PensBurgh Jul 12, 2019
Forecasting the Penguins’ surprises and duds in 2019-20
Looking at who we think will excel and who will falter next season It’s summer and we’re digging deep. Last year at about this time we looked at surprises and shortcomings from the season prior. Let’s look forward now. Potential surprises With a lot of new faces, there’s certainly the hope for newcomers to exceed expectations. -Alex Galchenyuk: has to be at the top of the list. He’s got the pedigree being a high pick of third overall back in 2012. He scored 30 goals for Montreal in 2015-16. At 25 years old, he’s at a prime age to produce a great season, especially since he’s...
PensBurgh Jul 9, 2019
Penguins offseason progress report: Are they any better?
They made their team younger and faster, but those are not the only issues that matter. On Monday the Penguins’ website wrote about the team having three objectives entering the offseason and how they have achieved all of them with their roster moves. Those objectives: Get younger, get faster, become harder to play against. With the additions of Alex Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun, and Brandon Tanev, combined with the subtractions of Phil Kessel, Olli Maatta, Matt Cullen (we should be assuming he is not returning, right?) they are definitely younger. They can not really be classified as a...
The Hockey Writers Jul 7, 2019
Penguins Get a Cheaper Kessel in Galchenyuk
At the very least, the Pittsburgh Penguins just replaced Phil Kessel with another scapegoat in Alex Galchenyuk. That’s one way to look at the offseason trade that saw Kessel traded to the Arizona Coyotes. Obviously, the contract status of Galchenyuk, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season, is the […] The post Penguins Get a Cheaper Kessel in Galchenyuk appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
PensBurgh Jul 7, 2019
How much can Alex Galchenyuk give to the Pittsburgh Penguins?
It will go a long way in determining how the season goes Some fun and easy summer Sunday viewing about Penguins’ new forward Alex Galchenyuk. One thing interesting is that Galchenyuk has been described as many things by many people. In some minds he’s great as a speedy goal scoring winger. In others, he’s ideal as a playmaking centerman. He does look like he’s a bit of everything and at different times has done well in various roles and then been inconsistent as well. Another interesting thing to me was the split of Galchenyuk’s even strength to power play scoring ...
Eyes On The Prize Jul 4, 2019
Max Domi’s career best season was helped by his improved shooting
The 24-year-old followed some off-season advice from a rival captain and personal inspiration Montreal Canadiens forward Max Domi had the best season of his career in 2018-19, and he might have to thank a Toronto Maple Leafs legend for that. It’s been a year since Domi was unveiled by the Canadiens to the media. The Habs traded for him in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, who had divided the fanbase into those who had given up on him and those still expecting him to reach the potential he showed as a third-overall pick. Domi, meanwhile, was coming off back-to-back nine goal seasons with the...
Eyes On The Prize Jul 3, 2019
Max Domi’s move to Montreal was a fresh start for all
A new beginning for Domi was also a reset for the team and fans. It turns out that the one-for-one trade that was made on June 15, 2018 wasn’t such a bad one after all. After finding his footing during his first season suiting up with the Montreal Canadiens, Alex Galchenyuk dared to get our hopes up as we watched his tricky toe-drag and his down-on-one-knee one-timer start to build his goal totals from 13, to 20, to a 30-goal, 56-point year in the 2014-15 season. But after not even hitting the 20-goal mark the following two seasons, and seeing his promise spiral downward, Galchenyuk found...
PensBurgh Jul 3, 2019
What would have been the better Kessel return: Galchenyuk or Zucker?
Which would have been better the Pens’ rejected trade or one that finally went through? In some ways it already feels like forever since the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes, but it’s only been a few days since a turbulent chapter has closed. The Pens ended up receiving forward Alex Galchenyuk and former 2017 first round pick defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph for Kessel and a 2021 fourth round pick. However one traded that was bandied about for a while earlier in the summer — and agreed to by Pittsburgh and Minnesota — was Kessel to the Wild for Jason...
