Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar. Follow him on Twitter @ParmarKuljit

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Hazem Alsahlani. Follow him on Twitter @Hazzzyness

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar. Follow him on Twitter @ParmarKuljit

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar. Follow him on Twitter @ParmarKuljit As we have entered the middle of July, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ management has made a lot of moves regarding the team’s outlook and preparation for the upcoming season, including making a trade for forward Reilly Smith, and the one-year signings of players the team has procured for a short-term solution in the depth play, where we will see more moves made come the 2023 NHL Trade deadline. With all the acquisitions and re-signings, the fans shall see where the interim GM, Kyle Dubas, picks up from here and makes more moves accordingly. It is an interesting scenario, however, because of the handful of one-year signings. The acquisition of Reilly Smith gives the team more flexibility to work with on the top-six line and allows the core 3 to adjust their game accordingly, which will give management more time to re-evaluate the roster in general and find pieces that will help contribute to the core needs. The additions to the bottom six gives them ample room to maneuver players and see where they fit into the club and present more opportunities to score goals in crucial moments from players outside of the top lines. Re-signing goaltender Tristan Jarry is the most important signing for the Penguins in my opinion. Dubas has seen the potential of the goaltender firsthand and did not make a move to acquire another star netminder. Whether you trust him or not - he does. And if you feel strongly about him, you have got to have some confidence. The defensive upgrades and trade rumors right now are what everyone is talking about. Making a trade for Norris Trophy winner Eric Karlsson makes sense, especially, since he does want to play for the Penguins and give the core three a last chance at greatness. Trading away defensemen, Jeff Petry, however, is a good bargain along with the assets the team has stowed away at the moment. For the Penguins team, overall, this will be a huge test for the club this upcoming season to tweak out the problems and learn from last year, where they had struggled down the stretch. In terms of the last few seasons, this is by far the best opportunity for the team to learn and adjust their game to the prime depth Kyle Dubas has accumulated and help deliver answers to results in their gameplay. This is a small-scale rebuild, but management will help secure a playoff-worthy team and bring back the glory days the fans remember.

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Hazem Alsahlani - Follow him on Twitter @Hazzyness Despite the Penguins recent additions, they remain an older team, with nearly half its roster over 30 years old. Moreover, the Penguins have no high-end forward prospects in the system. Correction, they have one: Brayden Yager. Since 2018, the Penguins have been loath to give younger players opportunities to grow and develop on the roster. One can argue they have not had many young players that warranted a spot on the roster to grow and develop. Until now. Brayden Yager is the type of player the Penguins need to play, immediately. Unless he has a disastrous camp and preseason, the Penguins need Yager for several reasons. First, they need youth, energy, and skill that he would offer. He has an NHL-caliber shot, which would work well alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Second, they need more scoring options. We’ve heard the phrase “top-heavy” which is an apt description of the Penguins current scoring options. Aside from the top six, there are limited scoring options. Playing Yager immediately would allow Mike Sullivan to move Bryan Rust to a third line role, which will better suit him as he gets older. Rust would bring grit, energy, scoring, and leadership to the third line, which is something they have lacked since 2017. So, the question then becomes, can Yager thrive in a top six role. Obviously, that question remains to be seen but it is worth a shot. Skeptics will likely point to his youth, inexperience, and frame – and believe he needs to grow and develop in juniors or the AHL. Assuming Yager proves to be a competent player during camp and preseason, give him a shot. What better way to develop than to play with two responsible, supremely talented two-way players like Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel? As is the case with all young players, coaches will focus on improving Yager’s defensive game, so he is not a liability on the ice. In other words, they do not want another Kasperi Kapanen. I believe Yager can be an asset to the Penguins due to his skill, energy, and powerful shot. The skill outweighs the potential defensive liability. Defensive responsibility will improve over time and will likely be expedited playing alongside responsible players like Crosby and Guentzel. There are several examples of Penguins players seeing the ice right away, such as Olli Maatta and Jordan Staal. Yager will not have the type of pressure to perform like another first round pick might, because Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Jarry absorb nearly all the criticism or praise based on the team’s performance. Less pressure should allow Yager to play freely, which is what the Penguins need. A young, skillful forward to reinvigorate the aging roster, while also complimenting what they can still offer. While Mike Sullivan will almost assuredly send Yager back to juniors or the minors, he should seriously consider playing Yager and allowing him to develop this season. The Penguins do not have time to wait three years for a potential impact player to develop. