Christian Ehrhoff’s tenure in Pittsburgh has ended as the veteran defenseman signed one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Ehrhoff came to the Penguins on a one-year contract a year ago after being bought out by the Buffalo Sabres. He was effective in spells for the Pens, but for the most part, his season was washed out by multiple injuries. He missed several games in December with a lower-body injury and several concussions later in the seasons conspired to ... Read More
Bought-out players may provide value in free agency
Twice in recent history, the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed a player that had been bought out by their former club that offseason. Both times, the Penguins signed those players to cap-friendly one-year contracts to serve as a stopgap until younger players could step into their role. In 2009, the Penguins signed defenseman Jay McKee after he had been bought out by the Buffalo Sabres. McKee, then 32, played 62 games for the Penguins in what would be his final season in the league, holding the ... Read More
Penguins offseason: Martin, Ehrhoff could be on their way out
The free agency period is almost here and the Pittsburgh Penguins have some tough decisions to make. The most high profile players that will be eligible for free agency on July 1 will be veteran defensemen Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff. Paul Martin: Upon joining the Penguins as a free agent in 2010, Martin’s slow adjustment to then-head coach Dan Bylmsa’s system caused him to become a scapegoat and fans were trying to find ways to get run him out of town. However, he then had an amazing ... Read More
Pressure is now on Rangers as series shifts to Pittsburgh
Pressure makes people do funny things. In the National Hockey League, pressure can make a defenseman whiff as he tries to chip the puck out of the zone, a goal scorer fire a shot high and wide at an open net, or a goaltender blink as a slap shot comes sizzling in from the point. In the NHL playoffs, pressure is everywhere, but some teams feel it more than others. In 2014, the with a Stanley Cup mandate from ownership and the coaching staff’s jobs on the line, the Penguins collapsed under ... Read More
Can the Pens knock off the top-seeded Rangers?
The Penguins and Rangers will face off at 7:00 p.m. tonight at Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Get caught up by checking out Monday's discussion on the Penguins reliance on young defensemen to shut down a deep Rangers attack and yesterday's break down of the reasons for the Rangers’ success in 2014-15. Part one of today's two-part series preview, in which I discussed the Penguins and Rangers playoff history, and went over news about the big screen ... Read More
Penguins get reinforcements for playoff battle with Rangers
The Pittsburgh Penguins will begin the Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday against the New York Rangers. To be successful against the top team in the National Hockey League, the Penguins will need to play better than their 8-11-2 record since the beginning of March. Even more worrying is the fact that of those eight wins, only two have come against teams that qualified for the postseason. The first step toward accomplishing that goal is getting some healthy bodies in black-and-gold uniforms. ... Read More
Mailbag: Playoffs? We’re talking about playoffs.
Do the Penguins still control their playoff destiny? Yes. By earning a point, the Penguins reduced their magic number from four to three. That means any combination of the Penguins winning three points and/or the Ottawa Senators losing three points will qualify the Penguins. The Senators play the New York Rangers on Thursday night. The Penguins host the New York Islanders on Friday night. Both teams play on Saturday, with the Senators in Philadelphia and the Penguins in Buffalo. Even if ... Read More
Pens will finally field full squad today at Columbus
The Pittsburgh Penguins will finally have a full lineup again for today’s 2:00 p.m. faceoff against the Columbus Blue Jackets, as defenseman Taylor Chorney has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. With Evgeni Malkin missing Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to Philadelphia with an undisclosed injury, the Penguins were finally able to bring up a defenseman. Chorney, 27, was chosen over prospects Brian Dumoulin and Scott Harrington. The Pens had played their previous ... Read More
Kapanen comes to Pennsylvania; Penguins host Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins first-round draft pick and top forward prospect Kasperi Kapanen has ended his season and his native Finland and will soon join the Penguins’ top farm club in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Kapanen, 18, scored 11 goals and recorded 10 assists in 41 games with KalPa of the Finnish Liiga. It was a disappointing season for the youngster, who played well for stretches but failed to dominate the league as hoped. He also added one goal in five games for Team Finland in the under-20 ... Read More
Pens will play a man short in Carolina
The Penguins will take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in Raleigh, North Carolina, and for the third straight game, they will play with only 17 skaters. This is the first time that it will be on purpose. On Saturday, the Penguins were playing in Glendale, Arizona when defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was injured in the pregame warmups and was unable to play. The Penguins weren’t carrying any extra players on that road trip, and while Ehrhoff was in the team’s lineup, he did not play. Back ... Read More