For those of you hungering for news…and/or waiting for the shoe to drop…on the Erik Karlsson front, you’ll likely be disappointed with this article. But the Penguins did make three relatively minor moves over the past couple of days.
On Friday the Pens signed 2023 third-round pick Emil Pieniniemi to a three-year entry-level deal with a cap hit of $870 K.
Although a bit raw, the 6’2” 175-pound left-shot defenseman boasts an intriguing tool kit.
“Good size, range, moves well,” said Pens director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor. “Really good with the puck, smart, gets you out of your end clean, transition game is very good. The size to go with that, we were really excited where we got him.”
My impression based on the limited highlight videos of the 18-year-old Finn? He seems to do everything well and I was duly impressed with his all-around game. We may have snagged a sleeper (and hopefully a keeper).
The Pens also inked RFA forward Jonathan Gruden to a one-year, two-way deal with a cap-hit of $775 K at the NHL level.
Acquired in the 2020 trade that sent Matt Murray to Ottawa, the 23-year-old center produced a solid season amid the rubble at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He potted 16 goals (fourth-best on the team) and 31 points in 54 games. Respectable stats for a foot soldier, especially on a poor team.
He had no points (and barely touched the ice) during a three-game cameo with the Pens.
The 6’0” 172-pounder has some sand in his game, which I like, and will drop the gloves if the situation calls for it. A rare trait among black-and-gold prospects.
Today the Pens signed RFA defenseman Ty Smith to a one-year pact with a cap hit of $775 K. Acquired last summer from the Devils for John Marino in what’s shaping up to be one of the more infamous deals in franchise history, the former first-round pick seemed set to start the season on our third pairing beside Jan Rutta, only to be displaced on the eve of the season by Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
The 23-year-old portsider proceeded to spend the majority of the season in Wilkes, tallying 24 points in 39 games while pacing all Baby Pens rearguards with seven goals.
Called up to the ‘Burgh in late December due to a tidal wave of injuries, Smith notched a goal and four points in nine games while averaging a robust 20:12 of ice time. Unusually heavy deployment for a call-up to say the least.
Paired with the now departed Brian Dumoulin and skating for the most part on his off (right) side, I thought the mobile defender acquitted himself well (a plus-three). Given his pocket-sized frame (5’11” 180) he’s not going to knock guys on their wallet. But he definitely knows what to do with the puck when it’s on his stick.
It will be interesting to see how he’s deployed…or if he’ll be used as a trade chip…during the upcoming season.
Make Way for Malgin?
I mentioned this in a comment to my previous article, but I thought I’d make it “official.” Provided he’s still available, I would not be shocked to see the Pens invite Swiss forward Denis Malgin (pictured above) to training camp on a PTO.
The former fourth-round pick of the Panthers fits our (or should I say Mike Sullivan’s) mold to a T. Malgin’s small (5’9” 182), fast and clever, with a penchant for making things happen in the offensive zone. Despite his lack of girth, he’ll stick his nose in (68 hits in 65 games). And he’s a right-shot to boot.
In short, a poor man’s Evan Rodrigues.
The 26-year-old has a history with Kyle Dubas as well. The Pens’ acting GM brought Malgin to Toronto in 2020 before peddling him to the Avalanche last season.
Malgin’s production with the Avs was intriguing …11 goals in 42 games (roughly a 20-goal pace)…while averaging 10:32 of ice time. His 5v5 goals/60 rate (1.18) was higher than any of our guys, including Sidney Crosby (1.06) and near-name sake Evgeni Malkin (.80).
Mind you, I’m not posturing for the Pens to pursue Malgin. Rather, call it a hunch or an intuition.
Rick
Malgrin signed in Sweden. I was sweating that one out!! LOL
Hey Mike,
That is a relief. Malign is the last player this team needs.
However, on the flip side, Dubas signed another 30 yr old Goalie, this time, Garret Sparks. Only 40 NHL games to his name with a 0.899 Sv%.
I know the Sparks signing is an AHL contract not an NHL contract but it goes to show the continuing mentality of getting older.
Hey Mike,
It’s nice to know I haven’t lost my touch…lol!!
Rick
Rick
I agree and Sullivans plan is fools gold. Also, I’m hoping your right about
Dubas but I said the same thing about Hextall giving Sullivan the type of
players he wants so he could hang himself.
One thing I’m noticing is Dubas hasn’t moved quickly to hire a new GM.
It almost appears to me like he’s trying to finish structuring the roster
before he hires someone. “Very suspicious”.
Your thoughts??
Rick
Also, and I’m sure you saw it Tanner Jeannot signed with the
Lightning for 2yrs and 5.3mil. – 2.6 plus per season.
Rick
Pen’s refuse to add size & toughness. It will once again be their
downfall. It boggles my mind that people who work in and
around Hockey everyday can’t see that we don’t have a net
front presence at either end of the ice. They either see it and
don’t feel it’s important or they don’t see it at all and that to me
is extremely concerning.
Hey Mike,
I hear you about the net front presence. I think they (Mike Sullivan with what appears to be buy-in from Dubas) see it but don’t feel it’s important. As a refresher, here are some quotes from Sullivan from a Pittsburgh Hockey Now article published on June 29.
“There are different types of identities that bring teams success,” he said. “I think the most important thing is that we look at the people we have — and our core group is the most important, because they’re our difference-makers, they’re the engine that I think our team runs on — so we have to build a game plan that sets them up for success.
“If we were to try to copy the Stanley Cup champion every single year, we would be all over the map with the style of play, a philosophy of play, an identity of what Penguins hockey actually looks like. I think it’s more important that we’re true to our group.
“And our group has certainly shown — and there’s plenty of evidence — that we can be a competitive team when we surround these guys with the right people and we put a game on the ice that sets us up for success.”
Translating the Sully-speak, he’s obviously aware of the type of game Vegas (and other teams) played. But he plans to stick with his speed/forecheck/possession game, which means he doesn’t plan on us spending much time defending in our zone. Which, frankly, is folly.
Perhaps Dubas is smart enough to give Sully the type of team he wants in the short run so that when it fails, he can say “now we’ll try a different approach.” Kind of like what Lightning coach Jon Cooper said to his troops after the Lightning got wiped out (playing fast and loose) by Columbus in the first round back in 2019.
Rick