The Pittsburgh Penguins finally made the big move that everyone has been waiting for his offseason, acquiring winger Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kessel, 27, is signed for seven more seasons at an average annual value of $8 million. The Madison, Wisconsin native scored 25 goals and tallied 26 assists last season with the Leafs. Over the last five seasons with Toronto, Kessel has played in every single game and scored at least 25 goals in every season except the lockout ... Read More
Columbus nabs Pittsburgh native Saad
While the Pittsburgh Penguins have been mostly quiet so far in this offseason, their nearest neighbors to the west made a big splash on Tuesday and in the process, plucked from the Penguins own backyard. The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired the rights to forward Brandon Saad, a Pittsburgh-area native, and a pair of prospects for forwards Marko Dano, Artem Anisimov, Corey Tropp, Jeremy Morin and a fourth-round draft pick. The Penguins, who have sought out to acquire a top-six forward this ... 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 send qualifying offers to five players
After a quiet 2015 NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had a busy Monday. The Penguins signed defenseman Ian Cole to a three-year contract Monday morning, and Mon Monday afternoon, the Penguins qualified five of their restricted free agents for the 2015-16 season. According to a source close to the situation, the Penguins sent qualifying offers to forwards Beau Bennett, Bobby Farnham and Dominik Uher and defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Reid McNeill. Bennett, 23, had a disappointing ... Read More
Penguins re-sign Ian Cole
The Pittsburgh Penguins defensive corps in a state of flux, with veteran defensemen Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff likely testing free agent waters on July 1 and Olli Maatta and Kris Letang returning from seasoning-ending injuries. The Penguins made a big step to solidifying their blue line on Monday when they re-signed defenseman Ian Cole to a three-year contract. Cole, 26, was brought over from the St. Louis Blues in a trade deadline deal from Robert Bortuzzo. He immediately fit in on ... Read More
Pens take three more European forwards in NHL Draft
After grabbing Dutch forward Daniel Sprong in the second round, the Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up the 2015 NHL draft on Saturday afternoon with three more selections in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. It’s a draft class with a lot of similarities. For the first time in team history, they selected all Europeans. All four draft players hail from different European countries, and they are all forwards. In the fifth round, the Penguins selected 20-year old Czech center Dominik Simon. Simon ... Read More
Pens select Daniel Sprong in 2nd round of NHL draft
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made their first selection in the 2015 NHL Draft, taking right-winger Daniel Sprong with the 46th overall selection in the second round. Sprong, 18, was born in Amersterdam and his father, Hannie, played professional hockey in The Netherlands. Sprong would be only the second Dutch player to play in the NHL, if he makes it. “Its more of a soccer country, no one really knows their hockey there,” Sprong said of his homeland in a draft video produced by the NHL. ... Read More
Plenty of talent remains for Penguins in second day of NHL Draft
The first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has wrapped up with no new movements for the Pittsburgh Penguins who still await their first pick at #46 in the second round. While most of the players that were expected to go in the first round were indeed selected on the opening night of the draft there are still a few that will still be available in the next round. If they continue to slide some of these players may even still be around by the time the Penguins take their first pick. Jeremy ... Read More
Regional junior players headline NHL draft
The Pittsburgh Penguins did not have a first-round pick, but three players with regional junior hockey ties were taken in the first round of the 2015 NHL draft on Friday. The draft, hosted by the Florida Panthers, will continue with rounds two through seven on Saturday. The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League had two players taken in the top three picks: center Connor McDavid was taken with the first overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers and fellow forward Dylan Strome went to the ... Read More
Penguins announce 2015-16 schedule
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced their schedule for the 2015-16 season. The Penguins will drop the puck for the first time on the new season on Thursday, October 8 in Dallas, Texas for an inter-conference showdown with the Dallas Stars. The Pens will then continue their early-season western swing when they visit the Arizona Coyotes on October 10. They will then return home for a season-long five-game home stand, headlined by the home opener at Consol Energy Center against the Montreal ... Read More