News Penguins Team Notes

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Sidney Crosby voted ‘Most Complete Player’ in NHLPA Player Poll

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

Crosby has been voted the most complete player in the poll for a sixth straight season.

Sidney Crosby has received high recognition from his peers in across the National Hockey League as he’s once again been voted the ‘Most Complete Player’ in the annual NHLPA Player Poll.

Crosby has been voted the most complete player in the poll for a sixth straight season.

There’s no question that this @penguins Cap can do it all

With 20 NHL seasons under No. 87’s belt, there’s no question why Sidney Crosby gets the nod for most complete player. #NHLPAPlayerPoll pic.twitter.com/08TcLLPjF8

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) April 15, 2025​

He received a total of 33.81% of the vote this season, ahead of Aleksander Barkov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Anze Kopitar.

Crosby was also recognized as player most others would pick if they needed to win a faceoff with 20.39% of the vote, ahead of Ryan O’Reilly, Anze Kopitar, Jordan Staal, and Aleksander Barkov.

Lastly, Crosby led the poll among those asked who the smartest player in the league is, with 27.02% of the vote, ahead of Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, Aleksander Barkov, and Adam Fox.

Crosby was also recognized as the 4th highest picked player when asked who the best overall forward is and the 5th highest picked player when asked who the best playmaker is.

To view the complete results of the 2024-25 NHLPA Player Poll, click here.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/16...ted-most-complete-player-in-nhlpa-player-poll

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Washington Capitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4/17/2025

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

One more time, it’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!

Who: Washington Capitals (51-21-9, 111 points, 1st place Metropolitan Division @ Pittsburgh Penguins (33-36-12, 78 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Nationally broadcast game on ESPN, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: Today is the end of the line for the 57th team in Penguin history who will miss the playoffs for a third straight season. The team gets ready for breakdown day and a long summer to rest, rehab and start training to do it all over again next fall.

Opponent Track: It’ll be a mostly meaningless game tonight for the Caps too but for a very different reason. As the No. 1 seed in the East Washington will be focused on what they need to do for the playoffs and their main goal for tonight should be making sure no one gets hurt and the team is ready to go for the postseason.

Season Series: The Pens won the first PIT/WSH game back in early November, but since then the Caps beat them 4-1 in January and 8-3 in February. Tonight offers a small measure of revenge and a chance to split the season series at two wins a piece if the Pens can get the victory.

Getting to know the Capitals​

Projected lines (based on Tuesday’s game)

FORWARDS

Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Anthony Beauvillier

Connor McMichael - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson

Andrew Mangiapane - Lars Eller - Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Taylor Raddysh

DEFENSEMEN

Rasmus Sandin / Matt Roy

Alex Alexeyev / Trevor van Riemsdyk

Martin Fehervary / Dylan McIlrath

Goalies: Charlie Lindgren and Clay Stephenson

Scratches: Jacob Chychrun (playoff maintenance), John Carlson (playoff maintenance), Logan Thompson, Aliaksei Protas, Ethen Frank

IR: Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Sonny Milano

—The Caps have taken their foot off the gas, Ovechkin, and Carlson have gotten games off recently. But there’s been some involuntary misses with Thompson, Chychrun and Protas a little banged up (or “ill” in Chychrun’s case) at this time of year when absences to key players becomes scary. Taking only an optional practice yesterday, we don’t know much about who the Caps may or may not dress tonight.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb)

—As is the case most first place teams in the division and conference, plenty of players have had career-seasons. Strome, Protas, Dubois, Wilson, McMichael and Chychrun all have set highs in goals and/or points this season. Ovechkin’s out here scoring 43 goals in 64 games at age-39, truly incredible best case scenario situation almost all the way across the board for the Caps to have so many players perform so well together and at the same time. The result has been a force multiplier to turn a team that barely made it into the playoffs last season into the top seed in the East this time around.

—Catching up with old friends: Beauvillier got off to a nice start after his trade deadline day move to Washington but has no points in his last eight games and 0G+1A in the last 10, but still has been playing in a 12-14 minute lower line role (aside from scrambling around during end of season rest games)...Similarly, Eller has no points in his last nine games and only 0G+1A in the last 10 and hasn’t done much as of late either. Saving it for the games that count, no doubt.

—By the way, the highest the second round pick the Pens will receive from the Caps in this draft for the Beauvillier trade will be 59th overall, which will happen if the Caps are eliminated during the first two round of the playoffs...The pick moves to 61 or 62 if Washington loses in the Conference Final (depending on whether or not Winnipeg makes it to the SCF or not). The pick turns into No. 63 if the Caps lose in the Stanley Cup Final and it would be 64 if..well let’s not even think about it moving to 64.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines (from practice yesterday)

FORWARDS

Ville Koivunen - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell

Connor Dewar - Joona Koppanen - Philip Tomasino

P.O. Joseph - Vasily Ponomarev - Valtteri Puustinen

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea / Conor Timmins

Ryan Graves / Vladislav Kolyachonok or Filip Kral

Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Vladislav Kolyachonok or Filip Kral, Tommy Novak (lower body, out for season), Boko Imama (bicep surgery, out for season), Blake Lizotte (out for season), Noel Acciari (out for season), Rutger McGroarty (foot, out for NHL season), Kris Letang (heart surgery)

—Kevin Hayes missed both days of practice since Sunday’s game and is officially day-to-day, per Mike Sullivan yesterday. Being as today’s the last day left in the season, who even knows?

—After missing the last 19 games, P.O. Joseph might be back in time for the finale. Good on him for working to get back and maybe one more chance to play a game with the Penguins. Joseph worked nominally as a forward during line rushes yesterday in practice, so again it’s a who knows situation. The Pens might dress 11F/7D if Hayes is out, but they may or may not play Joseph that much as a swing forward or a defender. It’s the last day, so to match the note from above, who knows!

—The good news, or I suppose as good as news can be regarding a heart surgery, is that the procedure Kris Letang had done on Monday was an on-going topic that he and his doctors had been considering for some time and not a sudden or emergency procedure that abruptly popped up.

Mike Sullivan said Kris Letang is doing well and was at the rink today. "I think he's pleased that he ultimately made the decision to do it, and move by it." More from the Penguins head coach on the defenseman's procedure https://t.co/7eflSS4QiO pic.twitter.com/yvzBS29Yhl

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) April 16, 2025​

Draft ramifications​

Today is the last day of the NHL regular season. We know the Penguins are locked into a seventh place finish in the Metropolitan Division, even if they lose and the Flyers win today to have both teams end up at 78 points, Pittsburgh will stay ahead on the tiebreaker. Via Tankathon:

Here’s the latest scenarios for how the Pens could end up. Long story short, for the best draft slot, Pens’ fans should be cheering hard for the Sabres tonight. And they’re playing the Flyers anyways so that won’t be too difficult to do.

7th spot
—Pens lose in regulation tonight AND Buffalo wins or loses in overtime/shootout (vs PHI)
—Pens lose in OT/SO AND Buffalo wins

8th spot
—Pens win in OT/SO
—Pens lose in regulation/OT/SO AND Buffalo loses in regulation

9th spot
—Pens win in regulation

The lottery draft will set the final order. The Pens are going to have between a 5.0 - 6.5% chance of winning the lottery and moving up to the first or second pick regardless of where they finish.

One more for Sid..​

From the Pens:

Sidney Crosby is statistically having one of the best seasons in NHL history by a player in their age 37 season or older as his 89 points are the sixth most in a single season in league history:

Most Points in Single Season at Age 37 or Older, NHL History

Player Age Year Points

Gordie Howe 40 1968-69 103
Joe Sakic 37 2006-07 100
Johnny Bucyk 37 1972-73 93
Mario Lemieux 37 2002-03 91
Wayne Gretzky 37 1997-98 90
Sidney Crosby 37 2024-25 89
Jean Ratelle 37 1977-78 84

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/17...ington-capitals-pittsburgh-penguins-4-17-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: That’s All, Folks

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

The 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins season has come to an end.

Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning...​

The Pittsburgh Penguins closed out the 2024-25 season on Thursday night with a final game against longtime rivals Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. And while I hoped for a final loss to improve the draft odds, the Penguins, ever the professionals, played to win, and win they did, beating Washington 5-2. [Recap]

The Pittsburgh team made one last regular-season roster transaction, recalling former first-rounder Sam Poulin from the AHL. Poulin was featured on the fourth line last night. [Trib Live]

Thursday night’s game was the 73rd career meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The 2024-25 season will be remembered for the records and milestones both players set, and as they met each other again, the rivals who have interlinked for 20 years have a great mutual respect for one another. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...​

New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin was reportedly accused of sexual assault by a former team employee in a since-settled lawsuit, it was revealed on Thursday. [Yahoo! Sports]

Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl secured the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s top goalscorer (52), while Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov captured the Art Ross Trophy for the second straight season, ending the season with 121 points (37 goals and 84 assists). [Sportsnet]

Here is the full schedule for Round 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. [NHL]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/18...sby-ovechkin-nhl-panarin-stanley-cup-playoffs

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

NHL Playoffs: Western Conference first round predictions

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images

Who will win in the first round of the playoffs?

