Penguins
Penguins Slap Shots: Florida Owes Pens; Assistants; and Getting Rangers Pick
A soft goal, a ferocious attack, and a coach pulling the goalie two minutes too early have brought us to the end of the 2024-25 NHL season. There is no hard rule when we stop writing this season and transition to last season, but it will happen in the next few days, perhaps after the Florida Panthers lift the Stanley Cup in sweltering Florida heat over a Fort Lauderdale waterway. The funny thing is, if the Penguins didn’t faceplant, none of this would have happened.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who are also three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, owe the Penguins. Big time.
Had the Penguins not collapsed late in the 2022-23 season, Florida wouldn’t have made the playoffs and gone on one of the most improbable runs since the 1991 Minnesota North Stars made it to the Cup Final only to be trampled by the caravan of destiny driven by Mario Lemieux.
Florida would have made changes in the summer of 2023 and then … who knows?
The Penguins had to beat one of the worst, most hapless teams in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks to make the playoffs, but failed allowing the Panthers to take the final playoff spot. Three years later, Florida is king of the hockey world and rightfully talking dynasty. Go figure. Also, for everyone who drives in the rearview mirror, that was the moment that should have cost former coach Mike Sullivan his job. Instead, it was a clean sweep upstairs.
Rapid Fire Penguins Takes
Assistant coaches? There is a report that Nick Bonino will join the Penguins’ new staff. If he joins it in the same way Matt Cullen did–as a skills advisor–that would be beneficial. It would seem a bad move for a newbie coach who is too familiar with the boys to join a first-time head coach. The master class on building a staff for a first-time head coach in any sport remains former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who surrounded himself with the best. More coaches should learn that–those assistants won’t always tell you what you want to hear, and that’s a good thing.
People who spent some time inside the Penguins coaches’ room over the last several years told us that too many yeses were a problem for the last Penguins coach.
RFA Target: No, the Penguins shouldn’t chase restricted free agents, unless they’re inexpensive, but one target appeared on the screen last night: Mackie Samoskevich. He didn’t play in the playoffs, which lowers his value, but he had a good late-season run to burnish his offensive totals. The Florida rookie scored 15 goals with 31 points in 72 games this season. Our Florida people said, “No way,” when we broached the thought of a team swiping Samoskevich, but how can Florida not hand pending unrestricted free agent and Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett a blank check?
Samoskevich is a zippy, playmaking winger on the small side (5-foot-11, 183 pounds). Florida also needs to find a right-handed defenseman. Perhaps the Penguins could help, but no, not Erik Karlsson. A Karlsson to Florida trade would become Florida’s version of the Derick Brassard trade.
Trade Block: The Penguins and GM Kyle Dubas are in a unique position. It seems many of the formerly rebuilding teams want to take the next step, a few teams that should consider rebuilding are trying to reload, and the good teams are trying to get better. In short, there are a lot of buyers, and the Penguins might be the only seller.
The only seller? That should up the prices.
The salary cap spike has hampered traditional revamping strategies (accepting salary dumps and teams sacrificing good players), but perhaps being the only Lemonade stand on the block will net Dubas a higher-than-expected return on a trade or open the door to additional trades because the return is too good.
Of course, we thought the same for Rickard Rakell at the March 7 NHL trade deadline, and that didn’t pan out.
Rangers Pick: The New York Rangers owe the Penguins their 2025 or 2026 first-round pick because New York sacrificed it in the J.T. Miller trade, then the Vancouver Canucks sacrificed it to the Penguins in the Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor trade.
Multiple reports suggest that New York has eyes for Buffalo Sabres forward JJ Peterka. The 2025 RFA compensation threshold is $4.680 million; above that, a team’s tribute climbs from a second-round pick to a first and third-round pick. Peterka is projected to cost just about $4.5 million on a short deal, so if New York goes for it, they will have to overpay and thus potentially sacrifice their 2026 first and third-round picks.
That means they need to give the Penguins their 2025 pick just to have the option to chase the 23-year-old Peterka.
That plot thickens.
NHL Draft: The Penguins may very well have a public showing for the 2025 NHL Draft, because teams will be in their home offices and not at tables in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theater, where the draft will be held.
Yes, that was a dumb move by the NHL. The teams wanted it, now regret it, and we probably won’t do a remote draft again. Good.
However, the swirling prospect rankings could bring the Penguins the best-case scenario. We detailed Jake O’Brien’s game with a highlights package by Matt Meagher on Tuesday.
After a month of Penguins fans opining that O’Brien should be the guy, I was shocked at how quickly sentiment turned when we revealed he might be available. Instead of hope, I saw a lot of negatives.
When I banged the drum for Roger McQueen, the response was, “Nooo! He’s injured, he’s no good. He’s the next Nolan Patrick!”
When O’Brien wasn’t available, the responses were, “Trade up. Get O’Brien. The next second line center!”
Now that O’Brien might be available, the responses were, “He’s too skinny. Too slow! Trade up to get Porter Martone!”
I suppose unrealistic expectations are part of my profession and your privilege as a fan. I can’t caution enough–don’t get so emotionally invested in a singular outcome to the point that only your prospect is good, and everyone else is bad. There are a handful of players who could be selected, and the guarantee of any working out is about 50%, no more, no less.
Rebuilding EVERYTHING: Maybe I’m getting old, but these are 18-year-old kids who are beginning their journey in life. I’d hate to see a negative reaction that makes them feel not wanted or outcast before their first turnover. The next couple of years will be about those of us who love the game, not those who show up for the result. Not only is the team rebuilding, but these moments are typically a time of great fan renewal.
Those who arrive for reflected glory usually drift away or become so negative as to isolate themselves from the herd. The open seats and unsold tickets are a great time to introduce more fans to the game, learn about the Xs and Os, and the culture and heritage that create the game.
Why would Matthew Tkachuk play with a ripped abductor muscle and hernia? Why do players nearly try to kill each other for seven games, then shake hands? If goals are what matter, why don’t teams get six offensive defensemen? What’s the balance between size, speed, skill, and old-fashioned hockey IQ?
The challenge that PHN accepted in our infancy was to inform Penguins fans to the level of Canadian fans. Sure, it might be easier to climb Mt. Everest, but I’ve seen progress. The quality of hockey talk in Pittsburgh has dramatically increased, even as a bunch of people who don’t follow hockey still control the publishing and broadcast channels. Believe me when I tell you, there are people in management in Pittsburgh media who actually think the Pirates are the No. 2 team, and despise hockey as a nuisance. I’d love to out them, but I won’t.
I wrote this in the very beginning of PHN’s existence, and it still cracks me up, but I also carry the undercurrent of anger:
I once had a well-rated show, and lower management wanted to get sponsors to do more, but a higher-up said no, the company would not put effort into hockey. It’s up to you–take the game to others, but don’t spend so much time being right that you miss the journey. After all, being right is my job.
I kid, I kid. Kind of.
