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The Penguins had what I would consider a successful weekend. They lost both games and Sidney Crosby got some points. That’s all that really needs to happen right now. The Penguins only took one out of four standings points so they continue to improve their draft lottery odds. This is a very good thing. They are the sixth worse team in the league at the moment which gives them a 7.5% chance of moving up to the top selection which would really piss a lot of people off.
Sidney Crosby had four points in the two games, including three against the Maple Leafs. If he gets to 80 points on the year he will lock up his point per game season breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of consecutive point per game seasons making it yet another record Gretzky is likely to lose in the near future. Alex Ovechkin is only ten goals behind currently and who knows where he will be come April 17th when his Capitals visit Pittsburgh for the last game of the Penguins season. I think it would be incredibly fitting for both Ovechkin and Crosby to share that moment together given their history and evolved relationship over the years.
Against the Bruins Alex Nedeljkovic gave up yet another goal on the first shot of the game. It makes 13 on the season for the team which is a remarkable stat. One out of every five games they’ve done this, crazy.
Joel Blomqvist isn’t ready for primetime. He is struggling. Since February he has had three starts and they’ve all been subpar. In those three starts he’s been an .808 goalie. The team is going to start to sell more parts off so things aren’t going to be getting much better. The question is do the Penguins want to have Blomqvist ride this out watching Nedeljkovic get the lion’s share of the starts or do they want Blomqvist playing in the AHL on a regular basis. We’ll find out soon.
If you are wondering about Erik Karlsson’s potential trade situation heading into the deadline bring some patience. This is the kind of thing that is most likely to be hashed out in the offseason, if at all. Karlsson spoke to the trade rumors
Penguins’ Erik Karlsson knows where he stands ahead of trade deadline: ‘I have full say’
@penguinsnhl.bsky.social | @theathletic.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/617...
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— Rob Rossi (@robrossi.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
“I have full say if anything happens or not,” Karlsson said Sunday after the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-5 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena.
Karlsson added he hasn’t been asked to waive a full no-movement clause in his contract, which has two seasons remaining at a $10 million salary-cap hit.
“Until I do get asked, whenever that is and if that is, I’ll take a stance,” he said. “Until then, I’m not going to worry about it because I have nothing to worry about.”
These players aren’t ignorant. They hear the chatter. Karlsson isn’t going to go somewhere just to go somewhere. If a trade does materialize I would imagine it would be to a legit contender to justify packing up his young family and moving again. Given his cap hit this makes it unlikely during the season and more likely during the offseason when the cap jumps up a good chunk.
Dubas has also repeatedly said he does not want to ask players with contractual restrictions to waive those clauses for the sake of trade.
“I’d be the first one to know, I’m sure,” Karlsson said Sunday. “And then I’ll deal with that situation if that occurs. Up until now, it hasn’t, so it hasn’t been on my mind. It’s not something that I’m walking around thinking about, but it obviously is a stressful time here with most of this group here right now with the situation that we’re in.
“Everybody’s been around long enough to know what’s going to happen, most likely. And that weighs on you.”
There are plenty of other candidates who will be on the move this week for the Penguins. Erik Karlsson is near the bottom of the list. More on those other players later.
Thanks for reading!
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