Penguins Wrap: Major Coaching Change; Prospect Shines

Published

2 weeks ago

May 4, 2024

Although there hasn’t been any hockey at PPG Paints Arena for a few weeks, there’s still plenty of drama surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins there.

Some of it came to a head Friday, when associate coach Todd Reirden was fired, but there also was a major shakeup outside of the Hockey Operations department a few days earlier.

There was, however, at least one encouraging development for the team, as one of its finest prospects is performing well for his major-junior team.

Here’s a look at how the past seven days played out for the Penguins:

Saturday

Several prospects in Wilkes-Barre might be ready to make a run at jobs in the NHL this fall. (+)

Sunday

Moose Jaw center Brayden Yager, the Penguins’ No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, is having a productive playoff run in the Western Hockey League.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach J.D. Forrest and assistant Kevin Porter will not have their contracts renewed.

Monday

How would the Penguins have fared if they’d qualified for the playoffs?

It won’t be easy for the Penguins to trade defenseman Ryan Graves, who had an awful first season with them.

SportsNet Pittsburgh announces plans for Penguins and Pirates games to be streamed.

The Penguins re-sign Sam Poulin, who gets a two-year deal, and sign Swedish goalie Filip Larsson.

Tuesday

Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs has shown just how far the Penguins are from being a true contender.

Signing free-agent goalie Filip Larsson shouldn’t have any impact on what the Penguins do with Alex Nedeljkovic.

Washington forward T.J. Oshie, a longtime Penguins nemesis, is contemplating retirement.

Wednesday

It’s time for the Penguins to make some changes to their coaching staff.

Kyle Dubas hit on some of his free-agent signings and missed on others during his first year in charge of the Penguins.

The Penguins reportedly have made significant cuts to their business operations staff.

Thursday

Rumors about Mike Sullivan’s future as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins are circulating, even though there has been no evidence to substantiate them at this point.

Contrary to some speculation, there isn’t a power struggle between Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan, if only because there really can’t be. (+)

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper deserves credit for his ill-considered “skirts” comment the night his team was eliminated from the playoffs.

Third-line center Lars Eller had a solid season. His line, as a while, did not.