First, if you haven’t joined our NHL Bracket Challenge, don’t rip these predictions off. Or go ahead and take ‘em, what can I do about it. But join anyways and make your own selections.

We’ll start with the Western Conference today, since it has the first two games of the playoffs kicking off tonight.

Winnipeg Jets (1st Central) vs. St. Louis Blues (Wild Card 2)

This might be one of the more blasé matchups that isn’t drawing a lot of buzz, so maybe it will surprise by giving some juice.

The Jets enter the playoffs with a league-high 56 wins and 116 points in the standings. The Blues made the postseason in large part due to a late-season 12 game winning streak that makes them one of the more intriguing teams around due to peaking at the right time. It’s worth wondering if that peak is over since STL had a 1-2-1 record in their last four games and could be missing Dylan Holloway for this series (Holloway was injured and hasn’t played since taking a hit from none other than Rutger McGroaty of the Penguins earlier this month).

The Athletic summed this matchup up well in saying, “the Blues are a threat, but this is still Winnipeg’s series to lose.”

Connor Hellebuyck has been amazing as one of the sport’s top netminders but hasn’t had the best run in the playoffs lately with a 2-8 record in the last two seasons and .870ish save percentage along the way. The level of competition explains part of that with Winnipeg out-manned against Vegas in ‘23 and Colorado last spring and Hellebuyck having no chance to shine. That won’t be happening again in the first round this year, the Jets are a better and deeper team throughout the lineups so this one looks like it could be straight forward.

Prediction: Jets in 5

Dallas Stars (2nd Central) vs. Colorado Avalanche (3rd Central)

Talk about a powerhouse opening round matchup featuring two 100+ point teams. Someone’s offseason is going to start very early but the winner might take some momentum in passing a very difficult first test in the Mikko Rantanen Bowl. Rantanen started the season in Colorado but ends up playing for the Stars now, how much of an impact that will have as a potential difference-maker will be a fun key to watch unfold.

Dallas has limped into the playoffs with a 3-5-2 record in their last 10 games. The questions around the availability of (no pun) star defender Miko Heiskanen is another critical factor. Without Heiskanen the Stars have looked ordinary, but with him at full power they swing towards being one of the best in the league.

If Heiskanen is missing or limited, Dallas will have a hard time slowing Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar down. Those two have helped the Avs get out of the first round of the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, it’s usually a good bet to advance Colorado. (Dallas is no slouch themselves in that department with a 2-1 first series record and two straight seasons of winning the first round)

This series could be considered a true coin flip for who advances but we’ll take the team entering with better health. As an observer and fan of the sport, the main item to cheer for would be getting a Game 7 out of this series, that would be some tremendous theater.

Prediction: Avalanche in 7

Vegas Golden Knights (1st Pacific) vs. Minnesota Wild (Wild Card 1)

On paper this series looks like a mismatch. The Knights are a deeper and more consistent team. The Wild only have a few legit offensive threats, the dangerous Kirill Kaprizov is an outlier on a Minnesota team that finished 25th in the NHL in scoring this season and makes you wonder how they even got into the playoffs with Kaprizov missing an even half of the season (41 games played).

Surprises can always happen in a NHL playoff series but it would take a significant one here for Minnesota to defeat a stronger opponent, maybe even hanging with them for a while would be an achievement.

This one looks open and shut, Vegas gets a great reward for winning the division by having an easier playoff matchup than the one we’re about to get to talking about..

Prediction: Golden Knights in 5

Los Angeles Kings (2nd Pacific) vs. Edmonton Oilers (3rd Pacific)

For the fourth straight season the Kings and Oilers will lock horns in the first round of the playoffs. So far Connor McDavid and the Oilers are 3-0 in these matchups but they have major injury concerns of their own, most notably key defenseman Mattias Ekholm expected out for all of this round.

Los Angeles is one of the NHL’s best defensive teams, their 206 goals allowed in the regular season ranked second in the West behind only Winnipeg. The Kings are built to shut teams down but that hasn’t held up to keep McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in check during the postseason. Last year McDavid put up 12 points in six playoff games against LA, Draisaitl was right behind him with 10. The year before in 2023 it was even more with McDavid producing 12 points in just five games (and Draisaitl notching 11).

It’s been proven time and again that the Edmonton’s edge in star power defeats LA’s greatest strength. Maybe the Kings having a home ice advantage will matter — the LA was an amazing 31-6-4 at home this season to lead the NHL in points earned and tie with Carolina for most home wins. But can a Los Angeles team that ranks seventh among playoff teams in the West in goals during the regular season really be able to keep up with the Oil when No. 97 and 29 flip it into playoff mode? It hasn’t broken that way yet in this matchup, we’re not going to predict it to start now.

Prediction: Oilers in 6

—

That adds up to a fairly chalk-y first round outlook. Gee, what could go wrong? The good or bad thing depending on perspective is that the divisional 2 vs 3 matchups in the first round tend to lead to some amazing matchups and the potential for some of the best hockey of the year. That shouldn’t disappoint or be any different this year.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/19/24411175/nhl-playoffs-western-conference-first-round-predictions

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

New York media likely to get hopes up in vain for Rangers to hire Mike Sullivan

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

People in New York want Mike Sullivan to coach the Rangers next season, they’re not going to get him

The Rangers fired Peter Laviolette today. It was an expected move for the Blueshirts after missing the playoffs this season.

Why is that relevant in a Pittsburgh Penguins website?

Because if you liked the New York area media-driven “maybe Mike Sullivan will coach the Devils” last year, you’re going to love the New York media-driven “maybe Mike Sullivan will coach the Rangers” this year!

The main offender of this, as usual, will be the New York Post.

Rangers coaching candidates: Mike Sullivan an intriguing option as search for Peter Laviolette’s replacement starts https://t.co/56WNZBoLjF pic.twitter.com/0Y5AqxwCMN

— New York Post (@nypost) April 19, 2025​

The Post’s days of floating “maybe ___ from the Penguins will go to New York” off-season dreaming stretches all the way back to wishful thinking that Mario Lemieux would join NYR as a player in the early 2000’s. That, of course, never came close to happening but it didn’t stop the chatter.

Empty chatter is about all this is too. According to Sullivan, he’s going to coach the Penguins next season. He said as much yesterday at breakdown day in Pittsburgh.

Mike Sullivan: “My intentions are to be the head coach moving forward.”

That was in regards to his plans moving forward

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 18, 2025​

As a reminder, NHL teams can no longer trade or receive compensation for coaches under contract leaving to join another team. Sullivan is under contract with Pittsburgh until 2026-27. The team has absolutely no reason to not honor that contract, which would be obvious if one knew anything at all about the esteem the organization holds Sullivan in his position.

Thus, the big problem for those in the Big Apple that just want to float an “intriguing option” even if they aren’t in any way what reasonable people would call a “realistic option”. The Pens’ executives and ownership love Sullivan. Sullivan said he intends to stay, nothing else to see here.

Should be an open and shut matter, even though of course “speculation” won’t be ending any time soon. It’s more fun to drum up news and talk about Sullivan and the Rangers until they end up hiring a new coach. It just won’t be Mike Sullivan, unless a lot of people make a complete change of plans.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/19/24412010/mike-sullivan-rangers-coach-new-york-media-penguins-nhl

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs first round predictions

Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

Taking a crack at what could happen in the first round

Now that we’ve gotten the West out of the way, let’s turn back to the Eastern Conference and preview and try to predict the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Washington Capitals (Metro 1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (Wild Card 2)

It’s shades of 2010 — the Capitals are the first seed in the East, Alex Ovechkin is scoring unlimited goals and a plucky Montreal team that barely scraped into the playoffs is looking to complete the parallels with another first round upset like they did 15 years ago.

But hold your horses, Jaroslav Halak ain’t walkin’ through that door.

Montreal is one of the youngest playoff teams ever. They’ll be in “just happy to be here mode” whether it’s intended or not. The Caps are better than them across the board in every spot.

There’s got to be a little trepidation for the Caps since starting goalie Logan Thompson has been out since April 2nd with a “day-to-day” injury and doesn’t have runway to get back into form. The Montreal atmosphere will be off the charts with excitement and energy. That won’t extend to helping on the ice.

