Penguins Nation

The Pittsburgh Penguins have done a fantastic job in the past decade obtaining top-tier talent through the NHL Entry Draft. From securing superstar Sidney Crosby in 2005 to selecting the promising 19-year-old Olli Maatta in 2012, the Pens certainly know how to use the most important tool the league has to offer. With a couple new faces taking over management and behind the bench duties this offseason, fans of the franchise will be glued to the television on June 27 when the draft kicks off in Philadelphia to witness where the future of the franchise is heading.  The club currently holds the No. ...

You may have loved Ray Shero, or you may have hated him. The Pittsburgh Penguins weighed the pros and cons of keeping the general manager and eventually decided to release him from his duties. While the man always seemed to have something up his sleeve at the trade deadline and was arguably the best when it came to building a quality team around monster cap hits, one aspect of his reign always left fans wanting more. Shero struggled to draft and develop talent for the Penguins, and after watching the Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup with Tyler Toffoli (22 ...

Following the firing of both their general manager and head coach after yet another postseason collapse, the Pittsburgh Penguins now look ahead to the next phase of the offseason with both the NHL entry draft and the start of the NHL's free-agent frenzy less than a month away. With just 14 of their 25 roster spots currently filled, the Pens will have a lot of work to do between now and the start of training camp. They have a lot of questions to answer, so the next month promises to be as eventful—if not more so—than the last month has been. As newly appointed ...

Like any other draft in professional sports, the NHL entry draft, which will kick off on June 27 in Philadelphia, is a wonderful tool used by clubs to bring in the best players from around the world. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who currently hold the No. 22 overall pick of the first round, have a variety of options at their disposal. First and foremost, let’s understand that defense will not be a primary area of concern for newly-installed general manager Jim Rutherford and the front office. The team has done a great job over the past few years by building a deep, talented and ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins shocked the hockey world when they hired ex-Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford to replace the recently fired Ray Shero. Greg Wyshynski over at Puck Daddy wrote that "the Penguins might have come off [with] the most crazy-pants managerial decision we've seen in recent memory," while Adrian Dater claimed that the move proved that the "good old boys club" mentality was alive and well in the NHL. Never mind how strange it is that the new GM already seems to have his exit date in mind. Regardless of how the fanbase feels about Rutherford as the new GM, the Penguins ...

There is something special about an athlete spending his entire career with a single club—something we don’t get to see as much in today's world of professional sports. Money makes it so much easier nowadays for a player to give up on the city that drafted him. Greed isn’t the only reason that players tend to seek new opportunities, but it is still a shame to see less and less of guys sticking it out with their original team. When you look back at the storied history of the Pittsburgh Penguins, many former NHLers have worn the black and gold for their ...

If you didn’t think a Good Old Boys' Club still existed in the National Hockey League, you were disabused of that thought Friday when the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Jim Rutherford as their new general manager. The Penguins fired a smart man in Ray Shero and replaced him with a worn out old tire in Rutherford, whose Carolina Hurricanes teams missed the playoffs the final five seasons on his watch, seven of the previous eight and nine of the last 11. Hey, maybe it’ll work out in Pittsburgh for Rutherford, and I’ll be the first to give him credit if that happens (albeit ...

If you didn’t think a Good Old Boys' Club still existed in the National Hockey League, you were disabused of that thought Friday when the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Jim Rutherford as their new general manager. The Penguins fired a smart man in Ray Shero and replaced him with a worn out old tire in Rutherford, whose Carolina Hurricanes teams missed the playoffs the final five seasons on his watch, seven of the previous eight and nine of the last 11. Hey, maybe it’ll work out in Pittsburgh for Rutherford, and I’ll be the first to give him credit if that happens (albeit ...

This feels like it has happened about a dozen times in the past two seasons, but the Pittsburgh Penguins made it official Friday—TVA's Louis Jean reported that head coach Dan Bylsma was fired. The move came hours after NHL.com's Wes Crosby reported the hiring of former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford to replace Ray Shero in the same position. There already have been some big names hired as coaches during the playoffs—Barry Trotz took the job in Washington while Peter Laviolette was hired to take the job opening left in Nashville by Trotz's dismissal. However, this opening in Pittsburgh will probably be ...

This feels like it has happened about a dozen times in the past two seasons, but the Pittsburgh Penguins made it official Friday—TVA's Louis Jean reported that head coach Dan Bylsma was fired. The move came hours after NHL.com's Wes Crosby reported the hiring of former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford to replace Ray Shero in the same position. There already have been some big names hired as coaches during the playoffs—Barry Trotz took the job in Washington while Peter Laviolette was hired to take the job opening left in Nashville by Trotz's dismissal. However, this opening in Pittsburgh will probably be ...