New Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Johnston has been looking to round out his coaching staff and it appears he finally has found his guy. The Penguins announced that they have agreed to terms with Gary Agnew to join the coaching staff as an assistant coach. Agnew joins former Penguins player Rick Tocchet as an assistant under Johnston, to go along with goaltender coach Mike Bales, who was kept from Dan Bylsma’s staff. The 54-year old Agnew was an assistant coach for the St. Louis ... Read More
Penguins sign Steve Downie to one-year deal
Day two of free agency hasn’t been nearly as busy for Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, but he has still been able to add to the current team. On Wednesday he was able to add another forward to the mix when he inked Steve Downie to a one-year, $1 million deal. Downie, who played parts of last season with both the Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers, racked up 24 points (four goals) in 62 games played. The Pens will be the fifth franchise Downie has suited up for ... Read More
Jim Rutherford passes early test in free agency
Pittsburgh Penguins’ general manager Jim Rutherford made it clear that he planned on keeping busy on the first day of free agency. He certainly kept his word. The Penguins were among the most active of all teams yesterday, and after yesterday's signing bonanza, there is no doubt the team will have a much different look this upcoming season. With just under $15 million in cap space to utilize, Rutherford was given the daunting challenge of deciding how to spend limited resources in order ... Read More
Penguins hit hard during opening day of free agency
As expected, the first day of free agency has turned into “Black Tuesday,” for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they suffered a big hit. It was unlikely that the Penguins would be able to sign any of their unrestricted free agents coming into Tuesday as they saw five players change addresses, headlined by longtime Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik. Orpik signed a five-year, $27.5-million deal with the Washington Capitals after spending his entire professional career to date with the Pens. The ... Read More
Penguins sign Blake Comeau, Thomas Greiss
Shortly after Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford made his first free agent splash of the offseason by inking defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, Rutherford added a couple more pieces on the open market. The new Penguins GM was able to sign forward Blake Comeau to a one-year, $700,000 deal and goaltender Thomas Greiss to a one-year, $1 million deal. The 28-year old Comeau has spent the last season and a half in Columbus where he tallied 21 points (7G, 14A) in 70 regular-season ... Read More
Penguins Ink Christian Ehrhoff to one-year deal
It didn’t take long for new Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford to make his first free agent signing. But it wasn’t the forward that many expected it to be. Linked to several unrestricted free agent forwards on the market, the Penguins instead targeted another defenseman, inking veteran Christian Ehroff to a one-year deal that will pay the left-hand shooting blue liner $4 million next season. Ehrhoff, who is set to turn 32 on July 6, was set to enter the fourth season of ... Read More
Pens Make Qualifying Offers to Six
The Pittsburgh Penguins began the free agency process by extending qualifying offers to all six of their restricted free agents before the free agent signing period begins tomorrow at 12 PM. Forwards Brandon Sutter, Jayson Megna, Bobby Farnham, and recently acquired Nick Spaling all received qualifying offers, along with defensemen Simon Despres and Philip Samuelsson. A key piece in the trade that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina, Sutter was a key cog on the third line the past two seasons ... Read More
Penguins Select Kasperi Kapanen with First NHL Draft Pick
The Pittsburgh Penguins made their first selection under new General Manager Jim Rutherford tonight at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft held tonight at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. After speculation Rutherford might trade the pick, those rumors were laid to rest with the selection of Kasperi Kapanen of Kalpa of the Finnish Elite League. Kapanen, the son of former NHL forward Sami Kapanen is a skilled right wing prospect who struggled with injury this past season, but at 17, is considered ... Read More
Pens Trade James Neal to Nashville
The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded James Neal to the Nashville Predators tonight for forwards Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. Hornqvist is a right winger with a nice scoring touch who could be a viable replacement for Neal. The 27 year old forward has scored 20 or more goals in four of his first six seasons in the NHL, including 30 goals in 2009. He is signed for four more seasons and will have a cap hit of 4.25 million per season, a reduction compared to Neal. Spaling will ... Read More
Mike Johnston hired as Penguins head coach
The process took a while for new Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, but he has finally settled on a new head coach for the organization. As speculated that man is Mike Johnston. Many feel that Rutherford did just settle on Johnston as a coach but plenty of reports would suggest that he was one of the Penguins initial candidates before the job was thought to go to Willie Desjardins before he spurned the Pens to take the head coaching job with Vancouver. Johnston was also ... Read More