Prediction: Capitals in 6

Carolina Hurricanes (Metro 2) vs. New Jersey Devils (Metro 3)

The Devils were giving off Penguins 2011 vibes by having Jack Hughes lost for the season and Dougie Hamilton gone for the stretch run. Hamilton is back now, but NJ still seems like the team that will be missing a star piece too critical to enable the possibility of a big run. That might be overly-dismissive since Jesper Bratt has raised his game to a very high level and between Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Luke Hughes the Devils still have a lot of talent going in their favor, which is worth mentioning too that NJ isn’t exactly like a truly dead-in-the-water Pens team. Still, NJ’s 11-13-1 record since 4 Nations stands out as the worst among playoff qualifiers and seems to foreshadow this squad they have might not have what it takes.

On the other side of the ledger, Carolina hasn’t lost a normal first round series in the salary cap era (omitting the 2020 bubble). They might have a limited ceiling about how deep they keep playing, but they have been a sure bet to get out of the first round every single year. The Hurricanes are well-coached, deep and look as hungry as ever to make a run at it. That starts with the first step, and we’ll call it for them.

Prediction: Hurricanes in 5

Toronto Maple Leafs (Atlantic 1) vs. Ottawa Senators (Wild Card 1)

The Battle of Ontario should have no shortage of fun to watch from afar. The Maple Leafs enter in their annual Sisyphean challenge to push that boulder up the hill in the playoffs one more time with their current core looking to fulfill the promise and hope of one of the top teams in recent years stymied by postseason flame out after flame out.

Anthony Stolarz has been awesome for Toronto this year, but do we really live in a world where “Stolie the Goalie” is out there winning NHL playoff series? That’s one question I keep coming back to. It’s not unheard of for mid-level goalies to go on a heater at the right time but counting on that feels a little creaky from the outset. On the other hand, it’s not like Ottawa starting goalie Linus Ullmark has been a playoff tower of power either (3-6 career record, .887 save%). Ullmark is 13-5-1 since 4 Nations and one of the reasons that the Senators made it into the playoffs, but his stats in this stretch (3.02 GAA and .902 save%) don’t stand out as a reason to feel incredibly confident in him either.

The results could be mayhem. Intensity and hard-fought games are a guarantee, which team steps up in the critical moments is likely to make or break the outcome. All that said, for best results when you see Toronto in the playoffs, pick the other team to win in seven games. By God, we’re going to do it.

Prediction: Senators in 7

Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic 2) vs. Florida Panthers (Atlantic 3)

The Battle for Florida features two teams that are arguably the most dangerous ones in the East. If they’re not the exact top-two, they are certainly have to be right up there. It’s not difficult to imagine the winner of this series will be position to win at least one and possibly two more rounds.

Recent form tells an interesting story, the Lightning are 16-7-4 since 4 Nations. Florida is a more pedestrian 13-11-1, losing seven of their last 10. The Panthers have been without Matthew Tkachuk that whole time, and the star forward is approaching a return from injury, which it sounds like might be for Game 1 or soon after. The defending champs could be ready to switch their performance into gear, and they will definitely need to be better than what they’ve shown lately.

Tampa has four players in the Top 25 of the league in Dom Luszczszyn’s Net Rating. Florida has two. That one data point isn’t going to shift a series but it’s indicative of just how many impact players the Lightning have. Their good is very good and getting back Yanni Gourde (1G+13A in 21 games) has been a perfect fit. Gourde was a key figure in Tampa’s two Cups earlier this decade and should be a big boost.

We’ll say Tampa gets some revenge from getting knocked out by Florida last spring, and the Panthers’ impressive run as back-to-back Eastern Conference champions has to run out of steam at some point, doesn’t it? Well if they find a way to dispatch Tampa and get out of this round, maybe it doesn’t, but..

Prediction: Lightning in 6

—

Going out on a limb to call Ottawa’s shot is a bold move. Upsets, particularly featuring low seeds knocking off division winners in the first, tend to happen in the NHL playoffs with frequency. We liked the matchups too much of the other division winners around the league (Winnipeg, Vegas, Washington), so if there is a high early seed to topple Toronto seems like as good of a shot as any to go out and predict.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/20/24411233/nhl-eastern-conference-playoffs-first-round-predictions

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Wilkes-Barre Penguins slip to fourth seed, playoff rematch

@wbspenguins

The AHL Penguins aren’t entering the playoffs with a lot of positive momentum

For clinching a playoff berth on March 26th in plenty of time, the end of the season wasn’t very impressive for the Wilkes-Barre/Scrantion Penguins.

As mentioned last week, WBS would have needed a lot of help to get up to the second seed and gain the benefit of receiving a bye from the opening round. As it turned out, it wouldn’t have mattered — Wilkes needed Charlotte to lose at least a game or two and it turns out the Checkers ended up winning all three of their remaining games, rendering all hopes lost.

But the last week wasn’t a positive for WBS, who dropped two of their three games and backed all the way down to the fourth seed. That means they’ll play the touchy best-of-three series, and it’s a rematch from last year against Lehigh Valley.

It has been decided..

We’re playing Lehigh Valley in the best of threehttps://t.co/uzkDd3G8CT pic.twitter.com/qfYdigjCht

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 20, 2025​

Lehigh Valley won two quick games last season to stop WBS’s season in its tracks. The Penguins will be looking for a little redemption but they aren’t entering the playoffs with a ton of momentum.

Joel Blomqvist has lost his last two starts, but you can’t blame the goalie for the issues lately. Blomqvist stopped 76 of 82 shots he saw (.926 save percentage) and only received four total goals of offensive support. Tough to win games when scoring twice, as WBS has found out lately.

Speaking of goalies not getting much support, Sergei Murashov and Wheeling are a blink away from being eliminated in their best-of-five series in the ECHL against Norfolk. Total goals by the Nailers through two games: absolute 0. Aren’t going to win any games at all in the absence of all goal scoring output.

So it goes in the cruel and swift-moving world of minor league hockey. Another season that has carrier a lot of promise in Wilkes now faces a huge test of a quick three-game series. If they win that, they’ll meet the defending back-to-back AHL champions in Hershey that have completely owned WBS in the final months of this season. It’s not looking so promising anymore.

Then again, the glory of this time of year is learning about adversity and seeing how players do in tough situations. The Penguins have not been carrying a lot of momentum lately but their fates are far from sealed. This will be a good chance to see who can dig deep and reverse the recent course the team has been on.

Some news and notes about individuals:

• Owen Pickering suffered an injury and was recently seen in Pittsburgh. Usually that is not a good sign when an injured WBS player pops up at the NHL facility but HC Kirk MacDonald said Pickering is “trending towards” being back for Game 1, as are injured players Emil Bemstrom, Mac Hollowell and Jack St. Ivany. Good thing, WBS will need all four of those players, including what should be half of their blueline (Pickering, Hollowell, St. Ivany).
• Harrison Brunicke was at the center of a rough play, taking a low hit when he was going for an empty net goal against Cleveland. Brunicke attempted to fight the perpetrator of that hit only to see two additional Cleveland players jump in (not a good look against an 18-year old rookie!). Brunicke has become an AHL regular for this stretch run, putting up two points (0G+2A) in 10 games and a -4. He will surely learn a lot from this first taste of pro action but this stint also shows the advantages of having promising young players come through the ranks in a more measured and patient way in juniors/college against age-appropriate players and not turning pro too early.
• Goalie Taylor Gauthier got his first AHL game in the last night of the season, and won via shutout. Interesting that Filip Larsson didn’t play that one, perhaps out of an abundance of caution.
• Ville Koivunen notched an assist back in the AHL finale, his first taste back in the AHL. Let’s hope that’s his last AHL regular season game.

Final 2024-25 regular season stats​

via hockeydb

—As Tony Androck pointed out, WBS got at least a game out of all six goalies on NHL contracts this season (which are all except Jaxon Caster). That’s got to be the first time in history that an AHL team has played every goalie in the organization. (Alex Nedeljkovic went on a conditioning loan, Tristan Jarry was loaned once and waived/assigned another time, Blomqvist, Larsson, Murashov and Gauthier all have NHL contracts).

—There’s also something funny in a twisted way how that Jarry makes more than all the rest of the goalies combined and he had the lowest save percentage in the AHL out of any, save minor leaguer Caster.

—Koivunen’s call-up in late March might have cost him AHL rookie of the year but he does finish as the WBS leading point scorer in his rookie season.

—Avery Hayes turned his productive season into an NHL contract for next year. What is the ceiling of this undrafted player? He’s probably going to debut in the Top 25 Under 25 this summer but will he have a path and opportunity to get into the picture for the show sooner than later? That remains unknown but after this year he’s a player worth following.

—On the flip side of productivity from Hayes, former 2021 first round pick Chase Stillman only put up three points (1G+2A) in 19 games since coming over in the Cody Glass trade from NJ. Needless to say, Stillman will not be appearing on the T25U25 as a legit NHL prospect, but he does have a contract for next season.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/21...-penguins-slip-to-fourth-seed-playoff-rematch

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Takeaways from Kyle Dubas’ press conference: Mike Sullivan, Erik Karlsson and what is next

Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

It sounds like Mike Sullivan will be back and some strong words for defenseman Erik Karlsson.

Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas met with the media on Monday and discussed the 2024-25 season and what is ahead for the organization.

Here are some of the biggest topics that were discussed and some takeaways from them.

1. It sounds like Mike Sullivan will be back​

Not that it should be a surprise. Despite the third straight non-playoff season and the lack of a playoff series win since the 2017-18 season there has not really been any indication that Sullivan was in any danger of losing his job this offseason.

When asked about Sullivan’s status, Dubas said that Sullivan remains under contract, is an elite-level coach, has stated his intentions and what he wants and that the organization will “reaffirm that.”

Takeaway: Is this really surprising? I know fans have called for him to be fired. The Rangers media seems to think it is their right to have him coach the team at some point. In terms of results, he has received a significantly longer leash than almost any other coach in the NHL would get. The Penguins are fiercely loyal to Sullivan, still see him as a good coach, and appear to be of the mindset that as long as you have a good coach you shouldn’t be in a rush to get rid of them. At some point the Penguins are going to need a new voice and a new direction. Maybe they are at that point. The organization disagrees.

2. Strong words for Erik Karlsson​

The most interesting part of Dubas’ press conference might have been when defenseman Erik Karlsson was the topic.

Specifically, this quote:

Dubas, on Karlsson: "Erik is and will forever be a polarizing figure. My view would be we expect him to be one of the people who pulls us from where we're at into contention. I had a long meeting with him... my push would be his actions have to match his ambitions. He showed…

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) April 21, 2025

“My push would be his actions have to match his ambitions” is a hell of a comment.

While Dubas pointed out that Karlsson had some high points and showed he still has that level in him, there were some inconsistencies that became an issue.

Harsh. But fair.

Takeaway: I have to imagine that if the Penguins could move Karlsson’s contract they might be happy to do so. I do not fault the effort or the swing in acquiring him, but I do not think it is unfair to say it has not quite worked out as hoped. He is still a brilliant offensive player, and it still comes out at times. The offensive production is still there. He has been a top-10 scorer among defensemen since joining the Penguins and there is still value in that. But the defensive shortcomings and consistency have been real. If they retain a bit of salary they might not only be able to move him, but probably get back more than they originally gave up to get him.

3. On the goalies​

Dubas said he expects both Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic to be back next season, but that they should also expect to get competition from both Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist.

Takeaway: That does not exactly inspire much confidence in the position, but what else is he supposed to say here? Both players are under contract, and both players are probably not easily movable given those contracts. You can not totally throw them under the bus because you still probably want to trade them, but you also have to apply some pressure to them and let them know there are other potential options on the way. While Murashov is the most promising prospect here I really do not see him starting the season in Pittsburgh. He might get a chance at some point next season, but his development is too important to rush him.

4. Trades are the way​

The salary cap is rising, the Penguins have some salary cap flexibility and they also have a ton of draft picks over the next few years (30 over the next three years to be exact, more than any other team in the NHL). It sounds like some of those picks could be trade assets.

Dubas said they are far more likely to spend in the trade market, or in sign-and-trade deals with restricted free agents. He also downplayed the possibility of restricted free agency offer sheets because of how much salary cap space most teams have and how easily offer sheets could be matched.

Takeaway: This just makes sense. Mitch Marner is the biggest name on the free agent market, and while there is an obvious connection between him and Dubas, I just do not think that is a realistic possibility. The cost, where the Penguins are and what Marner is probably looking for are not really a match at this point. When you get beyond Marner, the free agent class loses a lot of luster. As it usually does every summer when you get beyond the top two or three names. It is usually just a list of players waiting to be overpaid after having already played their best hockey for somebody else. The Penguins have a cupboard full of second-and third-round picks that could be flipped for somebody that is younger and could potentially be both a short-term and long-term player.

5. Potential for young defensemen to get a look.​

Dubas specifically mentioned Jack St. Ivany, Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke as players that could make a push next season on defense.

Takeaway: St. Ivany and Pickering are not really surprises. St. Ivany has already had a taste of NHL action the past two years, and Pickering is far enough into his development that it is going to be time to expect to see him on a more full-time basis. Brunicke would probably need a heck of a training camp and preseason to play his way into an NHL spot right away. He is a really intriguing prospect and has some serious upside, but he has also played just 10 games of pro hockey to this point. Some patience should be needed and expected there.

6. Dubas sees a better outlook than a year ago​

Even with fewer points in the standings and with another missed postseason, Dubas still sees progress and thinks they are back on the road to contention more than they were this past March.

Takeaway: This is honestly a fair assessment. The prospect pool today versus a year ago is remarkably different thanks to both the Jake Guentzel trade (which has brought in Ville Koivunen and Harrison Brunicke) and the Rutger McGroarty addition. The development of Murashov has also been huge. There are some serious prospects in the organization that are knocking on the door of the NHL, and in the case of McGroarty and Koivunen should be potential contributors as soon as next season. They have prospects, future salary cap flexibility, some nice trade assets and some potentially high draft picks this year and next. They are not close as currently constructed at the NHL level. The long-term outlook is not terrible, though.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/21...-mike-sullivan-erik-karlsson-and-what-is-next

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Sidney Crosby can’t stop, won’t stop, will it lead to World Championship appearance?

Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

Will the Pens’ captain play at the World Championships?

Sidney Crosby lives at the rink, the Penguins’ captain was back on the ice yesterday at the practice facility with the injured players getting more work in.

Crosby is on the ice in Cranberry,working out with injured players, including Rutger McGroarty and P.O Joseph. If only the guy had a little commitment to this franchise … pic.twitter.com/N0HK6d9ugf

— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPGH) April 21, 2025​

That leads to the topic about World Championships, which will be from May 10-25 this year in Stockholm. Crosby didn’t commit to playing for Canada, but he didn’t close the door on it either.

Sidney Crosby said he will take some time before deciding if he will play in World Championships. So, it’s a maybe.

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 18, 2025​

Slowing down has never been in Crosby’s thoughts, and as he ages the need to keep going with his training has only intensified.

“I don’t think I have that luxury (of taking long breaks) any more at my age,” Crosby said last week during breakdown day. “It’s better to kind of keep going at this point.”

Yohe had an interesting take on this too.

Lately, when addressing his conditioning and ability to remain essentially ageless, Crosby continually discusses his need to “keep going.” He said that, unlike when he was young, taking time off actually seems to hurt him these days, as it takes him longer to regain his legs and hands when he’s away from the rink. In other words, he’s working harder than ever to remain great.

It’s not unlike the late-career workout obsessions of Jaromir Jagr, who famously exhibited a similar belief that as long as he kept working on his craft and conditioning in a maniacal fashion that he could retain the essence of who he was as a player. Aging gracefully in a sport as difficult as hockey is no accident. Crosby is quite at the Jagr stage of getting the keys to the rink so he can get solo midnight skates just yet, but would it be a surprise if that was happening soon enough?

Crosby has only appeared in the World Championships twice, once after his NHL rookie season in 2006 and then again in 2015 after the Penguins had lost in the playoffs. Crosby captained Canada to a gold medal in 2015 to complete his membership in the the Triple Gold club.

It won’t be difficult for Crosby to get in touch with the brass, Kyle Dubas is serving as Canada’s general manager for this WC. The Penguins might not be participating in the playoffs but if Crosby follows his mantra of “keep going”, he could find a way to play some decently high-level hockey through the end of May before he starts his typical summer training camps around Canada and Los Angeles.

Next season will be a big one, and it features the 2026 Olympics and Crosby looking for a third Olympic gold medal. He’ll want to be in peak condition to do that, and the process for next season is going to start earlier than many might realize upon first glance should he decide to remain as active as possible by keeping his off-season as short as he can.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/22...will-it-lead-to-world-championship-appearance

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Dubas names St. Ivany, others as candidates for 2025-26 Penguins roster

Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Kyle Dubas wants at least three AHL defenseman to push for a spot in Pittsburgh next fall.

Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty began their auditions for the 2025-26 Penguins roster with their April call-ups.

They might not be the only members of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins getting a shot in Pittsburgh in the near future.

During his end-of-season press conference on Monday, general manager Kyle Dubas named several other players he expects to “make a push” for a roster spot out of training camp:

• Jack St. Ivany, D: St. Ivany spent the end of the 2023-24 campaign in Pittsburgh, mostly on a pairing with Ryan Shea, for a 14-game stretch during which the Penguins made a late push and came just short of the playoffs. That helped earn him a three-year extension last May. But St. Ivany wasn’t as successful early this season, and after starting the campaign with the Pens he was sent back to the AHL in December.

Dubas said on Monday that St. Ivany likely would have gotten another shot with the Penguins this month had it not been for “an ill-timed injury.”

