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Pittsburgh Penguins Facing Big Decision On Jake Guentzel

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Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi of The Athletic write that the Pittsburgh Penguins have a big decision to make on star winger Jake Guentzel as the team enters the free agency period. The perennial 30-goal scorer has a year left on his contract at the bargain price of $6MM and is just a year away from reaching unrestricted free agency. Guentzel’s extension is a delicate balancing act for the Penguins as they are likely at the tail end of their window to contend and they have a lot of needs, but Guentzel remains Sidney Crosby’s favorite linemate and is still highly productive.

Guentzel had 36 goals and 37 assists last season in 78 games in what a lot of people considered a down year for the 28-year-old. He and Crosby were still able to provide much of the scoring for the Penguins, but they did have several cold stretches where they weren’t able to find the net. The team faltered in these stretches due to the lack of a strong supporting cast.

Yohe and Rossi wonder if the Penguins might considering trading Guentzel rather than signing him. The return for the player would likely allow the Penguins to fill in some of the many holes they have, but it would create big hole in their top-6 on Crosby’s wing. Yohe and Rossi point out the risk involved would be great, but signing a small, slow forward to a lucrative long-term deal on the wrong side of thirty carries a great deal of risk as well.

The Athletic projects that Guentzel’s next contract could have an average annual value around $9.2MM. That would make him the highest paid Penguin, and while Guentzel has been incredibly consistent throughout his career, he would spend much of his next contract without the benefit of Sidney Crosby as his center.

Guentzel is also one of the few roster players the Penguins have who doesn’t have trade protection, meaning that if Dubas and company want to turn over their underwhelming roster then Guentzel might be the biggest trade chip they could dangle.

Pittsburgh Penguins Will Hire General Manager And President

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Hockey Insider Frank Seravalli stated today on the Daily Faceoff Rundown podcast that he expects the Pittsburgh Penguins to employ the same management structure they had with their previous group and hire a General Manager and a President of Hockey Operations. Previous GM Ron Hextall and President of Hockey Ops Brian Burke were fired after the season ended as they led the Penguins to their first season out of the playoffs in 16 years.

While it comes as no surprise that the Penguins would want to use that structure, some of the names of who they’ve reportedly interviewed are quite surprising. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that Pittsburgh spoke with 10-12 candidates in their first round of interviews and included in that list were Marc Bergevin, Eric Tulsky, Jason Karmanos and Peter Chiarelli. LeBrun added that he expects some of those men to be interviewed a second time as the process goes on.

One name that will likely not be interview is Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. The young GM held a press conference today where he expressed his desire to remain in Toronto while simultaneously stating he didn’t want to look elsewhere at this time after the past season was so difficult for him and his family.

Whoever ultimately lands the Penguins management jobs will be in tough to build around an aging core with multiple bad contracts to try and navigate. Pittsburgh correctly committed to Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin last summer, as well as Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. However, they were saddled with a bottom six that couldn’t get going offensively, and a team that couldn’t find a defensive identity. All of this, coupled with inconsistent goaltending from Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith led to the Penguins missing the playoffs for just the second time in the Sidney Crosby era.

It’ll be a long summer in Pittsburgh; however, it could be the most interesting one they’ve had since Jim Rutherford plucked Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 2015 trade and kickstarted a two-year run of brilliance in the steel city. The Penguins still have a very strong top-6 and will have around $20MM in cap space once free agency begins.

NHL Announces Initial All-Star Rosters

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According to a league release, the NHL has named the first eight selections to the four divisional All-Star teams for the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Florida.

The league names one player to represent each team at the game, a rule in standing since the league switched to a divisional format for its mid-season talent showcase. A public fan vote will decide the three remaining players per division next week.

Each division’s leader in points percentage after gameplay concludes on January 11 will determine coaches for these teams. The Boston Bruins have already clinched the best such number in the Atlantic at that time, meaning Jim Montgomery will be behind the bench for the star-studded Atlantic Division, arguably the league’s best contingent of talent.

