There's certainly been plenty of questions, and a good bit of change when it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins since they were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the firing of Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma, the Penguins sent a message that change was needed. Now, new GM Jim Rutherford will be asked to reshape a roster that will very likely look quite different than it did a year ago. According to Ryan Wilson from Hockeybuzz.com, the Penguins ... 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 Sam Lafferty in fourth round
With the Penguins out of the mix in the second and third round, the Penguins would have to wait until the fourth round to add talent after drafting Kaspari Kapanen in the first round last night. The Pens went for a player with local roots, forward Sam Lafferty who has played for Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. A Brown University commit, Lafferty is originally from Hollidaysburg, Pa. The 19-year-old right winger with a high-skill level and a player who was a three-year captain at ... 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
Sid takes home three awards
On a night where the NHL's best players wore suits instead of sweaters, and walked on a red carpet instead of a sheet of ice, Sidney Crosby collected three more awards to add to his cabinet. Crosby's 104 points (36 g, 68 a) led the NHL, giving him his second Art Ross of his career. As a result, he also won his second Hart Trophy as league MVP, and third Ted Lindsay award; MVP as voted by his peers. These accomplishments may be overshadowed by the Penguins early exit in the playoffs and ... Read More
Does Penguins Coaching Job Come With the Most Pressure in All Sports?
You have to look at the Pittsburgh Penguins coaching search and simply scratch your head at what has been going on. At the end of the day, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has to find the right man to right the ship and ultimately that won't be an easy task. When you look at the Penguins vacancy, you would think there would be a long list of quality coaching candidates who would be jumping at the opportunity to coach Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in their primes, but that hasn't ... Read More
Pens 2014-15 Schedule Announced
The Pittsburgh Penguins may still not have a head coach, but at least they know who they will be playing next season. The Pens will open up the 2014-15 campaign on October 9, the day after the season officially begins, at home against the Anaheim Ducks. They will conclude the season April 11 with a trip to Buffalo. The Penguins will play seven of their first 10 games at home, including the first meeting of the year against the Philadelphia Flyers and a visit from the defending Stanley Cup ... Read More
Desjardins turns down Pens, search continues for coach
Its back to the drawing board when it comes to the Penguins coaching search. After multiple reports identified AHL coach Willie Desjardins as GM Jim Rutherford's pick to take over head coaching duties for the Pens, it now looks as if Rutherford will have to look at different options. Desjardins, most recently the coach of the Calder Cup winning Texas Stars, has a track record of winning at every stop during his coaching career. Certainly not a household name, the 57-year-old Desjardins ... Read More