I’ll begin my first Ex-Penguins Update of the season with a quiz. To borrow a catch phrase from the old Lone Ranger serial, who is that masked man pictured above?
To find the answer, keep reading.
Unlike seasons past, there isn’t much cookin’ among former Pens these days as we pass the 1/6th pole. Oh, Jake Guentzel is scoring at close to his customary point-per-game clip for the Lightning, as is Mikael Granlund for the upstart Ducks.
Peppery types Michael Bunting (Preds), Evan Rodrigues (Panthers) and Jason Zucker (Sabres) are roughly on pace for 50-point seasons. But no one’s really burning up the track, due to the fact that most of the ex-Pens are support players rather than standouts. Indicative of where the team’s been the past few seasons.
Shifting the focus to defense, Mike Matheson of the Habs is still providing offense from the backline. John Marino’s off to a typically solid start for the Mammoth. I don’t know if there’s been a worse trade in recent years than Ron Hextall’s ill-conceived Marino-for-Ty Smith swap. Unless it was Matheson for a fading Jeff Petry, still plying his trade at age 37 for the defending champion Panthers.
Getting back to the Mammoth, half of their defensive corps is comprised of former Pens, including Marino and perpetual steady Eddie’s, Ian Cole and Olli Määttä. Matt Grzelcyk isn’t putting up points for the Blackhawks the way he did for us, but he leads all expatriates with a plus-10. Matt was a plus-46 as recently as 2022-23.
In the oddities and tidbits department, Vinnie Hinostroza (Wild) and Conor Sheary (Rangers) have earned regular roles in the bigs after spending most of last season in the AHL. No surprise for the latter given that Mike Sullivan now coaches the Blueshirts. Andrew Agozzino (Mammoth) and Jansen Harkins (Ducks) continue to see spot duty.
As for the most popular landing spots, the Canucks, Kraken and Mammoth each employ four former Pens. No surprise given that former black-and-gold execs are running the show in Vancouver and Seattle.
Back to the quiz. Still stumped?
I’ll give a hint. He’s the only goalie in NHL history to win two Stanley Cups as a rookie.
Yep. Matt Murray has resurfaced in the Pacific Northwest.
Wish him well.
Speaking of goalies, Alex Nedeljkovic is doing a decent job for the Sharks following a bumpy start. Love Ned’s spunk and spirit.
| SCORING |
||||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | =/- |
| Guentzel | TBL | LW | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 1 |
| Bunting | NSH | LW | 16 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | -2 |
| Matheson | MTL | D | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| Rodrigues | FLA | C | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
| Granlund | ANA | C | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| Zucker | BUF | LW | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | -7 |
| Perron | OTT | LW | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | -6 |
| Marino | UTA | D | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Eller | OTT | C | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole | UTA | D | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Poehling | ANA | C | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | -1 |
| Bjugstad | STL | C | 14 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Hinostroza | MIN | C | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | -5 |
| O’Connor | VAN | LW | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | -3 |
| Sheary | NYR | LW | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Sundqvist | STL | C | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | -2 |
| Beauvillier | WSH | LW | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| McCann | SEA | C | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Staal | CAR | C | 13 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 6 |
| Petry | FLA | D | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | -3 |
| Timmins | BUF | D | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -3 |
| Glass | NJD | C | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Pearson | WPG | LW | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | -1 |
| Ceci | LAK | D | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -6 |
| Aston-Reese | CBJ | C | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Grzelcyk | CHI | D | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Pettersson | VAN | D | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 1 |
| Oleksiak | SEA | D | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Reaves | SJS | RW | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | -4 |
| Smith | VEG | RW | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -4 |
| Jankowski | CAR | C | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Kapanen | EDM | RW | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Blueger | VAN | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Harkins | ANA | C | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Noesen | NJD | RW | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 |
| Desharnais | SJS | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| Dumoulin | LAK | D | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -5 |
| Gaudreau | SEA | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph | VAN | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| Määttä | UTA | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nedeljkovic | SJS | G | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Tanev | UTA | LW | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -5 |
| Agozzino | UTA | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeSmith | DAL | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gudbranson | CBJ | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -2 |
| Gustavsson | MIN | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kulikov | FLA | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Lafferty | CHI | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Murray | SEA | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| GOALTENDING | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | GA | SH | GAA | SV% | W-L-OT |
| Nedeljkovic | SJS | G | 7 | 21 | 0 | 2.96 | .906 | 3-2-2 |
| DeSmith | DAL | G | 4 | 13 | 0 | 3.15 | .876 | 2-1-1 |
| Gustavsson | MIN | G | 12 | 38 | 1 | 3.19 | .896 | 4-7-1 |
| Murray | SEA | G | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3.24 | .889 | 0-1-0 |
| Italics indicates a Penguins draft pick or a free agent who began his career with the Penguins. | ||||||||
Rick
The Penguins dropped another shootout to the New Jersey Devils yesterday. It’s frustrating to see this continuing trend — the team just can’t seem to find a way to win in shootouts. Our goaltenders aren’t coming up with the key saves, and the offense can’t convert on their chances. Despite that, both Muse and Sullivan continue to rely on the same group of players in those situations. It might be time to give some of the younger guys an opportunity. Including yesterday’s loss, the Penguins are now 3–0–10 in shootouts over the past two seasons.
Hey all.
A late correction. The Mammoth employ the most ex-Pens with five. I overlooked former favorite Brandon Tanev.
Rick