The initial rosters for each division are as follows:

Atlantic Division

Boston: G Linus Ullmark (1st appearance)
Buffalo: C Tage Thompson (1st appearance)
Detroit: C Dylan Larkin (3rd appearance)
Florida: RW Matthew Tkachuk (2nd appearance)
Montreal: C Nick Suzuki (2nd appearance)
Ottawa: LW Brady Tkachuk (3rd appearance)
Tampa Bay: RW Nikita Kucherov (4th appearance)
Toronto: RW Mitch Marner (2nd appearance)

Metropolitan Division

Carolina: LW Andrei Svechnikov (1st appearance)
Columbus: LW Johnny Gaudreau (7th appearance)
New Jersey: C Jack Hughes (2nd appearance)
NY Islanders: C Brock Nelson (1st appearance)
NY Rangers: G Igor Shesterkin (1st appearance)
Philadelphia: C Kevin Hayes (1st appearance)
Pittsburgh: C Sidney Crosby (5th appearance)
Washington: LW Alex Ovechkin (8th appearance)

Central Division

Arizona: LW Clayton Keller (3rd appearance)
Chicago: RD Seth Jones (4th appearance)
Colorado: RD Cale Makar (2nd appearance)
Dallas: LW Jason Robertson (1st appearance)
Minnesota: LW Kirill Kaprizov (2nd appearance)
Nashville: G Juuse Saros (2nd appearance)
St. Louis: RW Vladimir Tarasenko (injured) (4th appearance)
Winnipeg: LD Josh Morrissey (1st appearance)

Pacific Division

Anaheim: RW Troy Terry (2nd appearance)
Calgary: C Nazem Kadri (2nd appearance)
Edmonton: C Connor McDavid (6th appearance)
Los Angeles: LW Kevin Fiala (1st appearance)
San Jose: RD Erik Karlsson (7th appearance)
Seattle: C Matthew Beniers (1st appearance)
Vancouver: C Elias Pettersson (3rd appearance)
Vegas: G Logan Thompson (1st appearance)

The most important note on these rosters is obviously that of Tarasenko’s status. The 31-year-old is on injured reserve with a hand injury, and likely won’t be able to suit up. His replacement will be named shortly.

More to come…

Afternoon Notes: Crosby, Allvin, O’Reilly

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to extensions this summer, they committed themselves to a “win-now” short-term competitive plan, focusing the energy and resources of their franchise into squeezing one last Stanley Cup victory out of their three franchise pillars. The face of the franchise, Sidney Crosby, has three years remaining on his current contract, and as things currently stand he’s not thinking beyond that point.

In an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek for their 32 Thoughts Podcast, Crosby was asked about his playing future and whether he’d like to play into his forties as Zdeno Chara has. Crosby responded that he wouldn’t, and added on that he’s “thinking about [the] three more years” remaining on his contract before considering the next step for his career. At 35 years old, Crosby isn’t “Sid the Kid” anymore, but he did score 84 points in 69 games last year and remains an elite player. But based on these comments, the Penguins will need to consider that Crosby may not be playing for the entirety of Malkin or Letang’s new extensions.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has been a busy man this summer, signing major contracts with J.T. Miller, Ilya Mikheyev, and Andrei Kuzmenko. And despite the fact that training camps are close, he may not be done. In a conversation with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, Allvin stated that the team would still be looking to add to its current group of players, saying that there is enough “cap space, and roster spots, and contract slots” to be able to facilitate an addition. (subscription link) We’re certainly late into the offseason free agent market, but with the preseason waiver wire set to be active and a few free agents still remaining, it’s possible that the Canucks get a new face or two into the mix before they open their 2022-23 campaign.
  • The St. Louis Blues have signed some major extensions recently, specifically with their two top young players: Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. While the Blues are undoubtedly better off having signed those deals, they could come with a cost. As Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the byproduct of these extensions is that the team could find it difficult to match the sort of offer captain Ryan O’Reilly could receive on the open market. Since both O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko will be unrestricted free agents next summer, the Blues seem to have made retaining their two franchise pillars a more difficult task with their recent moves.

