Pens Points: A Week Removed
A full week removed from from the Penguins elimination, Pens Points examines where everything stands.
Last Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins were preparing for its final game of the 2023-24 season with the knowledge they had already been eliminated from playoff contention the night before. Now a full week removed from the end of the season, discussion flips to what lies ahead in the offseason while we still dissect that season that was.
Pens Points...
When your goalie scores a goal, that is automatically your best goal of the season, regardless of what any other player may produce. There’s just no topping something like that. [Pensburgh]
Evgeni Malkin continues to give back to the Pittsburgh community with his “I’m Score for Kids” initiative. This season, Malkin recorded 67 points that equaled a total donation of $95,140 to the Ronald McDonald House. [Pensburgh]
Much of what killed the Penguins last season came back to bite the Penguins again this season, and some cases, was even more of a problem the second time around despite trying to fix the issues. [Adam Gretz]
Corey Andonovski is one of the Penguins minor leaguers who will be up for a new contract this summer and his strong second half could be enough for him to have earned another season in the organization. [Trib Live]
To say Reilly Smith was a disappointment in his debut season with the Penguins could be an understatement. Seen as the Jason Zucker replacement, Smith could never looked comfortable in Pittsburgh. [Trib Live]
There is no doubt the Penguins will once again need to rework their bottom six in hopes of finding a combination that works. There are plenty of names already on the roster to build with, but it will likely take more than that. [Trib Live]
Anyone and everyone on the Penguins roster who was AHL eligible was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as the Baby Penguins prepare to make a run at the Calder Cup. [The Hockey News]
NHL News and Notes...
Ivan Fedotov made headlines late in the season when he made the journey from Russia to join the Philadelphia Flyers and it looks like he’ll be hanging around awhile after agreeing to a two-year contract. [ESPN]
Some real bad news came down on Tuesday for the Vancouver Canucks when reports broke that Thatcher Demko suffered an undisclosed injury and could miss the rest of the first round against Nashville. [The Hockey News]