Tag: Pittsburgh Penguins

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Odell Beckham Jr. to Pittsburgh Steelers?

Cleveland.com

Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has yet to be signed by a team, despite having been linked to the Dallas Cowboys on multiple occasions last season. 

But meanwhile, there’s on team in particular that ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes that he should land with. According to comments that Orlovsky made during an appearance on “Get Up” earlier in the week, Beckham Jr. should take his talents to the Steel City and join the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

“One, organizational structure, and the head coach knows what he’s doing. There’s a standard, a culture, an everyday expectation he’s gonna walk right into,” Orlovsky said about the Steelers signing OBJ. “Two, cheap quarterback with Kenny Pickett right now, you’re trying to build around that because he is cheap and you’re trying to get him to play as well as possible.”

“The reason I said Pittsburgh is, you can’t compete unless you’re explosive offensively in the AFC. You don’t have a chance,” Orlovsky said. “So, you’ve got an organization that’s rock solid. Head coach is a stud. You’ve got a cheap quarterback. Then, if you roll that offense out there with Diontae Johnson, [Pat] Freiermuth, [George] Pickens, Najee [Harris], and then Odell.”

However, the Steelers didn’t send a representative to Beckham’s private workout. However, do you agree with Orlovsky that Pittsburgh should take a waiver on him? 

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Hockey Feed

Penguins could come calling to Marc Bergevin

TSN

As you may remember, the Pittsburgh Penguins elected to completely clean out their front office after they missed the postseason for the first time in 17 years earlier this month, terminating general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Chris Pryor, and president of hockey operations Brian Burke. 

And while speculation has been building as to who could potentially take over as the new general manager in Steel City, one particular figure floated by a noted NHL Insider is a former Penguins defenseman. 

Marc Bergevin, who currently is a senior advisor to the general manager with the Los Angeles Kings and works under vice president and GM Rob Blake, was suggested by Elliotte Friedman in his latest “32 Thoughts” Podcast. 

As you may remember, Bergevin served as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens from 2012 through 2021. 

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Hockey Feed

Maple Leafs rival ready to put ‘full court press’ on Kyle Dubas.

Christopher Katasarov/Canadian Press.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made an interesting decision before the start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season when they allowed general manager Kyle Dubas to enter the season in the final year of his contract with the team.

From the outside looking in the move appeared designed to put more pressure on Dubas to produce results on the ice, notably advancing beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it may have been a move with some unintended consequences.

Since the conclusion of the regular season there have been rumblings that Dubas may be drawing interest from rival teams around the league, potentially even teams within the Eastern Conference. On Friday, Mike Stephens of The Hockey News revealed that at least one team is prepared to put the “full court press” on Dubas should he become available, with that team being none other than the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The rumblings that I’ve heard at least are that Fenway Sports Group is ready to put the full court press on Kyle Dubas if he leaves Toronto,” wrote Stephens.

It’s not hard to see how this could cause problems for the Maple Leafs, especially if Dubas were to take his talents to another team and find success there. Even in the event that Dubas doesn’t leave the Leafs though this could still have a negative impact on the team, with this likely greatly increasing Dubas’ negotiating leverage in any contract talks.

If we’re hearing rumblings that other teams are interested in Dubas, you can bet his representatives have already heard them as well. The decision to not re-sign Dubas sooner could end up costing the Leafs significantly more money later down the line.

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Hockey Feed

Penguins set record straight on Sidney Crosby’s future

Salt Wire

The Pittsburgh Penguins missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since Sidney Crosby’s rookie campaign of 2005-06, and they’ve already made major changes to their front office as a result. Earlier today, the team fired general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Brian Pryor, and president of hockey operations Brian Burke. 

The Penguins organization is clearly trying to maximize the rapidly closing window of success that they have while the likes of Crosby and his longtime teammates Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are still playing. And based on the comments made by ownership earlier today, they have no intention of letting a franchise legend like Crosby go the way of Jaromir Jagr and wear another NHL uniform.

