Sanheim, Svechnikov, Wahlstrom

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The Pittsburgh Penguins tweeted today that forwards Rickard Rakell, Noel Acciari, as well as defenseman Chad Ruhwedel will all be game-time decisions when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Minnesota Wild this evening. The news was announced by Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan who has been trying to manage a litany of injuries up and down the Penguins lineup.

Pittsburgh has been mired in a cycle of inconsistent and sloppy play that has been a constant throughout the first third of the NHL season. They are currently sitting in seventh place in the Metropolitan division and are five points out of a wild card position.

The Penguins put forward Bryan Rust on IR just a few days ago, which left them with two big holes in their top 6, however, with the potential return of Rakell it seems likely that he will have an opportunity to fill one of those holes. Rakell has been practicing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel and given his history with the duo it seems likely he return to that spot either tonight or later this week.

Acciari had been centering the Penguins’ fourth line before his injury and seems likely to take up that spot if and when he does return, while Ruhwedel will likely get a look on the Penguins’ third defensive pairing, presumably with youngster John Ludvig who has emerged on the backend for Pittsburgh in recent weeks.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Kevin Kurz of The Athletic is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim was back at practice today and should be good for tomorrow night’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Sanheim was dealing with an undisclosed illness and missed Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 27-year-old had been heating up before getting sick as he had posted two goals and three assists in his previous five games. Sanheim has been a huge part of the Flyers’ surprising start to the season as his 21 points in 29 games has him second in team scoring behind Travis Konecny.
  • Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff is reporting that Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov was a full participant in today’s practice and even was seen taking power play reps with the team. Ruff goes on to add that the 23-year-old could be back in the lineup as soon as tomorrow night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Svechnikov has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury and struggled the week prior to getting hurt. On the season, the former second-overall pick has just a single goal in 16 games, although he does have 10 assists as well. Carolina has underperformed so far this season but currently sits in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Getting Svechnikov healthy and productive once again could be a big boost for Carolina as they close in on the mid-way point of the season.
  • Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News is reporting that New York Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom missed practice today with an illness. The 23-year-old was unlikely to play in tomorrow night’s game even if healthy as he has been a healthy scratch for the Islanders in seven straight games. Wahlstrom has just two goals and three assists in 17 games this season and has been averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time a game when he has been in the lineup.

Penguins Notes: Rakell, Ruhwedel, Acciari

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The voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins Josh Getzoff tweeted today that Penguins winger Rickard Rakell is back at the team’s practice today in a regular practice jersey. Rakell is eligible to come off the LTIR tomorrow and has been skating for about a week. Rakell has been out of the lineup with an upper-body injury since November 19th.

Rakell has struggled this season with just four assists in 17 games. It’s difficult to believe that he hasn’t scored yet given that he’s played with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby for the bulk of his shifts. Rakell hasn’t played poorly, he continues to drive play when he is on the ice, but he’s been unable to finish when he’s had chances, and he has continued to get chances this year with 38 shots on goal.

His return will be something to keep an eye on as he has played primarily with Malkin and Reilly Smith but has historically played better with Crosby and Jake Guentzel who are flanked now by fourth-liner Drew O’Connor.

If Rakell can get going, it would be a big boost for the Penguins who have struggled to score goals in recent weeks.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Getzoff also tweeted that Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel is back in regular practice jersey as well. Ruhwedel is week-to-week right now with a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup since November 19th. No word on a return date yet for the 33-year-old, but when he does re-join the lineup, it will create a further logjam for the Penguins’ bottom defensive pairing. Ruhwedel has a single assist in 15 games this season and has struggled at times defensively which is uncharacteristic given that he typically plays a safe and simple brand of defense.
  • Getzoff also offered an update on forward Noel Acciari stating that the 32-year-old was back at Penguins practice today in a white no-contact jersey. Acciari was put on the injured reserve about a week ago and is eligible to play if he can. His first season for Pittsburgh has been a rollercoaster thus far as early on he was part of a fourth line alongside Jeff Carter and Matt Nieto that just couldn’t get anything going offensively. None of the three players registered a point in the Penguins’ first ten games, however, once the line was broken up Nieto and Acciari seemed to play better. Acciari still doesn’t contribute much offensively but has settled in nicely on the Penguins penalty kill.

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