Penguins GM and President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas has until five o’clock this afternoon to set his final roster for tomorrow night’s season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks. He took some major steps yesterday, waiving forwards Radim Zohorna, Colin White, and Vinnie Hinostroza, defenseman Mark Friedman, and goaltender Magnus Hellberg.
Forward Austin Wagner and defenseman Libor Hajek were in training camp on professional tryout contracts. Neither has been signed to a contract with the Pens and Hajek has reportedly left town. Wagner, who was praised by coach Mike Sullivan last week for his aggressive play and attitude, could be signed to a two-way contract and assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Zohorna, White, Hinostroza, Friedman, and Hellberg could also be assigned to WilkesBarre/Scranton if they clear waivers by the two o’clock deadline today.
The big news for the Pens yesterday was that Jake Guentzel was a full practice participant again and could play tomorrow night. He had ankle surgery in July and was projected to miss the first five games of the season but yesterday he spent a great deal of practice working on the top power play unit with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson. Kris Letang moved to the second power play unit.
Sounding upbeat, Sullivan said there’s a real chance Guentzel could be on the ice tomorrow.
Sullivan says the decisions on the final roster for the opener will be up to Dubas, who has gotten all of the Penguins’ staff involved in a collaborative effort.
When Crosby, Malkin, and Letang take the ice for their 18th season together tomorrow night, they will become the longest-tenured trio of players in North American sports history, surpassing the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. Sullivan says the three are true icons.
For the first time this preseason, 2022 number one draft choice Owen Pickering practiced with his teammates yesterday. He is returning from an ankle injury suffered in his offseason workouts. Pickering will likely be assigned to his junior team, Swift Current, in the Western Hockey League.
Tomorrow night’s game, and the entire season, will be on 92.5 FM U92. The pregame begins at seven o’clock, with the puck dropping shortly after eight at PPG Paints Arena.