According to executive Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer for Fenway Sports Management Dave Beeston, Crosby must “never” ever play for anyone else in his Hall of Fame career. 

“It’s very important that Sidney Crosby never plays a game in another uniform other than the Penguins,” he said today.

The dynamic trio of Crosby, Malkin and Letang have been together now for 16 years and have enjoyed tremendous success with one another. They’ll forever be icons on the Pittsburgh sports scene for helping to deliver three Stanley Cup championships to the city, including back to back titles in 2016 and 2017. 

While it seemed as though the futures of Malkin and Letang in Pittsburgh were in doubt at this time last year, now-former GM Hextall was able to sign them both to contract extensions. As far as Crosby goes, his current contract expires in two years.

He’s showing no signs of slowing down despite having lost the nickname “Sid the Kid” long ago, racking up 93 points in all 82 games played this season. He’ll be turning 36 years of age this fall, and as the Penguins continue their downward slant, is it conceivable that he could ask to be moved in order for one more shot at a championship? 

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Hockey Feed

Brian Burke already has a new job

Puck Prose

Former Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke, who was terminated by the team earlier this morning along with general manager Ron Hextall and assistant general manager Chris Pryor, didn’t have to wait long to find his new job. 

According to Rob Rossi of The Athletic, Burke is heading back to television in Canada, and could even find himself back on the Sportsnet panel for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Penguins ownership group explain next steps for franchise

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The Pittsburgh Penguins made a trio of major moves earlier today on the cusp of the franchise having missed the postseason for the first time since Sidney Crosby’s rookie year of 2005-06. 

Maligned general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Chris Pryor, and president of hockey operations Brian Burke were all let go this morning, signaling a dramatic turn in the direction of the team.

Earlier today, Fenway Sports Group Dave Beeston and Penguins director of business operations Kevin Acklin held a brief press conference in which they explained the next steps they’ll be taking in looking to fill those recently vacated positions, while also touching on the future of head coach Mike Sullivan. 

“There’s no parameters or set format for what we’re going to hire. I think we’ve learned in all of our sports endeavors that these jobs are not one-person, two-person jobs,” said Beeston. “They are entire department-wide. And so we’re focused on building a hockey operations machine.”

“I think that the way we’ve thought about our hockey operations, generally, is we want to be forward and proactive,” Beeston said. “Ron, Brian, and Chris were great and served a great role. We are all disappointed with how the season ended, but we’re focused on the future and moving forward.”

How about the status of Sullivan, who helped guide the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017? The answer wasn’t quite as clear as to his future with the team. 

“I think the answer to that is we think Mike Sullivan is one of the best coaches in the NHL. He was extended last season, and then once we bring in a new hockey operations leader, he or she will be responsible for evaluating the coaching staff,” said Beeston. “And we think Mike is terrific.”

In the meantime, the Penguins ownership group is hoping that franchise legend Mario Lemieux, who was the team’s principal owner until 2021, will be more involved in the future. 

“I talked to Mario this morning after the news broke. He talked to ownership as well, to Tom directly. He was at a game a couple of weeks ago … So, to today’s point, he earned some time on the golf course when he sold most of his interests. But, you know, he still cares about the team. And obviously, we’d love to see more of him at the arena. And that’s something we’ll keep engaging with all the time.” 

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Crosby on his future in Pittsburgh, Malkin and Letang.

The 2022-23 National Hockey League regular season will go down as a disappointing one for fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise, with the team missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 regular season.

This has led to the belief that there will be major changes forthcoming for the Penguins ahead of next season and we’ve already seen evidence of that with both president of hockey operations Brian Burke and general manager Ron Hextall being fired this week as a direct result of the team’s poor performance on the ice.

The big questions now though surround the group’s core players with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, star forward Evgeni Malkin and star forward Kris Letang being the most frequently discussed members of that core group. There has been some concern that a player of Crosby’s calibur might not be interested in sticking around for a rebuild, but on Saturday the Penguins captain squashed those rumors when he reiterated that he hopes to be a lifelong Penguin.