PensBurgh Jul 3, 2019
E.J. Hradek: ‘I think both teams accomplished what they wanted to’
NHL Network analyst E.J. Hradek is back on the pod to analyze the Penguins after the Kessel trade and the free agency frenzy. We are into the dog days of summer, but the NHL is as crazy as ever with free agency now well underway. With that, we have NHL Network’s E.J. Hradek to lend us his insight on the kind of player the Penguins are getting in Alex Galchenyuk. Hradek also goes on to talk about some of the bigger moves made around the Metropolitan Division and the rest of the NHL. We also discuss: Brandon Tanev’s potential impact as a Penguin Possible candidates for another Jim...
PensBurgh Jul 1, 2019
What to expect from Alex Galchenyuk now that he is a Penguin
He is what he is. There is a danger in trying to evaluate Alex Galchenyuk given the way he is arriving in Pittsburgh, having been acquired for a two-time Stanley Cup champion, a fan favorite, and former core piece of the Penguins. For one, he is going to be facing an uphill battle because of who is he is not, as opposed to who he is. Overall, Galchenyuk is a fine player. He possesses a lot of the same flaws as Kessel defensively without possessing the gift of being an elite offensive player. That does not mean he is bad. He is a perfectly fine second-line forward that is a pretty good bet...
The Hockey Writers Jul 1, 2019
Penguins Free Agency: 3 Under-the-Radar Targets
After trading Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have some extra cap space to utilize this offseason. The team acquired Alex Galchenyuk in return but will need more to make up for the loss of Kessel’s elite offensive production. Pittsburgh will likely prioritize re-signing its restricted free agents — Teddy Blueger, […] The post Penguins Free Agency: 3 Under-the-Radar Targets appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jun 30, 2019
Alex Galchenyuk on joining Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin: 'It’s going to be really exciting'
Alex Galchenyuk said it doesn’t matter which position he plays in Pittsburgh, especially if it’s next to Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
PensBurgh Jun 30, 2019
Penguins’ retooling has focused on making the team a lot younger
There’s a definite trend of Pittsburgh adding youth as of late After trading Phil Kessel for Alex Galchenyuk and a prospect, there’s an undeniable trend for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Much as Jim Rutherford re-tooled almost the whole roster from 2014 when he took over to just two years later in 2016 when they won the Stanley Cup. Just look at the lineup of the Game 7 vs NYR in 2014, the last game of the Ray Shero/Dan Bylsma era: Other than the three foundational stars of this Pens’ era (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang) only Olli Maatta and Chris Kunitz...
Montreal Gazette Jun 30, 2019
Coyotes trade former Canadien Alex Galchenyuk to Penguins
Forward traded for second time in a year with Phil Kessel going to Arizona in latest deal.
Last Word on Hockey Jun 30, 2019
NHL Rumours: Marcus Johansson, Colorado Avalanche, Joonas Donskoi, Montreal Canadiens
Trades are going down with some frequency as free agency creeps closer and closer. Expect the activity to really escalate on Monday, or even Sunday as teams jockey for position to see if they can grab the player they covet. In fact, while this was being written it was disclosed that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes have finalized a trade. Phil Kessel was sent to Arizona along with defenceman Dane Birks and a fourth-round pick for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Oliver Joseph. NHL rumours are running wild... catch them all here! Right now it's time again for the Sunday version (part 1)...
PensBurgh Jun 30, 2019
The Penguins’ salary cap situation after Phil Kessel trade
Pittsburgh still doesn’t really have space to be a free agent factor without further moves One aspect in the Phil Kessel trade is the financial fallout. By trading Kessel ($6.8 million cap hit) for forward Alex Galchenyuk ($4.9 million), the Penguins have opened up an extra $1.9 million in salary cap space for next season. And it comes just in time for free agency to open on July 1st. “As far as free agency goes, we had no chance in being active on Monday,” Rutherford said after the trade. “Now, it gives us a chance to look at somebody. We do have a couple of players in mind if...
