The Penguins wrapped up their schedule before the Four Nations tournament is set to begin. They went on the road for each of the past two days starting in New York and finishing in Philadelphia. They came away with two standings points while playing well in both games. It was an impressive effort by the team considering they were without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The Philadelphia game was a perfect scenario. Pittsburgh only gave up two shots on goal in the first period and found themselves trailing. Losing is winning for the Penguins and making John Tortorella mad at his team is always a noble pursuit. The Penguins accomplished both.
Ryan Graves earned his first point of the season on an assist in his 40th game played. He still trails Alex Nedeljkovic in both goals (1) and points (2). He has four years remaining on his contract with an AAV of 4.5M
Sidney Crosby’s health is at the forefront because of the international tournament. He has been skating before practice and from my eye he looks to be doing pretty good. There has been no official declaration on his availability to the tournament. Kyle Dubas commented on the situation
Sidney Crosby 4 Nations decision will be ‘in his best interest,’ Kyle Dubas says
@penguinsnhl.bsky.social | @hockeycanada.bsky.social | @theathletic.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/612... Sidney Crosby 4 Nations decision will be ‘in his best interest,’ Kyle Dubas says
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— Rob Rossi (@robrossi.bsky.social) February 8, 2025 at 10:15 PM
“We will work with Sid and make the decision that is in his best interest,” Dubas said in a text message to The Athletic on Saturday night.
“He is a special player and person. He deserves as much time and consideration as possible to determine what the best course of action is. Every day is a new day.”
Crosby, who skated for a third consecutive day Saturday, is apparently progressing since he was held out of practice Wednesday.
“He skated for a long time this morning,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He felt significantly better today than he did yesterday, and that’s really encouraging.”
Personally, I think Sid prioritizing the tournament is in his best interest. This season is a lost cause. Crosby signed on for two more years knowing the Penguins may not make the playoffs for the rest of his career. Let him have these meaningful games. He deserves them. The NHL did him dirty (and many other players) by not having best on best international tournaments for over a decade. There is no doubt Crosby is looking forward to being Canada’s captain. I’m fine with him missing these past two games and trying to stay healthy enough for the tourney. He’s done more than enough for the Penguins franchise. It is more than OK for him to be a little selfish right now.
The Penguins made a roster move yesterday. Jesse Puljujarvi will no longer be a Penguin. He was placed on unconditional waivers with the intent of terminating his contract. Clearly, he was not going to crack through Mike Sullivan’s lineup. I think Puljujarvi did a nice job bouncing back from his double hip surgery and getting his strength up. It has to be a really difficult process to heal from that kind of surgery. I think Puljujarvi should have received more ice time than he got, especially over players like Matt Neito.
That said, I also don’t think this is a big deal. Yes, I would have liked it if the Penguins played him enough in order to trade him for an asset, whatever it may have been. I also don’t think he is an infallible player. I think his awareness and hockey acumen are areas that cost him. He is a very straight line player who doesn’t see the entire ice on a regular basis. I can understand the frustrations. Moving on from him is the right call at this point in time for the player. He deserves to try and latch on with another team who will give him a clearer path for playing time. He has put in a lot of effort to get back to where he is. It’s just that the Penguins weren’t the right fit anymore.
Bryan Rust was placed on IR and he missed the Flyers game. It doesn’t sound like this is going to be a situation where he will miss an extended period of time.
“We would anticipate him being available,” Sullivan said of Rust’s status for when the Penguins resume games after 4 Nations.
That sums things up heading into the week.
Thanks for reading!
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