With winger Kasperi Kapanen set to make his black-and-gold debut, the Penguins have made a passel of related roster moves.
Forward Sam Lafferty was shunted to the taxi squad (more on that in a bit). Forwards Anthony Angello and Frederick Gaudreau were reassigned from the taxi squad to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. And defenseman Kevin Czuczman was recalled from the Baby Pens and placed on the taxi squad.
The taxi squad now includes two forwards (Lafferty and rookie Drew O’Connor), two defensemen (Czuczman and Pierre-Olivier Joseph) and goalies Maxime Lagace and Alex D’Orio.
Shifting gears, in my account of Sunday’s 4-3 victory over Washington, I gave coach Mike Sullivan high marks for some of his personnel decisions. Well, I’m taking back some of the nice things I wrote.
I strongly disagree with the way he’s handling Lafferty, a fast, aggressive forward who by all accounts had a terrific camp. Not to mention an excellent Phase Three camp last fall. The 25-year-old recently earned rave reviews from Pittsburgh Hockey Now, who felt the versatile forward was ready for an expanded role. But it’s awfully hard to impress when your butt’s glued to the bench.
Yes, Lafferty made a bonehead play on Sunday that led directly to the Caps’ first goal. But he also was on the ice for the Pens’ second goal…a minor miracle since Sullivan limited him to seven shifts and three minutes and change of ice time.
While we’re on the subject of sloppy play, has Sullivan been paying attention to Kris Letang’s dreadful work in his own end? Oh, that’s right. There’s a double-standard. But I digress.
Back to Lafferty. Sullivan’s treatment of the Hollidaysburg native extends back to Sam’s rookie season, when the Pens’ coach kept him on a short leash despite flashes of genuine promise. Indeed, Lafferty scored six goals and 13 points despite a lack of a set role and limited usage (9:37 ATOI), equaling Zach Aston-Reese’s output in seven less games and considerably less ice time (341 minutes to be exact).
Unfortunately, Lafferty fits the mold of guys who don’t fit Sullivan’s mold. Ergo, spirited players with a physical bent.
Too, Sullivan continues to favor veterans (Evan Rodrigues and Colton Sceviour) at the expense of developing younger players. Perhaps feeling he doesn’t have that luxury with the team wobbling out of the starting blocks. But I hope it doesn’t stunt Lafferty’s growth…and that of the other kids.
Trade Winds
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is rumored to have his eyes on Winnipeg’s RFA center Jack Roslovic. A former first-round pick of the Jets (25th overall in 2015), the 23-year-old Columbus native enjoyed a solid season in the Great White North in 2019-20, tallying 12 goals and 29 points while seeing mostly third-line duty.
The 6’1”, 187-pounder is reportedly seeking an expanded role with a new team. The Jets, thin on defense, are thought to be asking for a left-side defenseman.
With Winnipeg tight against the salary cap, Marcus Pettersson and his $4 million AAV might be too pricey…and an overpay for a kid who has upside potential but has yet to firmly establish himself.
Perhaps, Juuso Riikola or Pierre-Olivier Joseph might fit the bill, although the Jets are said to be looking for a more seasoned player in return.
Stay tuned.
Hey Rick,
To say I am out of my mind with anger of Sullivan’s latest stupidity (sending Lafferty down) is more than a slight understatement. I am beyond fed up with him. I am sick to tears of watching veterans (as you just mentioned – Letang) screwing up royally and being rewarded with TOI while kids get banished at the drop of a hat or less. Sometimes they do not even have to have done anything wrong, but Sully chooses to take his wrath out on them.
After last game, you know the Caps are going to head hunting and now all that is on the roster is milk toast. Don’t be surprised if at least one Penguin exits the ice with an injury thanks to Sully and his Smurf show.
He needs FIRED and FIRED months ago!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for Roslovic, stop it already JR. You need Defensemen and a Goalie not another Forward. Although I was not all that enthused about Jankowski, he is doing the job, at least for now.
You are really out of control aren’t you. It’s just a game.
PS They probably demoted Lafferty because he was waiver exempt. That and all the other bottom 6 forwards were playing much better than him.
However, for once I agree with you. Roslovic seems to have no place on the team, at least not this season, especially since he has had no training camp or games. It would take quite while to get him up to speed.
Hey TOR,
You are prescient. Second game against the Caps and two d-men go down. Oshie’s hit on Pettersson was a cheap shot (an Oshie specialty) that should have been a five minute major. I didn’t see what happened to Rikola.
In a previous post I chided Sullivan for his treatment of Rikola, and he played him, so I’ll eat my words, for now. Ceci is a waste, and Matheson, while he might have some up side, is no bargain either. This is going to be a year of struggle on the blue line unless there’s some dealing to be made.
Right now, I’m not yet worried about the goalie situation. I think they’ll get that sorted out.
And, of course, I’m with you about Letang. I called for him to be traded about five years ago on this blog. There’s nothing else to say about him that hasn’t already been said ten times over. Still thinking of him as a core player is about as shortsighted as one can get.
But, they got two wins against the Caps when I pegged them for two more losses. I’m eating those words, too!
— 55
Hey 55,
Me, prescient – I knew you were going to say that. Seriously, that is the Caps way, “if you are going to lose make them pay, injure their players”, especially when playing the smurfs.I am going to have to dig out one of those old magazines with the add about getting sand kicked in your face and send it to Sully. He can send away for that training course for the him and HIS team.
I don’t know if anyone saw what happened to Riikola. That was really disappointing. I wanted to see what he could do. Now if he is out any length of time, Matheson may get back and he will never get that shot.
As for the Goalies, I wouldn’t be worried had Sully, gone right back to Jarry in Game 3, show confidence in him. The average length of GA is a little over 12′. If players are that close when they score, that tells me the D was more than likely the problem, not the Goalie. Sully’s teams never defend the starter, but only the back up, Jarry needs to just ask Fleury and Murray. However, since Sully opted to play DeSmith, I can’t help wonder how much damage was done to the kids psyche.
Agreed you take the two wins and humbly say thank you, because the team didn’t deserve them and in days of yore, would still be winless 0-0-2, while the Caps would still be 2-0-2 but our Penguins only have 2 points to their 6 not 4 points to 6. No regulation wins in 4 games worries me.