Could Boyle End Up Back With Penguins?
Brian Boyle had a pretty nice run with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021-22.
Especially for a guy who reported to training camp on a tryout contract, with no guarantee of anything except an opportunity.
Which he got.
And exploited.
To the fullest.
Boyle gave the Penguins a nice return on the $750,000 contract he earned during the preseason. He was a solid bottom-six forward and penalty-killer, and even chipped in with 11 goals.
But he is 37 years old and isn’t getting any faster as he ages, so it was no surprise that the Penguins didn’t re-sign him when his deal expired earlier this month.
Not yet, anyway.
Boyle does, however, hope to continue playing, and there is some sentiment among his acquaintances that a return to the Pittsburgh Penguins isn’t out of the question.
And while there are numerous reasons to believe that it’s not going to happen — the Penguins already are a bit above the salary-cap ceiling and have a surplus of bottom-six forwards — Boyle earned a lot of respect from his co-workers with his performance and professionalism last season, so perhaps the idea shouldn’t be dismissed entirely.
*** Remember when the Florida Panthers were about as relevant as a snowplow in the greater Miami-Fort Lauderdale area? And even less so everywhere else?
Well, the team’s management has moved aggressively in recent years to assemble a championship-caliber roster, and put together one good enough to win the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22.
Losing to arch-rival Tampa Bay in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs appears to have only inspired the front office to renew its efforts, as evidenced by its aggressive pursuit of Matthew Tkachuk, who had made it known that he didn’t plan to sign another contract in Calgary.
The Panthers certainly paid a steep price — forward Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a lottery-protected first-round draft choice in 2025 — for Tkachuk, but it reinforced the idea that they will not hesitate to make any move they believe will enhance their chances of winning a Cup.
At least one aspect of Florida’s pursuit of a title will be familiar to Penguins partisans: Florida already has traded away its first-round selection in each of the next three drafts (assuming the Panthers don’t qualify for the lottery in 2024-25).
*** Mike Vellucci might be closing in on the NHL record for near-misses by an assistant coach.
He seemed to be in the mix for almost every head-coaching job that was open around the NHL this summer, but never quite cleared the final hurdle to get hired. His most recent close call came last week, when San Jose opted to hire former New York Rangers coach David Quinn to replace one-time Penguins defenseman Bob Boughner.
The twist there is that, had the Sharks decided to hire Vellucci, his replacement with the Pittsburgh Penguins might well have been Quinn, a close friend of Mike Sullivan.
In any case, it’s clear that they should anticipate having to replace Vellucci at some point, because it’s hard to imagine that he isn’t going to end up on top of some club’s coaching wish list after coming close so many times.
Categorized:Penguins
I liked Boyle.He was always their to protect his teammates. A side that will be missed by the players if he doesn’t come back unless they get someone else but have doubts.
Don’t know why but I always thought Boyle was at least 40 years old. Dam, at only 37 Hexs would be nuts not to sign him again.
Bringing back Boyle might lower the average age in that locker room.
Your definition of “sanity” is suspect…
Maybe it’s the mustache that makes him look older. If he shaved it off he’d look 35?
Boyle was spent by February and was a liability come playoff time…if we’re going to bring back anyone then bring back ZAR…
Yesss, bring back ZAR!
Bring back ZAR. You are kidding right? How would that make the Penguins any better? Boyle is obviously not the answer to another cup run either, but the Pens need to get someone that can provide some physical play during the regular season and especially in the playoffs. ZAR is not that guy.
Aston-Reese was their best penalty killer. Itbwas apparent when they traded him and the pk that was so good all season suddenly stunk. Certainly could have used him against that NYR PP in the playoffs.
Zar is good defensively but can’t hit the net when he shoots Countless times we’ve seen that or just shoots into the goalie for an easy save. Heard he’s in the Devils camp.
He’s skating at the Devils facility because he lives a few miles away, much like Trocheck and Miller do in Pittsburgh. Don’t read too much into ZAR skating there yet.
👍
great at def but cant hit a goal if it run into him at least Boyle hit 11 goal and some assists and handled Wilson and other bullies
I think he was a contributor last year- i think you have to move on and find someone that is younger to play that role. Someone wirh alittle more energy but brings that physical style.
Perfectly applies to Malkin also!
Allot easier and more cost effective to find a 4th liner than a 2nd line ppg player.
How would like to see him brought back in a
limited role. Maybe more than Kapanen. Leadership is paramount
I have given up on age concerns for the team. They are so far out to sea with aging end of their career guys it is not reversible. But please at least stop adding more. As a team they have enough “veterans” for three teams. Next thing you know they will cut DeSmith loose and see if EJ has a few more starts in him. Enough already!
I disagree. Other than the core 3 guys and Carter, this team is made up of players in their prime years. So its not as bad as some people think as far as this team being old. Younger, inexperienced players rarely help in the playoffs, unless their name is Cale Makar. Those types of players are not available and if they were, the Penguins could not afford them. I agree that getting this team a little younger would help in some ways, but the veterans are always the ones who shine in the playoffs. Just my humble opinion
Late 20’s early 30’s guentzel 27, rust 30, rakell 29, petterson 27, smith 22, poehling 23, jarry 27, Friedman 26, blueger 27, desmith 30, dumoulin 30, Poj 23, mcginn 28, Zucker 30, kapenen 26, o’Conner 23,
30′ Crosby 34, malkin 35, letang 34, carter 37, Petry 34, it’s not that bad! Sorry if I missed anyone or got an age wrong.
Over/under…5 players invited on PTO tryouts
Yeah, Boyle would be a perfect fit for this team, all right. And while Hexy is at it, he can bring back Simon, too. He didn’t score a goal in 17 games with the Ducks, so the guy is due for a massive course correction.
Let’s see what Kunitz is doing these days & bring him back too
Wow! Really? I thought Big Boyle was one of the best values on the team last year. Stepped in as third line center when Blueger got hurt, penalty kill, more toughness than the other 11 forwards combined. The ability to get to the front of the net and score. Sure, I wish there was a time machine or we could reset the odometer, but he was a solid contributor and respected teammate. As far as the playoffs, he hurt his knee and was one of the missing pieces to the PK for games 6 and 7 – which is when… Read more »
I agree with everything you said
Boyle was great last year. Yeah he faded a bit down the stretch but maybe his minutes can be managed more with hopefully less collective injuries on the team. Id like to see him back, sure beat the hell out of another “waterbug” guy. Is that supposed to be a good thing?
Bring him back
Dump Petterssen for a draft pick and you could bring back Boyle Rodrigues and Zar back. That would be great for the depth here.