The Penguins made a smaller move on Monday, but it came with a clear message about the kind of defensemen they want around.
Pittsburgh sent Caleb Jones and depth prospect Daniel Laatsch to the Buffalo Sabres and got Ryan Johnson back, a left-shot blue-liner described as a good skater. It wasn’t the kind of headline-grabbing deal that changes the league’s balance, but it did add another name to the Penguins’ left side and continued a pattern that’s become hard to miss.
Kyle Dubas’s tone and facial expression last spring made it obvious the team had soured on Jones after his PED suspension. And if Dubas has a type, it’s apparently the same sort of unassuming, steady lefty who can move well and has been buried in the shuffle with his previous club.
The Penguins also spent practice making more lineup choices that didn’t exactly thrill everybody watching. Fans who have been buying into Elmer Soderblom had plenty to chew on, because the new lines came with some players sliding out and coach Dan Muse laying out a blunt explanation for where he’s taking the group. He didn’t hide the direction he wants this roster to go.
Meanwhile, one of the organization’s more intriguing young defensemen got some attention from Wilkes-Barre. Sam Wismer spoke with Owen Pickering about the last steps he needs to take and what he’s focusing on if he’s going to finally break through and claim a Penguins spot.
The Blackhawks game could get a little more interesting from the other bench, too. Connor Bedard is expected back tonight when Chicago faces Pittsburgh, and that changes the picture for the home side.
Around the league, the Flyers remain the Flyers: still winless after another day on the calendar, even though they didn’t play Monday night. That reality has become loud enough that Daniel Briere had to deal with fan anger and answer for Rick Tocchet’s job status. The latest reporting says Tocchet’s job is not in trouble, and an immediate coaching change should not be expected.
Elsewhere, the Rangers are dealing with the news on Igor Shesterkin, and Mollie Walker laid out the realistic paths New York has from here. The options, as she put it, aren’t good, and the chatter about Jonathan Quick coming out of retirement sounds more like idle speculation than a real plan.
There was also movement on Patrik Laine, with reports saying five teams are still in the mix and that he’s waiting for the right opportunity. In Vegas, the Golden Knights announced Parker Wotherspoon is now week-to-week, which is not exactly the start he was hoping for there.
And if the NHL wants to make a splash with its “Frozen Frenzy” night, good luck selling the gimmick. Every 15 minutes might sound neat to the league office, but the sport’s real currency is rivalries.
Hockey fans want hate, edge, and games that feel personal. That’s the part the league still hasn’t fully figured out.
In Other News...
Penguins Defensive Issues Were Hard To Ignore In Another Costly Loss
The Penguins left another game with the same nagging theme hanging over them, this time in a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago put together one of its better performances of the season, and Pittsburgh could not match it consistently enough to protect itself from the kinds of breakdowns that have made so many recent nights difficult.
There were still some encouraging signs for the Blackhawks, including contributions from several young players and a steadier overall effort, but the game also exposed the familiar defensive cracks that remain impossible to overlook. Pittsburgh has heard enough about improving the details by now, and this one again showed how costly it can be when those details slip at the wrong moment. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospects Are Forcing A Bigger Roster Decision Already
The early-season surge in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has started to look like more than just a nice AHL opening. After a 7-1 rout of Hartford and a 6-2 win over Providence, the Penguins prospects gave the organization a timely reminder that the pipeline is producing real options, with Rutger McGroarty piling up three goals and two assists across the two games and Bill Zonnon adding three goals and one assist of his own.
For a Pittsburgh club already dealing with short-term roster shuffling, that matters. The Penguins recently moved Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch in a deal for Ryan Johnson, then brought Johnson up to give the NHL team extra depth during an injury, a sequence that underscores how quickly the calendar can force decisions at both levels. When the farm team is winning and a few young players are pushing, the line between development and immediate help can start to blur in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Ugly Loss Fed The Concern Fans Already Had About This Roster
The Penguins uneven start has only sharpened the unease around a roster that has looked solid in stretches but never quite stable from night to night. A recent loss to Chicago fit that pattern too well, with Pittsburgh again leaving the impression that it can find brief offense and individual bright spots while still struggling to put together the kind of complete performance that quiets bigger questions.
Sidney Crosby showed some welcome signs by generating offense, and Nick Robertson has continued to chip in despite limited chances, but those contributions have not been enough to pull the team out of its middling run. Beyond the top-end names, the broader picture has been just as messy, with players such as Sergei Murashov, Declan Carlile, Ville Koivunen and Egor Chinakhov all trying to find traction in a season that has already felt inconsistent and, at times, plain mediocre. [Read more 🡒]