Penguins To Name Kevin Acklin President of Business Operations

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The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to overhaul their front office and management after a recent sale to Fenway Sports Group. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabo reports that the team is expected to name Kevin Acklin the team’s President of Business Operations, filling the role left by longtime executive David Morehouse.

Morehouse vacated the role two months ago when the CEO of 16 years stepped down, reportedly on his own terms.

As DeFabo notes, Acklin is an internal promotion. Since 2018, Acklin had been the team’s COO and general counsel. Similar to Morehouse, Acklin is a Pittsburgh native.

The changes in leadership come as the Penguins are set to embark on a tough road ahead over the next decade or so. As stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang age and/or leave the organization, the team will need strong leadership to avoid the business concerns the team has had in the past during periods of poor play. Acklin will now have a big part to play in that role, and his choices will have a significant effect on the team’s future.

Crosby, Rakell, Jarry All Playing In Game 7

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Some fantastic news for Pittsburgh Penguins fans just minutes ahead of puck drop on an obviously pivotal Game 7 against the New York Rangers. Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, and Tristan Jarry are all in the lineup after dealing with injuries.

The news is monumental for the Penguins, who greatly missed the presence of all three players in Game 6.

Crosby was injured in Game 5 on a controversial hit from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba. Prior to the hit, he had a stellar nine points in five games. He returns to center the top line between Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust, who have both performed well in this series. Crosby was sidelined with reported concussion symptoms after the hit, however, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported this morning that Crosby did test negative for a concussion.

Rakell, the team’s big trade deadline acquisition, was injured after playing just 4:28 in Game 1’s triple-overtime win. With 13 points in 19 games down the stretch in Pittsburgh, he proved he could be an impactful scorer for them. He’ll fill out the top six on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen.

Jarry is potentially the biggest piece to return, though. Not having played for a month, Jarry comes in to replace third-string netminder Louis Domingue, who had performed admirably but struggled in Games 5 and 6. They’ll rely on Jarry to exorcise last year’s playoff demons and deliver for them in a big way tonight.

It’s not all good news, however. Assistant coach Mike Vellucci, whose main areas of emphasis are the penalty kill and the forwards, entered COVID protocol and is unavailable for the game.

Snapshots: Wild, Babcock, Trouba

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Questions are sure to arise this offseason in the State of Hockey. The Minnesota Wild, although they forced the series to six games, were dealt with pretty handily in the final days of their season by the St. Louis Blues, capped off by a 5-1 rout in Game 6.

Now, with the full effect of the controversial Zach Parise/Ryan Suter buyouts kicking in next season, many wonder how the Wild will be able to manage their cap space moving forward. NBC Sports’ James O’Brien looks at a few routes the Wild could go down to manage their salary cap situation next season. The buyouts take up a combined $12.74MM next season, and although the team’s cap situation is fuzzy due to the amount of playoff Black Aces still on the active roster, they’ll surely have less than $10MM to work with this offseason. That includes signing Kevin Fiala, who’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights (again), to a new deal, and finding a goalie to replace (or to-resign) Marc-Andre Fleury. While Fiala could be dealt, especially after an underwhelming playoff performance, they could also look to clear out some depth names. O’Brien names Dmitry Kulikov, who carries a $2.25MM cap hit next season, as another trade piece, although he does have an eight-team no-trade list (somehow).

  • While there hasn’t been any official link, and there likely won’t be knowing the tight-lipped Lou Lamoriello, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz names former NHL bench boss Mike Babcock as a potential fit for the New York Islanders’ coaching vacancy. Kurz references Lamoriello’s history with Babcock in Toronto, and Lamoriello’s history of opting for tougher, more aggressive voices in the room as a solution to unsatisfactory team performance. Since then, he’s served as a senior adviser at the University of Vermont and the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan.
  • After Jacob Trouba’s controversial hit that gave Sidney Crosby a reported concussion, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatscheck looked at whether the NHL could examine a potential rule change to penalize similar hits in the future. Duhatschek notes that penalizing all hits to the head is extremely unlikely, as evidenced by current NHL leadership’s hesitation against cracking down on body contact. While illegal head contact exists in the NHL, by its definition, the league viewed Trouba’s hit as legal.