St. Ivany said earlier in April that he believes he was sent down in December in part due to a lack of confidence (h/t The Hockey News’ Kelsey Surmacz.) Now that St. Ivany has taken on a major role with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens, where he has spent time on the team’s top pairing, Dubas says the Penguins “would expect Jack to push for sure” next fall.

• Owen Pickering, D: Pickering made his NHL debut in November and averaged 14:19 through 25 games with the Penguins before he was sent back down to the AHL. Dubas indicates he wants the 2022 first-rounder to push for a bigger role next fall.

“He’s got to have a real strong playoff here for Wilkes-Barre, and he’s got to have a great summer... we can’t have him, same as when we he had him go down, settle in a 12, 13 minute a night role,” Dubas said. “He needs to come in and push his way into 17, 18, 19, 20 minutes and earn that.”

• Harrison Brunicke, D: Dubas said Brunicke has been “playing very well” at the AHL level since he was assigned from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the end of March. A strong playoff for the WBS Pens could help earn him a look in next fall’s training camp.

Mike Sullivan said last season that the Penguins were considering giving Brunicke a nine-game trial in the NHL (h/t Surmacz.) That’s the maximum the Penguins can play him before his entry-level contract kicks in. He’s not eligible to join the AHL full-time until 2026-27, so he will be spending next season either in Pittsburgh or back in the WHL.

• Tristan Broz, C/LW: Dubas indicated that Broz, like St. Ivany, would have been up with the Penguins at the end of season had it not been for his health status. After putting up 12 goals and 19 points in his first 27 games of the WBS Penguins’ season, he missed over a month of the season with mononucleosis and has struggled to reach his previous production levels since. Dubas complimented his “very strong start to the year” when mentioning the former University of Denver star on Monday.

“We probably could have brought him up last week. I just didn’t think those types of games should be his first recalls into the NHL... best to have him stay down in Wilkes and come up next year if he can earn it with a legitimate opportunity,” Dubas said.

Dubas also said the players who got chances with the Pens at the end of this season— likely Koivunen and McGroarty in addition to other call-ups like Vasily Ponomarev— would also get their own chances to make the roster during camp.

Sidney Crosby was working on helping some of those players on Monday in Cranberry:

Crosby is on the ice in Cranberry,working out with injured players, including Rutger McGroarty and P.O Joseph. If only the guy had a little commitment to this franchise … pic.twitter.com/N0HK6d9ugf

— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPGH) April 21, 2025​

Penguins fans are meanwhile still waiting to find out when the NHL draft lottery will take place. This year’s event hasn’t been announced yet, but the 2024 edition was scheduled for May 7.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/22...ers-as-candidates-for-2025-26-penguins-roster

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

2025 early off-season checklist for the Penguins

Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Key dates for the Penguins in the early part of the off-season

The playoffs are firing up elsewhere but the rink has gone dark after another season has ended in Pittsburgh. The lack of games doesn’t mean a lack of activity, here are some key items and dates to watch in this early part of the off-season.

The biggest dates in the NHL’s summer will be later on. The draft is on June 27-28 and free agency opens up on July 1st. Those marquee events contain most of the excitement and headlines but here’s what to look out for before that point.

Step 1: Any (unplanned) staffing changes?​

The Penguins plan on retaining their coaching staff, according to general manager Kyle Dubas at his end of season press conference. That’s a reversal from last season when the team moved on from assistant Todd Reirden and replaced him with David Quinn.

Will the early summer have any surprises as far as unplanned changes? Sorry New York, we don’t mean Sullivan, who said he intends to stay in Pittsburgh. This is more about Quinn and the Pens’ other feature assistant, Mike Vellucci.

Vellucci, perhaps quietly, tends to appear on lists as a fairly strong candidate for a head coaching positions. He’s been added to Team USA’s coaching staff as an assistant for the World Championships next month.

Vellucci has interviewed for jobs on more than one occasion in recent years. At 58 years old the clock is ticking for him in an industry where jobs are skewing younger. Vellucci has been a successful head coach in the OHL, he’s won a Calder Cup as a HC in the AHL, and now he’s been at the side of one of the NHL’s most respected coaches for five seasons in Pittsburgh.

There are currently three HC vacancies and three more teams under interim coaches. Could this (finally) be Vellucci’s year? We’ll find out in the weeks and months to come. You never know until it happens but Vellucci might be on a track to at least put himself in consideration for a promotion somewhere else, which would cause a ripple effect to the Pens moving forward.

Step 2: Lottery draft​

The exact date hasn’t been firmed up yet but reportedly is either on May 5th or 6th, according to TSN.

The Penguins will need Craig Patrick’s lucky four-leaf clover for what will be the first draft lottery that they’ve had a shot at winning the first overall pick since 2006. Pittsburgh only has a 5.0% chance of winning the first overall pick (and a 5.2% chance of winning the second overall pick). There’s a much better chance of 23.5% that Pittsburgh gets leaped by another team and sends the Pens to a 10th overall selection, but the odds on favorite is for Pittsburgh to hang tight at the 9th draft selection with a 64.4% probability.

Step 3: Wait to hear from New York about the extra first round pick​

According to Dubas after the trade deadline, the Rangers have up until 48 hours before the draft to let Pittsburgh know if New York will elect to keep their first round pick this year or send it to the Pens. If NYR keeps the pick this time around then Pittsburgh gets the Rangers’ 2026 first rounder next season with no protection.

Don’t expect any news on the matter soon, the Rangers surely will wait to see what happens in the draft lottery for the 3.0% chance that they win the first overall pick. Probably won’t happen but they have to see what pick they end up with before making a decision on what to do with it. There is a 79.9% chance the pick is 11th overall and a 13.4% chance of dropping down to 12th. Would that make difference? Who knows.

Considering the Rangers made this pick top-13 protected in their trade to Vancouver, logically they positioned themselves to have the ability to an 11th overall this year and would have to take their chances on what happens next season. That still has to be fully decided and communicated, there’s nothing for the Pens to do but sit back and wait and see what happens.

Step 4: Ongoing playoffs doesn’t mean a trade freeze​

Major trade dominoes fell within the goalie market last summer during the Stanley Cup Final. Calgary sent Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey, Washington traded Darcy Kuemper to Los Angeles and Boston sent Linus Ullmark to Ottawa all before the final whistle of the 2023-24 season. Not a netminder but Ryan McDonagh was dealt back to Tampa in May, and there was another meaningful trade of draft picks worked out between Chicago and the Islanders in the same month.

Since the draft and free agency are crammed up to each other just days apart teams naturally need to get their ducks in a row prior to those big events. These next few weeks and months will be an opportunity for the Pens to scan the league, have conversations and find if there are any opportunities to shuffle the deck. Does any other team have a $3-5 million problem contract or two with a few years on it that can be flipped for Ryan Graves and/or Tristan Jarry? Now is as good a time as any to start planting seeds on what can be done and try to have a transaction completed before the draft.

There’s no reason to sit by social media or this website and expect a major trade to break at any given minute in the next two months, but ideally the leg work is getting done to see if there are any matches.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/23...-the-penguins-calendar-nhl-lottery-draft-date

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Auditing 2024-25 NHL season predictions

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

Looking at how we did from last fall’s predictions

Now that the season is over, we can turn back to six months ago when preseason predictions were made. Here’s what we had:

Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division

Pretty decent here, with two exceptions. Boston completely imploded, the move to fire one of the NHL’s best coaches ended up backfiring spectacularly (gee...) and before the season ended the season ended the Bruins traded their captain Brad Marchand and several other key players like Trent Frederic, Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle. That didn’t go well, but who could have seen it coming?

On the flip side, Montreal did well to out-perform preseason expectations. Their goal differential of -20 might be fitting for a last place team but they found a way to win some games when not suffering blowout losses and make the playoffs.

Otherwise, not too bad, all the teams relatively ended up about as projected, for this division at least.

That story isn’t the same in the Penguins’ home division..

Aside from getting the layup that the Hurricanes would be safely in the playoffs, most of the rest of the picks here are all over the map. We liked the Devils too much and the Rangers way, way too much — but like Boston that was another case of negative inputs from the executive/management level trickling down to hinder a team.

We were able to call Washington returning to the playoffs over the other contenders, but not as successfully as they ended up.

The biggest whiff of all was counting Columbus out. Can’t be too mad about being wrong about that since the Blue Jackets provided one of the more inspiring and impressive seasons of anyone in recent memory.

Grading the predictions​

As far as margins of error goes, here are some models and betting lines performances this year. To give an idea of accuracy, the average pick is about 11 points off per team in one direction or the other, it’s a very inexact and difficult task to blindly predict a hockey season.

