Here’s a peek at how former Penguins are faring around the league as we approach the holidays. Stats are updated through games played as of December 13.
The Blues’ David Perron leads the pack in assists (18) and points (30), followed by Edmonton’s James Neal. “Nealer,” who cooled after a red-hot start, paces the ex-Pens with 15 goals, three ahead of Perron and Nashville’s Nick Bonino. Ten of Neal’s goals have come on the power play, second-best in the league.
Following a slow start, Phil Kessel has seven goals and 19 points for Arizona. “Phil the Thrill’s” also logged the worst plus/minus among the expatriates at minus-18, just below Neal’s minus-15. No surprise there.
However, there are some surprises among the rest of the bunch. Anaheim’s Derek Grant and Oskar Sundqvist of the Blues have nine goals apiece. Tanner Pearson (Vancouver) has enjoyed a solid season in the Pacific Northwest with eight goals and 20 points. Kasperi Kapanen likewise has potted eight goals for Toronto. Rebounding from his misadventures in the ‘Burgh, Derick Brassard’s notched seven goals and 17 points for the Islanders.
Alex Goligoski (Arizona) tops the former Pens defensemen with 17 points, four ahead of Jake Muzzin (Toronto) and Matt Niskanen (Philadelphia). Cup mainstay Ian Cole of the Avalanche is tops in plus/minus (plus-16).
I’ve been keeping an eye on Erik Gudbranson. He’s playing quite well for the Ducks, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game while registering a plus-8 and a solid Corsi of 51.4. The rugged rearguard tops all black-and-gold alumni with 70 penalty minutes. He and fellow slugger Ryan Reaves of Vegas have two fighting majors apiece.
Speaking of “Reavo,” he boasts a Corsi of 54.7. Very impressive. On the flip side, Grant and Ducks linemate Carter Rowney are sagging near the bottom of the Corsi pile, along with Greg McKegg of the Rangers.
Between the pipes, Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas) paces the ex-Pens goalies in wins (12) and shutouts (2). His former tandem-mate, Thomas Greiss of the Islanders, has the best save percentage (.932), goals against average (2.16) and quality starts percentage (.733).
| SCORING | ||||||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- | Corsi | |
| David Perron | STL | LW | 33 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 26 | -3 | 49.4 | |
| James Neal | EDM | LW | 34 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 8 | -15 | 48.1 | |
| Tanner Pearson | VAN | LW | 32 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 49.1 | |
| Nick Bonino | NSH | C | 30 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 54.0 | |
| Phil Kessel | ARI | RW | 34 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 10 | -18 | 49.6 | |
| * Kasperi Kapanen | TOR | RW | 33 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 6 | -4 | 53.4 | |
| Derick Brassard | NYI | C | 30 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 46.7 | |
| Alex Goligoski | ARI | D | 34 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 46.4 | |
| Oskar Sundqvist | STL | C | 27 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 45.2 | |
| * Jake Muzzin | TOR | D | 32 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 5 | 55.1 | |
| Matt Niskanen | PHI | D | 31 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 52.3 | |
| Ian Cole | COL | D | 27 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 24 | 16 | 48.7 | |
| Derek Grant | ANA | C | 32 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 24 | -1 | 38.7 | |
| Jordan Staal | CAR | C | 32 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 55.3 | |
| Conor Sheary | BUF | LW | 27 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 48.6 | |
| Carter Rowney | ANA | RW | 32 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 38.4 | |
| Brandon Sutter | VAN | C | 19 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 47.5 | |
| Olli Maatta | CHI | D | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | -3 | 48.0 | |
| Blake Comeau | DAL | RW | 19 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18 | -3 | 53.1 | |
| Ryan Reaves | VEG | RW | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 24 | -1 | 54.7 | |
| Ron Hainsey | OTT | D | 32 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 45.6 | |
| Carl Hagelin | WSH | LW | 22 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 52.3 | |
| Jamie Oleksiak | DAL | D | 33 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 19 | -1 | 52.5 | |
| Deryk Engelland | VEG | D | 30 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 49.8 | |
| Erik Gudbranson | PIT-ANA | D | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 70 | 8 | 50.4 | |
| Greg McKegg | NYR | C | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 37.9 | |
| Riley Sheahan | EDM | C | 29 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -11 | 43.4 | |
| Josh Archibald | EDM | RW | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -12 | 43.8 | |
| Robert Bortuzzo | STL | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 47.7 | |
| Scott Harrington | CBJ | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -6 | 45.1 | |
| Trevor Daley | DET | D | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -5 | 46.5 | |
| Jean-Sebastien Dea | BUF | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75.0 | |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | VEG | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Brian Gibbons | CAR | C | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -6 | 47.9 | |
| Thomas Greiss | NYI | G | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Tom Kuhnhackl | NYI | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 43.6 | |
| Mark Letestu | WPG | C | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 | |
| Jayson Megna | COL | C | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 43.3 | |
| Derrick Pouliot | STL | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 62.5 | |
| GOALTENDING | ||||||||||
| Player | Team | GP | GA | SH | AVE | SV% | QS% | W-L-OT | ||
| Thomas Greiss | NYI | 16 | 32 | 0 | 2.16 | .932 | .733 | 11-4-0 | ||
| Marc-Andre Fleury | VEG | 22 | 54 | 2 | 2.54 | .919 | .571 | 12-7-2 | ||
| Italics—Draft pick or free agent who began his NHL career with the Penguins | ||||||||||
| Asterisk—Draft pick who didn’t appear in a regular season or postseason game for the Penguins | ||||||||||
Rick
This is one reason I think the Pen’s should pull back the reins on moving
Gally – Give the guy a chance to get it going.
Just about every player we pulled the plug on early is doing well – I understand
being a good fit but it some cases it pays to be patient especially when your
playing well. Derek Grant has 9 goals……Gudbranson is a +8….Pearson has
8goals 12asst. These are just to name a few.
Go Pens
Wow, Neal went kaplooie real fast. Kessel is what I expected.
May be some more ex-Penguins on the list soon. Lot’s of rumors involving Galchenyuk. To Buffalo for Zack Begosian. To Devils for Miles Wood. Then there is the crazy… Murray and Galenchuk to Devils for Hall & Wood.
I’m fine if the Pens stay the way they are. I really like this team and would like to see Galchenyuk play with Malkin once Crosby is healthy. Injuries have prevented the Malkin/Galchenyuk pairing so far.
Phil
Agree – Good chemistry – everyone is working there tail off and its all
about the team. I also think they should pull the reins back on moving
Gally. The guy fought thru some injuries and still trying to get his feet
on the ground.
Can’t wait to see the team when everyone is healthy.
Hey Phil and Mike,
I like our team, too, and do not advocate making changes simply for the sake of making changes, although down the road a bit I’d think about moving Bjugstad and Schultz. But I’ll go on record as saying I like Miles Wood and wouldn’t mind getting him.
Big kid, good skater, he’s got some sand in his game. Will drop the gloves, too, although he’s got balance issues that mitigate his effectiveness with his dukes. Still, he’s willing.
Wood scored 19 goals for the Devils in 2017-18 and 10 last season, so he’s not a stiff. And at $2.5 million, he’s cheaper than Galchenyuk.
If JR goes for this deal, I might try to pry a draft pick out of Shero as well.
Rick