With nothing in particular to write about on a Penguins day off, I thought I’d smush together a few stray thoughts.
First out of the chute, I want to point out an excellent article by Gretz on Pensburgh titled, “Should the Penguins revisit Jakob Chychrun?”
For those who aren’t up on recent Pens history (or are trying to forget) we were reportedly in the hunt to acquire Chychrun last spring at coach Mike Sullivan’s behest. Instead, Arizona would up dealing the 6’2” 220-pounder to Ottawa for a package of draft picks, including a 2023 first-rounder.
With the Sens mired in the Eastern Conference basement and going nowhere under interim coach Jacques Martin, Chychrun may be on the block again.
In an article last week comparing this Pens squad to our 2015-16 Cup winners, I listed a physical left-side defenseman capable of playing on the second-pair as one of our needs. While the 25-year-old doesn’t quite match that description (he’s more puck mover than stay-at-home banger), Chychrun’s a left shot with an established pedigree who’s scored as many as 18 goals and 41 points in a season.
Anyway, be sure to read Gretz’s article for the details.
While you’re visiting Pensburgh, check out Hooks Orpik’s first-half grades. He breaks them down into two articles, one for defensemen and goalies and the other for forwards. For the most part, I agree with his report cards.
According to an article by Rob Rossi on The Athletic, GM Kyle Dubas is not entertaining trade offers for star forward (and soon-to-be UFA) Jake Guentzel.
If Dubas does swing a deal or two at the deadline, might they involve one of our goaltenders? As Other Rick has pointed out in numerous comments, goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist (pictured above) is enjoying an outstanding season with the Baby Pens. The willowy 22-year-old netminder has posted a sterling 2.19 goals against average and .920 save percentage. With a record of 12-4-3, he’s a big reason why our offensively challenged affiliate is the hunt for a playoff spot.
Accordingly, Blomqvist was recently picked to represent the Baby Pens at the AHL All-Star Game.
My personal take? It may be a bit too soon to turn the keys over to the kid on a full-time basis. However, that ’15-16 team I spoke of rode a similarly unproven Matt Murray all the way to a Cup.
In more WBS news, with goals in four of his last five games and points in all five, forward Sam Poulin is on a heater. For the season, Sam has eight goals and a dozen points in 18 games.
Sure would like to see him get a shot at the big time.
Oh, and Radim Zohorna cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Baby Pens. Defenseman Ryan Shea has joined the Pens for the upcoming western road swing.
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Hey all,
In the swing-and-a-miss department, a day after I wrote a feature about Jesse Puljujarvi, I neglected to mention that he scored a goal for a second-straight game in the Baby Pens' 3-2 loss to Providence Wednesday night (duh). He assisted on our other goal as well.
Good news for the big guy...and the Pens.
Rick