A couple of non-Penguins updates.
Patrick Kane is expected to sign with the Red Wings (if he hasn’t already). A little baffling to me, given the fact that the Wings have decent scoring depth up front. Apparently Kane’s hoping to play with his old Hawks linemate and sidekick, Alex DeBrincat.
FYI: I’d panned the high-scoring forward and three-time Cup champion as an option for our Pens a couple of weeks back.
Speaking of the Hawks, they’ve cut ties with veteran forward Corey Perry (pictured), placing the long-time Ducks stalwart on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. There’s a tasteless (and unsubstantiated) rumor circulating the web, but no official word on the particulars other than a statement from the Hawks that Perry engaged in unacceptable conduct.
I know we’re already loaded with 30-somethings and Perry’s 38 and not known for his speed. But he’s big (6’3” 208) and tough and has carved out a career banging (and scoring) around the opposing net. In short, a net-front presence. Even at his advanced age, he tallied four goals and nine points in 16 games for the Hawks while riding shotgun for Connor Bedard. Over the course of 19 NHL seasons, he’s amassed 421 goals and 892 points in 1273 games.
Of course, much depends on the nature of his transgression.
In other league news, former Baby Pens, Devils and Predators skipper John Hynes has replaced Dean Evason as the Wild’s coach.
Okay, Some Penguins News, Too
The Pens have placed defenseman Will Butcher on waivers. If he clears, we’ll be able to assign the puck-moving blueliner and one-time hot commodity to the Baby Pens. Butcher’s been sidelined since the summer with an undisclosed injury.
In other team-related news, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has terminated defenseman Mark Pysyk’s PTO. The veteran defender skated in eight games for the Baby Pens, with no points and four penalty minutes. He was attempting to resume his career after missing all of last season with an Achilles injury that required surgery.
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Hey Rick,
Thanks for the updates.
Wings fan friends of mine are already talking like the inking is a done deal. Honestly, for a young team like the WIngs, Kane could be a low cost insurance policy.
When you first mention Kane as a potential Penguins' target, a couple of weeks ago, I was against it for his age and didn't see how it could be workable, given our near constant spend to the Cap silliness. I would still not be in favor of a Pens signing if we were in the running, but after I reminded myself of how pathetic our Pens PP has become since Phil the thrill was shown the door at the end of a boot, I must admit I did go through the mental exercise of considering him as the Right-Handed sniper this team has sorely missed on their special teams.
Perry, I just heard about him a couple of hours ago. That is a shocker.
The Minn firing is not surprising, after last season, their expectation had to be far higher than 3rd worse team in hockey at this point. Interesting thing for me is how weak the West is right now, 4 of the bottom 5 teams in Pts% are Western teams and 7 of the bottom 10 reside on the Pacific side of the continent. Our Penguins would be in a far better position tied with Nsh and Az for a playoff birth right now, with their barely 0.500 hockey.