Standings Model Projection Results

(TIE) JFreshHockey + Brendan Wadlow
HockeyViz
MoneyPuck
4. FanDuel Preseason O/U
5. HockeySkytte
6. Fan Survey Aggregate
7. Dom from the Athletic
8. EvolvingHockey
9. Average Fan Submission pic.twitter.com/TIUEpZKFkE

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) April 18, 2025​

Perhaps to be expected but the betting lines ended up doing better than what the fan consensus was. That’s why Las Vegas and the online betting industry stays in the green — they tend to come closer across the board more accurately than the people they’re taking money from. It might be said that sometimes lines are set to ensure even betting, but attempts for accuracy pay off when it comes to cash being on the line.

Here’s a chart of the Pensburgh picks.

To take a victory lap, we intentionally predicted 737 points to be earned in each division. The Atlantic division ended up getting exactly 737 points. We over-shot some (hello, Boston!) and under-projected others (Ottawa, Montreal) but absolutely nailed the end result. That and a 10.25 variance made for a very strong overall outlook.

In the not so good part, the Metropolitan division calls ended up going very poorly. Pretty brutal stuff on NJ, NYR and CBJ, The division as a whole only took 713 total points, and the Metropolitan did not earn any Wild Cards as a result with only three teams getting over the 90-point plateau this season (which would have been very difficult to call ahead of time).

Due to the mess in the Metro, our average error was 12.4 points, worse than all the models. That makes sense, being as I spent about an hour or so and wasn’t going off any detailed data to come up with these shots in the dark. On the plus side, that 10.25 point variance in the Atlantic more than holds its own as a very good shot at it. (Last time gloating, promise!)

We were able to accurately call six of the eight playoff teams; Boston and NYR didn’t make it, Ottawa and Montreal stepped up. It was a “close but no cigar” outlook on the Senators, with just not quite enough courage or insight to drop the Bruins down to where we see they belonged. (Of course, back in October, no one knew Boston would panic fire a good coach and eventually trade their captain, plus Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle, among others..)

Of all the non-playoff teams to potentially make a move, I like Ottawa the most to step it up. The addition of Linus Ullmark should help them in net, but after a few players they get really thin really quickly on defense, which is troubling when trying to put a lot of faith in them making a major step forward. A wild card could be the coaching of Travis Green, but at this point that could end up being a positive or negative factor.

Next time we probably shouldn’t predict each division to take the exact same point total and get a little more independent to attempt for more accuracy. Other than that, the inexact science of making predictions can be a cruel exercise. The attempts to be better will have to wait for next season.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/23/24413385/auditing-2024-25-nhl-season-predictions

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

WBS Game 1 Recap: AHL Penguins lay an egg, now face elimination

@wbspenguins

You can’t afford to lose Game 1 in a best-of-three and Wilkes-Barre gave up the first five goals last night in their eventual 5-2 loss to Lehigh Valley

Last year the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost Game 1 at home of the best-of-three opening round to Lehigh Valley and were quickly bounced in Game 2, ending a promising playoff for the AHL Pens just as it started.

Sad to say, history has quickly halfway repeated itself in a hurry in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. WBS fell behind 5-0 against Lehigh Valley in Game 1 at home last night before scoring two goals in the last five minutes to make the score look a little more respectable, but the result is the same as last year. The Penguins now face elimination on the road and are left picking up the pieces wondering how this has happened.

In the books ️@LVPhantoms | #WBSvsLV | #CalderCup pic.twitter.com/bmlMC4nbrq

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 24, 2025​

Here were the lines:

How we’re lining up tonight

Catch the action on AHLTV on FloHockey: https://t.co/CrNDVVHuPj pic.twitter.com/ORcOHfZRQf

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 23, 2025​

One name you don’t see above is Emil Bemstrom. Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas announced the forward is out for the rest of the season due to injury. Big loss at this time of year.

Joel Blomqvist started the game in net for Wilkes, but he wouldn’t finish it. Backup Taylor Gauthier led the team back on the ice to start the third period and took over. Blomqvist wasn’t seen on the bench. Head coach Kirk MacDonald confirmed after the game that Blomqvist was injured on a night where he stopped 23 out of the 26 shots flung his way. Gauthier would give up two goals in the third period. In tough timing, arguably WBS’s best and most consistent goalie this season, Filip Larsson, is currently injured.

Avery Hayes broke the shutout attempt for Lehigh Valley and Gabe Klassen tacked on the other goal for the Penguins. Hayes’ goal was a nice one to finish some sharp passes by Tristan Broz and Sam Poulin. Wilkes’ first goal came far too little and too late down 5-0 and only having 4:54 to play.

Avery Hayes scores our first of the playoffs pic.twitter.com/1Hpz7znL83

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 24, 2025​

Rookie Tristan Broz didn’t pull any punches after the game, according to Pensburgh alum Tony Androck (which, let’s mention- follow and support him in his journey of very quality minor league hockey coverage).

Tristan Broz was blunt post-game. Said #LVPhantoms wanted it more.

"It was fucking embarrassing."

— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) April 24, 2025​

It’s not a good look to lay an egg in Game 1 of any playoff series, but multiply that a thousand-fold for a best-of-three series. There’s such little margin of error to kiss a game away like the Pens did last night. The players can recognize and own that with very honest post-game comments, but how they respond and come together in the next day or so will be crucial. Pittsburgh management will surely be watching to see who is rising to the occasion and who is failing to do so. After night one, there can’t be many, if any, in the first category.

Wilkes heads over to Allentown on Friday night, in a must-win game. They’ll be looking to change up the script from last season and extend the series to the rubber match in Game 3. Something has to change or WBS will be done for the season way too soon for a second season in a row.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/24...-ahl-penguins-lay-an-egg-now-face-elimination

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Revisiting our Penguins 2024-25 over/under predictions: How did everybody do?

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

We got some right. We got some wrong.

Before the start of the 2024-25 NHL season, we put together some over/under polls to try and get a sense for what people’s expectations were for several of the Pittsburgh Penguins players.

New faces that joined the team in the offseason.

Core players that are still expected to be faces of the franchise.

Secondary players that were going to need to step up and help with the offense.

Now that the 2024-25 season is complete, it is time to take a look back at how we did in our predictions and guesses.

The New guys​

Original predictions here

Blake Lizotte: Over/under 10.5 goals.

Poll result: Over (52 percent)

On-ice result: Over with 11 goals (in 59 games)

Kevin Hayes: Over/under 40.5 points

Poll result: Under (57 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 23 points (in 64 games)

Anthony Beauvillier: Over/under 15.5 goals

Poll result: Under (54 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 13 goals (in 63 games — combined with the Capitals he scored exactly 15 goals)

Matt Grzelyck: Over/under 20.5 points

Poll result: Under (54 percent)

On-ice result: Over with 40 points

In the cases of Blake Lizotte and Anthony Beauvillier we all ended up being pretty close. Lizotte narrowly topped the 10.5 goal line we set despite missing a significant chunk of the season, while Beauvillier ended up getting extremely close to the 15-goal mark between Pittsburgh and Washington.

I badly over-estimated what Hayes could do offensively, but the readers did not. He barely made it halfway to the over/under.

Everybody under-estimated what Grzelyck could do offensively as he took on a significantly larger power play role than probably anybody had originally expected. He ended up doubling his preseason over/under that was set. His defensive play was a problem, but his offense was a pleasant surprise.

The secondary players ​

Original predictions here

Bryan Rust: Over/under 30.5 goals

Poll result: Under (72 percent)

On-ice result: Over with 31 goals

Michael Bunting: Over/under 25.5 goals

Poll result: Over (53 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 14 goals in 58 games (including Nashville he had 19 goals for the season)

Rickard Rakell: Over/under 25.5 goals

Poll result: Over (73 percent)

On-ice result: Over with 35 goals

Drew O’Connor: Over/under 15.5 goals

Poll result: Over (81 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 6 goals in 53 games (he scored 10 goals in 84 games including his time with the Vancouver Canucks

There is something very fitting about everybody overwhelmingly under-estimating Bryan Rust, only to see him exceed expectations and have a huge season. He topped the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career and just barely hit our pre-season over by scoring 31 goals for the season. His entire career has been defined by exceeding expectations, and this season turned out to be no different. There is still some juice left in him.

Rakell was the other player that significantly out-performed the preseason expectations and also ended up with a career year, scoring 35 goals while getting a ton of top-line time next to Sidney Crosby. He was outstanding.

We all had some big whiffs on what Michael Bunting and Drew O’Connor were going to be capable of. Having said that, I think they were realistic preseason expectations. O’Connor scored 16 goals a year ago and there was probably some hope he could at least match that, and perhaps even build on it. Bunting had averaged more than 20 goals per 82 games in each of the previous three seasons, and I don’t think it was unreasonable to expect a small bump given the centers he was going to have an opportunity to play alongside.