“I’d love to. That’s been the case since Day 1,” admitted Crosby when asked if he wants to remain a Penguin. “I feel really fortunate to have been drafted here. I have great memories.”

Crosby also appeared to address any such speculation regarding his top two teammates, indicating that a big part of why he has enjoyed playing in Pittsburgh so much has been due to the quality of teammates he has had along the way. Although he didn’t mention them by name, it was clear that Letang and Malkin were the men being discussed in this scenario.

“I’ve got to play with two teammates specifically for a really long time – so, I’d love that to be the case,” said Crosby.

It sounds like if the captain has any say in the matter, Crosby, Malkin and Letang won’t be going anywhere soon.

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NHL rivals reportedly trying to poach Kyle Dubas

NHL.com

Right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs and general manager Kyle Dubas are preparing to do anything and everything in order to finally break through and win their first postseason series since 2004. Should they fail in that endeavor, there will almost certainly be major changes in the organization, and that could potentially include Dubas losing the gig as Leafs GM that he’s held since 2018.

Meanwhile, there’s another NHL franchise who could be preparing to undergo serious front office changes, and that would be the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have missed the postseason for the first time in 16 years thanks to an up and down campaign marred by inconsistent play and maddening frustrations. If the Penguins were to part ways with general manager Ron Hextall and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, Dubas could be an enticing hire. 

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Brian Burke issues statement after being fired by Penguins

NHL.com

The Pittsburgh Penguins decided to go full scorched earth mode earlier this morning, parting ways with general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Chris Pryor, and president of hockey operations Brian Burke after the franchise missed the postseason for the first time since 2006. 

Burke himself took to social media shortly after the decision was announced to offer his thoughts, and he kept it classy by expressing his gratitude for being able to work with the Penguins organization as well as wishing them the best in the future.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked in this passionate sports town,” he said. “Thank you to FSG, Mario Lemieux, David Morehouse, management and coaches, and especially to our great group of players. Best of luck to the Penguins and their incredible fan base in the future.”

Burke was named president of hockey operations for the Penguins in February of 2021 after the resignation of Jim Rutherford. 

“But you get to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins, man. You’re talking, this is Cadillac class here. This is not your run-of-the-mill team. This is not your run-of-the-mill ownership,” he said upon his hire. “I’m so excited to move to Pittsburgh. It’s one of the great sports towns on the planet. It’s the best sports town in America, for me.” 

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Just in: Penguins clean out entire front office!

Pittsburgh Hockey Now

It was a major disappointment for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, having finished on the outside looking in on the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 16 years. It was thought that there would be serious consequences for the failure, and now those consequences have come home to roost.

Minutes ago, it was announced that the Penguins have cleaned house when it comes to their front office staff. General manager Ron Hextall, president of hockey operations Brian Burke, and assistant general manager Chris Pryor have all been shown the door with the following announcement: 

“The Penguins have relieved President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, General Manager Ron Hextall, and Assistant General Manager, Chris Pryor of their duties, it was announced today by Fenway Sports Group.”

The Penguins have also released the following update: 

“During this transition, managerial duties of hockey operations will be shared among Director of Hockey Ops, Alec Schall, WBS General Manager/Manager of Hockey Operations, Erik Heasley and Hockey Ops Analyst, Andy Saucier. Coach Sullivan will also assist during the transition. The search for new hockey operations leadership will begin immediately.”

John Henry and Tom Werner of The Fenway Sports Group released the following statement: 

“We are grateful to Brian, Ron, and Chris for their contributions to the organization over the past two seasons, but we feel that the team will benefit from new hockey operations leadership. While this season has been disappointing, we believe in our core group of players and the goal of contending for the Stanley Cup has not changed.”

Get ready for a rollercoaster offseason of changes, Penguins fans!