Here’s a look at how former Penguins performed during the 2018-19 NHL regular season.
The Blues’ David Perron led the way in goals (23) and points (46). Kasperi Kapanen of Toronto finished a close second with 20 goals and 44 points. Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin topped the list with 28 assists, followed by Kapanen and Alex Goligoski of Arizona with 24 helpers apiece. Muzzin paced the blueliners with nine goals and 37 points.
Ron Hainsey of Toronto has the best plus/minus (plus-30) followed by Nick Bonino (Nashville) at plus-27 and Muzzin at plus-21.
Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas) led the ex-Pens goalies in several categories, including games (61), wins (35) and shutouts (8). Journeyman Thomas Greiss of the Islanders has the best save percentage (.927) and goals-against average (2.28).
Other notables included Tanner Pearson (Vancouver), who notched 18 goals—including nine with the Pens. Bonino tallied 35 points (including 17 goals). Conor Sheary (Buffalo) and Oskar Sundqvist (St. Louis) netted 14 goals each, as did Daniel Sprong, who split time with the Pens and Anaheim.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was James Neal of Calgary, who managed a career-low seven goals after signing a five-year deal with an AAV of $5.75.
| SCORING | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
| David Perron | STL | LW | 57 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 46 | 3 |
| * Kasperi Kapanen | TOR | RW | 78 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 27 | 12 |
| * Jake Muzzin | LAK-TOR | D | 80 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 47 | 21 |
| Nick Bonino | NSH | C | 81 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 18 | 27 |
| Conor Sheary | BUF | LW | 78 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 12 | -18 |
| Oskar Sundqvist | STL | C | 74 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 22 | -1 |
| Jordan Staal | CAR | C | 50 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 26 | 6 |
| Tanner Pearson | LAK-PIT-VAN | LW | 80 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 25 | -15 |
| Alex Goligoski | ARI | D | 76 | 3 | 24 | 27 | 16 | -7 |
| Matt Niskanen | WSH | D | 80 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 41 | -3 |
| * Kenny Agostino | MTL-NJD | LW | 63 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 34 | -3 |
| Daniel Sprong | PIT-ANA | RW | 63 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 10 | -16 |
| Derick Brassard | PIT-FLA-COL | C | 70 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 39 | -19 |
| Ron Hainsey | TOR | D | 81 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 30 |
| Josh Archibald | ARI | RW | 68 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 15 | 1 |
| Ryan Reaves | VEG | RW | 80 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 74 | 1 |
| Carter Rowney | ANA | RW | 62 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 12 | 0 |
| Riley Sheahan | PIT-FLA | C | 82 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 17 | -9 |
| Brian Gibbons | ANA-OTT | C | 64 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 20 | -5 |
| James Neal | CGY | LW | 63 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 28 | -5 |
| Carl Hagelin | PIT-LAK-WSH | LW | 58 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 30 | 7 |
| Blake Comeau | DAL | LW | 77 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 42 | -7 |
| Scott Harrington | CBJ | D | 73 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 23 | 6 |
| Eric Fehr | MIN | RW | 72 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 | -8 |
| Ian Cole | COL | D | 71 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 115 | -1 |
| Derek Grant | PIT-ANA | C | 56 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 14 | -6 |
| Jamie Oleksiak | PIT-DAL | D | 57 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 5 |
| Derrick Pouliot | VAN | D | 62 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 30 | -1 |
| Deryk Engelland | VEG | D | 74 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 18 | -3 |
| Greg McKegg | CAR | C | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | -2 |
| Chris Kunitz | CHI | LW | 56 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 | -7 |
| Robert Bortuzzo | STL | D | 59 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 47 | 9 |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | NYI | RW | 36 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| Ben Lovejoy | NJD-DAL | D | 71 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 37 | -1 |
| Brooks Orpik | WSH | D | 53 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 8 |
| Trevor Daley | DET | D | 44 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -3 |
| * Joe Morrow | WPG | D | 41 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 0 |
| Jean-Sebastien Dea | NJD-PIT-FLA | C | 23 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| Brandon Sutter | VAN | C | 26 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | -12 |
| Scott Wilson | BUF | C | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | -8 |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | VEG | G | 61 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Matt Hunwick | BUF | D | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -7 |
| Thomas Greiss | NYI | G | 43 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Antti Niemi | MTL | G | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Tangradi | NJD | C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| Adam Clendening | CBJ | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Condon | OTT | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Gaunce | TBL | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| * Chad Johnson | STL-ANA | G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Letestu | CBJ | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Lee Stempniak | BOS | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Chris Thorburn | STL | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GOALTENDING | ||||||||
| Player | Team | GP | GA | SH | AVE | SV% | W-L-OT | |
| Thomas Greiss | NYI | 43 | 87 | 5 | 2.28 | .927 | 23-14-2 | |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | VEG | 61 | 152 | 8 | 2.51 | .913 | 35-21-5 | |
| * Chad Johnson | STL-ANA | 19 | 49 | 1 | 3.63 | .879 | 2-11-0 | |
| Antti Niemi | MTL | 17 | 61 | 0 | 3.78 | .887 | 8-6-2 | |
| Mike Condon | OTT | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6.38 | .800 | 0-2-0 | |
| 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 | ||||||||
Hey Rick,
Thanks again my friend for doing all of the leg work on this. I always like to see what Penguins’ Alum are doing. There are several of them that I still like and hope the best for.
Hi Rick,
What is going on in these 2019 NHL playoffs my friend? Somebody forgot to tell Carolina they were supposed lose in 5 games.. How dare they upset the natural order of things.haha .. But man was I happy to see the look on Ovi’s face when the puck went in and the Canes won. Poetic justice.
The Canes were fast and could they ever fore check!! They took the game to the defending Champs.Same as the Islanders did. 4 major upsets so far. More to come I am sure.
We need to pay serious attention to the rising tide of new, young and dynamic teams in the playoffs.They set the bar.They are the new standard.
The game has changed and what worked in 2016 does not work today !! Size,speed,grit, tenacity, and having a system that can change to handle any opponent is the key to winning today. Our Pens team of 2019 could not play 5 on 5 and keep a lead.We could not stay out of the box. We could not play defense as a 5 man unit for a full 60 minutes.When the PP broke down, so did our season.
We need to take a hard look at Carolina and yes even Columbus to see what they did to upset Washington and Tampa. Do not forget the teams out west.
This coming year needs to be a serious transition year for our Pens or we will be in the same situation next year.
With regards to your article,Sundqvist and Sheary jump out at me. Guys you would not think of as major contributors, but the stats do not lie. They have become good players for their respected teams.BTW, I thought Tommy Kuhnhackl played very well for the Islanders against us in his limited role.
Great article Rick…
Cheers,
Jim