The core players​

Original predictions here

Sidney Crosby: Over/under 90.5 points

Poll result: Over (76 percent)

On-ice result: Over with 91 points in 80 games

Evgeni Malkin: Over/under 75.5 points

Poll result: Under (66 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 50 points in 68 games

Kris Letang: Over/under 50.5 points

Poll result: Over (53 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 30 points in 74 games

Erik Karlsson: Over/under 60.5 points

Poll result: Over (84 percent)

On-ice result: Under with 53 points in 82 games

Look at Sidney Crosby go. The captain still has it, is not really slowing down, and just keeps plugging along with 90 point seasons even as he gets deeper into his 30s. He pretty much hit the over/under right on the money, and nobody was really surprised by that. He will probably do it again next season.

My expectations for Malkin were a little higher, but the readers were more reasonable and ended up getting it right as Malkin finished with just 50 points 68 games. I thought there were stretches where Malkin still showed some of that burst and impact ability, but it was not as consistent as we have seen from him in the past. I do wonder what impact having better, more consistent linemates could/will have for him.

We all badly missed on Kris Letang. He has slowed down more — and more rapidly — than pretty much every other member of the core group. While Crosby is still consistently dominating, and while Malkin is still showing flashes of it, we did not really see any of that from Letang this season.

There were big expectations for Erik Karlsson offensively, with more than 84 percent of reasons expecting him to go over 60.5 points. He ended up reaching 53 points, which was still enough to be among the top-15 among the league’s defensemen. Very good, but not great. Combined with his defensive performance, it was an underwhelming season across the board.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/25...5-over-under-predictions-how-did-everybody-do

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Friday Polls: How are we feeling about the 2024-25 Penguins postmortem

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

The Friday poll returns with a look back at the 2024-25 Penguin season

It’s the offseason, it’s Friday, you know what that means. Or maybe you forgot, if so fear not the Friday Polls are back. We start today by looking back at the Penguins’ 2024-25 season. It may feel like a forever ago that many or most accepted that the Pens were not a very good team, but there was still a lot of optimism as little as seven months ago about the team’s prospects.

Despite loud voices to the contrary, most people tend to be outwardly optimistic or not expect worst case scenarios given how the last 20 years of Penguin hockey has conditioned us all.

Looking back, it’s a bit wild over 60% of folks here thought or at least voted with their hearts to expect the playoffs. Pittsburgh didn’t upgrade at all over the off-season, using most of their cap space to take on unwanted players like Kevin Hayes and Cody Glass and/or make short-term bets on players like Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Grzelcyk. Some of those guys play well and were traded for a second or third round picks, some of them, well not so much.

Only 3% were brave enough (and likely at least half were simply trolls) to be right about ending up as a bottom-10 team. I suppose that goes to show expectation and hope will always spring eternal on the eve of a season. Nothing wrong with that, why invest so much time, energy, effort and often times money in a team going nowhere fast.

It’ll be interesting to see how the answers sway today. Unlike the past few years, the Pens at least had a token outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs up until the very few games of the season in 2023 and 2024. This year they were all but out of the playoff race easily before 4 Nations in February. That’s a lot more time to process the acceptance of the situation. Last year at this time, over half (52%) of respondents were level 4 or 5 angry over missing the playoffs. (Then again, that pre-season a whopping 95% of our responses indicated they thought/expected Kyle Dubas to return Pittsburgh to the playoffs in his first season on the job, which gives good reason to also be miffed about the end result from last year).

But that was then, this is now. You’ve had more time to deal with the fact the Pens weren’t a playoff team from pretty much opening night’s 6-0 loss. We’re not asking this question mere hours or days after the team fell short, it’s been a result months in the making.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/25...feeling-about-the-2024-25-penguins-postmortem

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

AHL Playoffs: Wilkes bounced in Game 2 for second year in a row

@LVPhantoms

Another disappointing early ending for the WBS Penguins in the Calder Cup playoffs

The Wilkes-Barre Penguins season is over after a 3-2 loss last night to Lehigh Valley. Tough ending all around, the Phantoms scored the game winning goal with 2:00 left in the third period past rookie goalie Sergei Murashov. Murashov was needed to replace Joel Blomqvist, injured in Game 1. Wilkes’ main goalie this season, Filip Larsson, was also out with an injury of his own.

Here were the lines:

How we’re going tonight

Catch the action on AHLTV on FloHockey: https://t.co/CrNDVVHuPj pic.twitter.com/nKpvluKEUx

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 25, 2025​

On the other side of the ice, Parker Gahagen, a 31-year old journeyman goalie with more ECHL games than AHL games in the last four seasons largely authored WBS’s early exit by allowing four total goals in the two games and putting up a .937 save%. Playoff hockey at it’s finest.

Wilkes didn’t go down without a fight. Lehigh’s Alex Bump created quite the stir with open trash talking of the Penguins’ players.

Bulletin board material?#LVPhantoms F Alex Bump began & ended his media availability after Game 1 taking shots at the #WBSPens defensemen.

"Their D didn't want to play the hard game."

"Like I said, they don't like to defend. Soft defenders, in my opinion."@InsideAHLHockey pic.twitter.com/e4gWmkE97Q

— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) April 24, 2025​

Bump did something similar calling out the Boston University defensemen recently. Being as he’s a national champion and has 3G+2A in four total AHL games, it seems to work for him lately.

Naturally, the Penguins elevated their physicality to give Bump what he was asking for in Game 2. Talk shit, get hit; the most true of proverbs.

Filip Kral making sure he's not soft on Alex Bump in Bump's first shift of the night.... @InsideAHLHockey pic.twitter.com/HPD7prrnR0

— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) April 25, 2025​

However, Bump’s words can’t be dismissed completely. It’s long been said that Kyle Dubas has a type of defender he tends to collect. Think back to Toronto and the typical profile of blueliners they had: Morgan Rielly, young versions of Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, Conor Timmins and Travis Dermott. Dubas may not have drafted all of these players and occasionally went off-type to compliment them with physical players like Zach Bogosian or Luke Schenn but a large portion of Dubas’ defense fit in a similar type of passive, non-physical defender that young Alex Bump references.

Wilkes is officially under the eye of Jason Spezza as the franchise’s AHL GM. Spezza is a Dubas disciple and look at the defensemen brought into Wilkes: Sebastian Aho, Filip Kral and Mac Hollowell. All fit the mold of not exactly being impressive physical players, and Aho in particular drew the ire of many a fan on social media for his performance in the short playoff series.

While they’re aren’t Brooks Orpik or Scott Stevens types growing on trees, especially these days, WBS probably could have stood to have a little more jam, grit, whatever you want to call it in their overall makeup. It’ll be interesting to see if this elimination serves as a turning point for how Spezza/Dubas might see minor league roster construction and the profile of players they decide to bring on next season.

The quick elimination might cause lots of soul searching within the organization but there were some individual bright spots.

Murashov stopped 28 of 31 shots and had to be flexible since the plan was for him to play in the ECHL playoffs prior to Blomqvist’s injury. Future still looks as big as the sky for young Murashov and everyone in the organization is super excited for it, as they should be.

Tristan Broz scored a goal in Game 2. Broz was a hero for the University of Denver last spring and elevated his game when it meant the most in the AHL playoffs. Broz’s production doesn’t pop off the page, but he’s repeatedly shown that special quality or that “it” factor to be at his best on the biggest stage. Not every player has that trait or tendency, but you know “it” when you see it. Max Talbot had it, Bryan Rust had it. Broz may or may not have some NHL Game 7 big goals in his future, but if Broz does it wouldn’t be out of left field.

Harrison Brunicke scored his first AHL goal. Not bad for an 18-year old getting his first taste of pro hockey. His skating and hockey IQ to jump up in the play and the skill to finish the shot is a great taste of the future. The progress of this guy to go from being seen a potential fifth round pick just before his draft year to being a second round pick and now flirting with the NHL is unbelievable. It’s been a rocket ship of progression, improvement and development for him in the last 14-18 months.

Harrison Brunicke just got his first pro goal and it gave his team the lead in an AHL playoff game @WBSPenguins | @penguins#AHL #CalderCup #LGP #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/WmwasIDnXS

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) April 26, 2025​

Despite the couple of bright spots, WBS goes home early. Again. It’s a tough playoff format in a league where lots of teams make the playoffs that hasn’t done the Pens any favors recently.

The good news is that with the young talent increasing and the Pittsburgh ownership having no qualms about opening up the pocketbooks to sign several high-priced veteran players to fill out the roster should create a formula where Wilkes ought to have a bright future in the years to come.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/26...es-bounced-in-game-2-for-second-year-in-a-row

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Former Penguins in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoff

Photo by Sophia Price/NHLI via Getty Images

Old friends still kicking along in the playoffs

The Penguins aren’t in the NHL playoffs this spring, but several of their former players are. Let’s check in with (hopefully) a complete list of those still involved. For this purpose if a player is around but not dressed or playing games, they’re not that involved.

Toronto, Colorado, Los Angeles - no Penguin alums

Ryan Reaves hasn’t played in the NHL since March 2nd (in a game against Pittsburgh, funny enough) and only three games since the beginning of February. We’ll see if he gets back in there at any point for the Maple Leafs but he’s not even on the NHL roster at the moment.