Sidney Crosby Out For Game Six With Concussion

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1:35pm: Multiple reports including from Emily Kaplan of ESPN and The Athletic have now surfaced confirming that Crosby suffered a concussion on the hit from Jacob Trouba. For any player that is concerning, but especially so for the Penguins’ captain given his history of head injuries. It is not clear when he will be able to return to the lineup.

10:44am: The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without captain Sidney Crosby for a pivotal game six against the New York Rangers, after he suffered an upper-body injury on Wednesday night. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Crosby is in a “good place” in his recovery, and the injured forward did skate on his own today.

Additionally, the Penguins updated the status of a few other injured players. Brian Dumoulin is still working through his off-ice recovery and his status has not changed, while Rickard Rakell is now considered a game-time decision. Tristan Jarry, who has been skating the last little while, will not play tonight, meaning it’s Louis Domingue’s net for at least one more game.

If there was ever a time for pending free agents Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to put a stamp on the first-round series, it’s tonight in an all-important chance to eliminate the Rangers. On home ice, the Penguins will have to find a way past Hart Trophy nominee Igor Shesterkin once again, as the Rangers will put him back in the net after securing the win in game five. It’s been an up-and-down series for the Rangers goaltender, who has allowed 19 goals in five games but still has a save percentage of .905 as the Penguins continue to rack up shots.

Morning Notes: Team Canada, Crosby, Bokk

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The Canadian contingent for the IIHF World Championship has named their leadership group, with Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot given the captaincy. The team will go with a group of alternates including Josh Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Adam Lowry, and Damon Severson for the event, likely rotating each game.

The tournament, which starts tomorrow, is a nice way for Chabot to get some more on-ice reps after missing a huge chunk of this season, though with the amount he plays it has already been a long year. In 59 games this season, the Senators’ defenseman scored 38 points and averaged more than 26 minutes a night for the third season in a row.

  • There’s no update yet on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, as head coach Mike Sullivan only confirmed that his captain is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further on their return home. Crosby took a hit from Jacob Trouba in last night’s game that kept him out, and obviously has a long history with head injuries. The Penguins stayed in New York after last night’s loss and will fly to Pittsburgh today to prepare for tomorrow’s game six.
  • After spending half of this season playing back home in Germany, Dominik Bokk is coming back to North America. His club team announced today that Bokk will re-join the Carolina Hurricanes organization for the 2022-23 season, a previously agreed upon decision. After playing 32 games in the AHL this year, Bokk was loaned to Eisbaren Berlin in the DEL for the stretch run, where he scored 11 points in 14 games and another three in 12 playoff contests. The first-round pick originally selected by St. Louis in 2018 has one year left on his entry-level deal.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Crosby, Shanahan

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, led by a player who could very well go down as the all-time leader in goals by the time he hangs up his skates. Alex Ovechkin added another outstanding week, recording eight points in four games and passing Brett Hull on the all-time goals list. The nine-time Rocket Richard award winner isn’t all goals though, Ovechkin has 14 assists this season for 26 total points through 15 games.

A couple of college hockey stars take second and third, as Charlie McAvoy and Troy Terry have been selected respectively. The Boston Bruins defenseman had seven points in four games while playing basically every second shift, while the Anaheim Ducks forward stretched his point streak to 14 games by adding six more points in three contests. Terry has already matched his career-high of 20 points and it took him only 15 games to do it.

  • If you’re still holding your breath hoping for some supplementary discipline to come down on Sidney Crosby for the incident with Martin Fehervary last night, exhale, it’s not coming. Crosby will not be given any punishment from the league according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post, who also points out that there was no penalty called on the play in question.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t had any playoff success under president Brendan Shanahan, but that doesn’t mean his seat is getting hot. As Luke Fox of Sportsnet writes, ownership is still “fantastically supportive” of the Maple Leafs front office boss and the direction he is leading the franchise. Shanahan was hired by the team before the 2014 season; the team has a 275-211-66 regular season record since he took over, but hasn’t made it past the first round even a single time.

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