With the 2023-24 campaign in the books and not much else to report, I thought it would be an opportune time to publish my season-ending Ex-Penguins Update.
The player topping the list hardly comes as a surprise. Thanks to an extraordinary finish following his trade to Carolina (a whopping eight goals and 25 points in only 17 games) Jake Guentzel led all ex-Pens with 30 goals and 77 points.
Seattle sharpshooter Jared McCann was second in both goals (29) and points (62). Quickie quiz. Which Penguins GM past or present actually left McCann unprotected in the 2021 Expansion Draft? If you answered Kyle Dubas, then with Toronto, you’re correct.
Sharing the runner-up spot in points? The Canadiens’ fleet defenseman Mike Matheson amassed 11 goals and an ex-Pen leading 51 assists, good for 62 points. He also had the second-worst plus-minus (minus-24) among the expatriates. Well behind fellow rearguard and former second-round pick Calen Addison (minus-38), who split the season with the Wild and Sharks.
The next player listed I confess brings a smile to my face. Excoriated during his brief stay in the ‘Burgh, Mikael Granlund tallied a highly respectable 60 points in 69 games for a woeful Sharks squad, including 48 assists. Perhaps former GM Ron Hextall wasn’t totally off his rocker for acquiring “Granny” after all.
Another feel-good story? Defenseman Jack Johnson (pictured) enjoyed a solid season for the Avs (plus-15) while resurrecting his career and reputation at age 37.
Other notable performers included the Coyotes’ Nick Bjugstad (22 goals, 45 points) and Danton Heinen, who parlayed a PTO into a 17-goal season and middle-six duty with the Bruins. Evan Rodrigues didn’t score a ton for the Panthers (a dozen goals), but he provided his trademark speed, hustle and versatility, not to mention 39 points and a 58.27 Corsi. E-Rod led all former Pens with a plus-26.
Mark Jankowski revived his career with the Predators thanks to his solid two-way play. Speedy Ryan Poehling likewise did a decent job centering the Flyers’ fourth line.
Trending downward? Jason Zucker plummeted from 27 goals to 14 while splitting time with the Coyotes and Preds. (Still love ya’ “Zucks.”) Devils’ defender John Marino was among the league-leaders in 5v5 goals against (71). Ever the enigmatic underachiever, Kasperi Kapanen managed just six goals for the Blues, Frédérick Gaudreau five following two strong seasons with the Wild. Conor Sheary (four goals) struggled to produce for the Lightning.
Between the pipes, a triumvirate of former Pens goalies…the Canucks’ Casey DeSmith and Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson of the Wild…each posted a sub-.900 save percentage.
| SCORING | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
| Guentzel | PIT-CAR | LW | 67 | 30 | 47 | 77 | 22 | 25 |
| McCann | SEA | LW/C | 80 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 31 | -10 |
| Matheson | MTL | D | 82 | 11 | 51 | 62 | 58 | -24 |
| Granlund | SJS | C | 69 | 12 | 48 | 60 | 32 | -23 |
| Perron | DET | LW | 76 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 55 | -12 |
| Bjugstad | ARI | C | 76 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 59 | 11 |
| Sprong | DET | RW | 76 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 22 | -5 |
| Rodrigues | FLA | C | 80 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 34 | 26 |
| Noesen | CAR | RW | 81 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 33 | 11 |
| Heinen | BOS | LW | 74 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 28 | 16 |
| Zucker | ARI-NSH | LW | 69 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 81 | -9 |
| Staal | CAR | C | 80 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 44 | -14 |
| Poehling | PHI | C | 77 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 6 | -11 |
| Blueger | VAN | C | 68 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 31 | 4 |
| Schultz | SEA | D | 70 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 22 | -23 |
| Gudbranson | CBJ | D | 78 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 74 | -14 |
| Ceci | EDM | D | 79 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 14 | 12 |
| Marino | NJD | D | 75 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 41 | -6 |
| Lafferty | VAN | LW/C | 79 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 32 | 4 |
| Petry | DET | D | 73 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 39 | -7 |
| Kapanen | STL | RW | 73 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 14 | -5 |
| Sundqvist | STL | C | 71 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 32 | -6 |
| Kulikov | FLA | D | 76 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 63 | 15 |
| Rutta | SJS | D | 69 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 38 | -21 |
| Määttä | DET | D | 72 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 14 |
| Addison | MIN-SJS | D | 72 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 72 | -38 |
| Tanev | SEA | LW | 66 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 51 | 2 |
| Dumoulin | SEA | D | 80 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 3 |
| Johnson | COL | D | 80 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 38 | 15 |
| Nylander | PIT-CBJ | LW | 28 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 6 | -1 |
| Jankowski | NASH | C | 32 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 8 | 11 |
| Gaudreau | MIN | C | 67 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 12 | -23 |
| Sheary | TBL | LW | 57 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 12 | -3 |
| Oleksiak | SEA | D | 82 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 37 | -2 |
| Pearson | MTL | LW | 54 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 21 | -12 |
| Cole | VAN | D | 78 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 61 | 10 |
| Goligoski | MIN | D | 36 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 18 | -8 |
| Reaves | TOR | RW | 49 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 49 | -13 |
| Bonino | NYR | C | 45 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | -12 |
| Phillips | PIT-WSH | RW | 31 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | -3 |
| Ruhwedel | PIT-NYR | D | 52 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -6 |
| McGinn | ANA | LW | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -5 |
| DeSmith | VAN | G | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Fleury | MIN | G | 40 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Friedman | VAN | D | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 4 |
| Gustavsson | MIN | G | 45 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Aston-Reese | DET | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bortuzzo | STL-NYI | D | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| Domingue | NYR | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hellberg | PIT-FLA | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Megna | BOS | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pouliot | DAL | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| White | PIT-MTL | C | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -5 |
| GOALTENDING | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | GA | SH | GAA | SV% | W-L-OT |
| Domingue | NYR | G | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | .962 | 1-0-0 |
| Hellberg | PIT-FLA | G | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.50 | .922 | 1-0-0 |
| DeSmith | VAN | G | 29 | 80 | 1 | 2.89 | .895 | 12-9-6 |
| Fleury | MIN | G | 40 | 111 | 2 | 2.98 | .895 | 17-15-5 |
| Gustavsson | MIN | G | 45 | 129 | 3 | 3.06 | .899 | 20-18-4 |
| Italics indicates a Penguins draft pick or a free agent who began his career with the Penguins. | ||||||||