New Jersey - Brian Dumoulin, Cody Glass, Stefan Noesen, Daniel Sprong

The Devils have the most ex-Penguins via numbers, though Sprong was back to healthy scratch status for Game 2. Glass has been involved in one of the most unfortunate plays of the early playoffs when his own goalie accidentally chopped him in the no-no zone.

Minnesota - Freddy Gaudreau, Vinnie Hinostroza, Marc-Andre Fleury

Former Penguin draft pick FIlip Gustafsson has been one of the first stars of this playoff season with a 2-1 record and .922 save% in the early going against Vegas. It doesn’t look like Fleury will play again, but his career has had so many unexpected starts, stops, twists and turns that the Flower can’t quietly go out as a backup watching from the bench, can he?

Dallas - Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci, Casey DeSmith

Kinda funny that the Stars have some of the more unpopular/polarizing former Penguins all put together. Granlund and Ceci each have one assist a piece in the first three games of the playoffs, DeSmith is the backup.

Florida - Evan Rodrigues, Dmitri Kulikov

Kulikov makes for an excellent choice in the “remember some guys” game. He fits in very well with the Panthers, and seemingly no where else. Rodrigues has been held without a point in FLA’s first two games, he was great (15 points in 24 games) for them last playoff run.

Carolina - Jordan Staal, (Mark Jankowski)

Executive decision to include Jankowski, even though he’s been the 13th forward to start the playoffs since he did the funniest thing by scoring six goals in his first seven games with Carolina after coming over as a trade throw-in.

Washington - Anthony Beauvillier, Lars Eller

Beauvillier was playing lower line minutes but has shown his versatility by moving up the lineup to play with Alex Ovechkin due to an injury suffered by Aliaksei Protas. Pretty cool season for the guy they call Tito, has there even been anyone who has played a fair bit on a line with Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby within the very same season? Don’t think there is (maybe Evgeni Malkin if including Olympic competition, but even then Malkin didn’t typically play extended, regular stretches with Crosby). Protas is expected back soon which will likely end Beauvillier’s stint in that role, but his additional has been a valuable pickup for Washington.

Vegas - Reilly Smith, Tanner Pearson

Smith has scored a goal for Vegas. That was the place he always wanted to be, glad enough for him to get to go back.

Ottawa - David Perron

What a career for Perron, who turns 37 soon. The Sens are his seventh NHL team, injured limited him to only 43 regular season games this season but Perron is back at the most important time of year and joined up with Ottawa just in time for them to make a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Tampa - Jake Guentzel

Ho hum, Guentzel scored 41 goals and 80 points his first season with the Lightning, just like he always seems to be right at the 40G/80 point mark when healthy. Guentzel scored in Game 1, always has a knack for postseason production. Down 2-0 and heading out on the road, Tampa needs Guentzel more than ever against such a tough opponent in Florida.

Montreal - Mike Matheson

Matheson has a tough and thankless job, he eats a big portion of tough minutes and tries to gut through it and that opens up Lane Hutson for the more glamorous opportunities. It’s wild to think that Matheson is still on the very same contract he was playing on when with Pittsburgh, that feels like a long time ago at this point, and it still has one more season to go. Overall it’s been a wild ride for Matheson’s perception but back in his home province of Quebec he has played some of the best hockey of his career.

Winnipeg - Brandon Tanev, Luke Schenn (does he count?)

Tanev had a full circle moment by getting traded back to the team that drafted him. There’s a lot of “if not now, then when” vibes for the Jets, would be nice to see them get to go on the type of deep run that galvanizes one of the league’s smallest markets. You know Tanev will give his very best effort to add to that.

St. Louis - Oskar Sundqvist

Sundqvist was pretty good for the Blues when they won their Cup back in 2019 (9 points in 25 games), they’ll be hoping for his typical solid self on a bottom line this playoff.

Edmonton - (Kasperi Kapanen)

Kapanen has been a healthy scratch for the first two games, this was written before Game 3 where he might have made his playoff debut. Kapanen put up 13 points in 57 games after being picked up by the Oilers on waivers earlier this season, he got a chance to play with some of the big guns but has fallen out of favor and down the depth chart.

—

Are you watching or cheering specifically for any former Penguin players? Would you like to see any of them win the Stanley Cup or does that only matter to Flyers fans?

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/26/24416511/former-penguins-in-the-2025-stanley-cup-playoff

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Ponomarev pleased; Howe has surgery

Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning...​

ICYMI: Evgeni Malkin and representatives from several McDonald’s locations teamed up to make a $71,000 donation to the Ronald McDonald House. [PensBurgh]

Vasily Ponomarev remains on track to be, if not an integral, then a viable supporting player for the next generation of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, and he and the organization are pleased with his development after his first full year in the organization. [Trib Live]

Penguins forward prospect Tanner Howe underwent successful ACL reconstruction surgery, the team announced on Thursday. The expected recovery time is nine months. [Penguins]

News and notes from around the NHL...​

Believe it or not, this is now the fourth consecutive postseason series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers have been declared the victors the prior three times, but do the Kings now hold the edge over Connor McDavid and Co. thanks to a blistering five-forward power-play unit? [NHL]

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog received a ‘memory of a lifetime’ as he battled his way back from injury, surgeries, and setbacks over three seasons to beat the odds and suit up with his NHL teammates again in the Stanley Cup playoffs. [NHL]

The 2018 World Junior/Hockey Canada sexual assault trial will resume on Friday in front of a jury. The defendants have since pleaded not guilty. [Sportsnet]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/25...-malkin-nhl-landeskog-2018-world-junior-trial

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

What happened between Mike Sullivan and the Penguins?

Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images

Sullivan is out after almost 10 years on the job

Last week at his end of season press conference, Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Kyle Dubas didn’t mince words about his coach.

“I think with a coach like Sully, he’s an elite-level coach as he’s shown through his time here and as well as for Team USA,” Dubas said. “There’s always the point that very few coaches who are in that realm often want to see a team through this, but he’s been very open about this is what he wants to do. So, we’ll just continue to reaffirm that, and as long as he’s on that side of it, then we’ll roll with that.”

As it turns out, that roll abruptly ended a week later with the announcement that the Pens and Sullivan had “have agreed to part ways”. Dubas’ statement had this line:

“This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.”

93.7 The Fan’s Adam Crowley had a little more information:

Received word yesterday that Sullivan and the #Penguins would be parting ways. @scorindorin and I were on the same text.

Team met w/ Sullivan yesterday. Sullivan had a list of non-negotiable demands. Dubas and FSG said "thanks, but no thanks."

— Adam Crowley (@_adamcrowley) April 28, 2025​

“Non-negotiable demands” sounds spicy, perhaps more will come of that later on. The Athletic had a similar angle:

As for why he left, it has become clear in recent days that Dubas’ rebuilding plans are more methodical than Sullivan would have liked. In recent years, Sullivan was frustrated by his roster. Dubas said at a recent news conference that the Penguins weren’t going to simply attempt to make the playoffs next season, but rather are focusing on a slow build that can help them be Stanley Cup contenders annually.

At this point it seems obvious that Sullivan was unhappy that the team has slipped with short chances of being competitive in the near future. Sullivan, 57, only has so many years of NHL coaching ahead of him and ticking off the games and years with a bottom-end team with little ambition or ability to get back towards the top in the near future had to have been a factor of how he ended up walking.

In the end, sometimes differences of opinions happen. By all accounts, Dubas and Sullivan have no personal animus or any negative, dark room dealings to explain what happened. Dubas will speak later today but probably won’t have fireworks or give as much palace intrigue like the soap opera of his own dismissal from Toronto. In this instant it’s a classic scenario where a coach prioritizes a short-term perspective and management has to make calls at a broader view and the two visions weren’t aligned to the point where a split became the right call. In the end, that led to Sullivan and the Penguins parting ways after a very successful and long relationship.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/28...ween-mike-sullivan-and-the-penguins-nhl-coach

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins, Mike Sullivan agree to part ways

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Sullivan coached the Penguins for nearly a decade and won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2016 and 2017.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and head coach Mike Sullivan have agreed to part ways.

Sullivan coached the Penguins for nearly a decade and won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2016 and 2017. He was under contract through the end of the 2026-27 season.

“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” said general manager Kyle Dubas in a release from the team. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.”

Sullivan took over as head coach of the Penguins in December 2015 when the team fired head coach Mike Johnston.

The Penguins found instant success under Sullivan, winning the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons with Sullivan at the helm.

After four straight years of first-round playoff exits, the team’s lengthy run of qualifying for the postseason came to an end in 2023 and the team has missed the playoffs in each of the last three years.

Dubas says a thorough search for the next head coach of the team will begin immediately.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/28/24419365/penguins-mike-sullivan-agree-to-part-ways