The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed veteran enforcer Tom Sestito to a professional try-out contract, according to a release by general manager Jim Rutheford. Sestito, 27, split last season between the Vancouver Canucks and their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. He had a hard time finding the lineup in Vancouver, as he was a frequently healthy scratch and also missed several weeks with a leg injury. Sestito led the NHL in penalty minutes in 2013-14, racking up 213, the most in his ... Read More
Penguins announce rookie tournament roster
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced their roster for the 2015 rookie tournament to be held in London, Ontario on September 11-13. The Penguins prospects and tryouts will compete against those representing the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators at Budweiser Gardens, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. The Penguins will bring 16 forwards, 8 defensemen and two goaltenders to Ontario. 14 of the 26 players are already under NHL contract, three are on ... Read More
Ehrhoff moves on after injury-plagued season
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
Former Pens defenseman Darryl Sydor arrested for DUI
Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Darryl Sydor has been arrested and charged with two counts of drunken driving in his home state of Minnesota, according to a report by the Associated Press. Sydor, 43, was driving his 12-year old son to a hockey tournament when the vehicle he was driving was pulled over in Fridley, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb. According to the criminal complaint, Sydor’s eyes were bloodshot and watery and his speech was slow and slurred. His blood-alcohol level ... Read More
Part 2: 2015 Penguins Top-10 prospects
This is part two of Pittsburgh Sporting News' 2015 Penguins top-10 prospects. The methodology and part one can be found here. High risk, high reward These players have the potential to make a splash in the NHL some day, but as of now their future is less certain. #6 Jake Guentzel will be a junior at the University of Nebraska-Omaha this year. He has found himself near the top of various national rankings in each of his first two seasons of college hockey and looks like he may be capable ... Read More
Part 1: Penguins 2015 Top-10 prospects
In the last decade, the Pittsburgh Penguins have seen some of the most intriguing and high-profile prospects in the entire National Hockey League come through their system. Even as the team's big-time draft picks of the early 2000's turned into NHL stars, the team was still touted for their defensive depth. Those days, however, have passed. Now, after a series of trades and a few players that have moved on to full time NHL positions, the cupboard is once again looking rather bare. Corey ... Read More
Report: Pens rookie Sundqvist suffered severed tendon
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie center Oskar Sundqvist missed the team’s prospect development camp in July with what he said at the time was a hamstring injury. Hamstring injuries are relatively common as athletes begin training after the offseason. But according to a report by Arvid Marklund of the Swedish newspaper Norran, Sundqivst’s injury was more serious than a run-of-the-mill hamstring pull. Sundqvist reportedly suffered a deep laceration in his left thigh while playing with Skelleftea ... Read More
Penguins bring Gonchar in for tryout contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Friday that they are bringing back Sergei Gonchar on a tryout contract. The veteran free agent Gonchar played with star center Evgeni Malkin for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Russian Superleague back in 2004-05 and after the lockout ended, signed with the Penguins. He spent five seasons in Pittsburgh, serving as an alternate captain for four of them, and was an integral part of their playoff success in 2008 and 2009. Gonchar was an excellent power play ... Read More
Pens mailbag: Why Matt Cullen, is Franson a fit, and more
Why did the Pens sign 38-year old center Matt Cullen? Penguins GM Jim Rutherford gave lip service to Cullen being the type of player that he wants in his locker room after signing Cullen to a one-year deal last week. But as the Penguins witnessed last season with Craig Adams, all the intangibles in the world don’t add up to squat if the player can’t produce on the ice. Well, Cullen may be 38, but he’s far from unproductive. Over the last two seasons with Nashville, he averaged .122 goals ... Read More
Summer of Jim: Pens GM making all the right moves in 2015
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford faced a lot of criticism in his first year on the job. Many commenters (including this columnist) felt that Rutherford did not adequately manage his assets or the salary cap in order to put his team in the best possible position come playoff time. It was an easy criticism to make. The Penguins had so little salary cap space that they were forced to play with five defensemen for a long stretch at the end of the season, while minimal ... Read More