In the past, whenever the Penguins acquired an undersized player, I’ve generally been quick with a discordant chord or two.
Not so in the wake of today’s signing of 26-year-old forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K at the NHL level. All 5’9” 181-pounds of him.
You see, POHO/GM Kyle Dubas has already taken care of our need for functional size by signing twin Clydesdales, Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau. The more girth you have, the easier it is to sprinkle in an undersized player or two.
As they say, variety is the spice of life. Makes for a good hockey team, too.
And if hit totals are any indication (117 in 84 career NHL games) the kid has some scrap and compete in his game.
A seventh-round pick of Montréal in 2019 (201st overall), Harvey-Pinard burst onto the scene during his third pro season in 2022-23. After popping for 16 goals and 31 points in 40 games with the AHL Laval Rocket, the Saguenay, Quebec native tore it up with the Canadiens, tallying 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games.
Then, quicker than Porky Pig can blurt, that’s all folks, Harvey-Pinard regressed. He eked out just two goals in 45 games with the Habs in ’23-24. Last season he spent all but one game with Laval, managing just five goals in 40 games with the Rocket.
A flash in the pan or sleeper prospect who needs a change of scenery?
We’ll soon find out.
Among his other pick-ups, Dubas welcomed goalie Taylor Gauthier back into the fold by signing him to an AHL contract. The Calgary native posted a .925 save percentage over the past two seasons at Wheeling and earned ECHL top goalie honors in ’23-24.
Dubas also signed 25-year-old forward Aidan McDonough and 26-year-old defenseman Philip Kemp to AHL deals.
McDonough, a 6’2” 201-pound left wing, is especially intriguing. He scored 10 goals and 16 points in 16 games for Charlotte of the AHL before sustaining a season-ending leg injury in a fight.
Kemp has spent his five pro seasons in the Oilers’ organization, predominantly with AHL Bakersfield. He’ll likely replace Baby Pens veteran Nate Clurman, who signed a two-way deal with Canadiens.
UPDATE: Pens Sign Alexeyev
The Pens have signed massive Russian defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, late of the Capitals, to a one-year deal worth $775K.
A former first-round pick of the Caps in 2018 (31st overall), Alexeyev is a 25-year-old left-handed shot.
As for his other attributes? Well, he’s big (6’4″ 229). And…uh…did I mention he’s big?
In all seriousness, his career boxcars (a goal and eight points in 80 games) are somewhere south of inspiring. The same goes for his metrics, although they did improve this past season in very limited action (eight games).
Alexeyev does block shots and will occasionally lay a hit, although he has no known reputation for scrapping. Another plus…he skates fairly well for such a large man.
It’s been suggested he just needs to play in order to develop, which makes sense. Perhaps he’ll get that opportunity with us.
In addition to the trade deadline, now less than 48 hours away, there’s a weightier…
Every once in a while life prevents me from doing a full recap of a…
I was reading some articles about the Penguins’ possible approach to the looming trade deadline…
When the Golden Knights got the jump on our Penguins this afternoon at PPG Paints…
I have a confession to make. I didn’t watch today’s nationally televised matinee matchup with…
I just read that hockey insider Jeff Marek has proposed a trade involving our Penguins…
View Comments
Hey Rick,
Agreed, I really love this pickup, Montreal completely mismanaged Pinard, favoring other players and bumping him down in the lineup due to injured players coming back, then he got forgotten about. What a shame because I think he's a highly underrated player, I'm interested to see how this works out.
I really really hope he cracks the lineup somehow, and he's not just reserved to Wilkes play. A good swing by Dubas.
Hey Rick,
Sorry, Harvey-Pinard will be 27 years old next season, the end of the prime years for a forward and he has only managed to get 84 NHL games under his belt. This is just another case of Dubas signing quantity rather than quality. Dubas has done absolutely nothing with his free-agent signings since he has been here. His scatter-shot approach to FA and his over-reaching on draft day tells me that he just may not really know as much as some people give him credit, that he just may not know how to assess talent – hoping instead that the number of people he signs or drafts will eventually lead to one being an NHL level player.
Alexander Alexeyev was a player I watched closely for some time. He is only 25, which isn’t even the beginning for his prime for a Defenseman, so there still is hope. However, he hasn’t really stood out in his 80 NHL games or 145 AHL games.
Mantha is 30, passed his prime and Braseau is 27, at the very edge of his prime and has only played 94 NHL games. Our HOO is poking and hoping. Yes, these guys are big (for which I am grateful) but they are old in hockey terms; my expectations are realistic.
Kemp did sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but McDonough only signed with the Wilkes-Barre Penguins, so McDonough isn’t eating up one of the NHL level 50 contracts. Unfortunately, all that Dubas has done, so far, is to take up contract space. He only has 3 NHL contracts left to hand out to any true prospect who might earn one at training camp. Just because he wears glasses doesn’t make him smart.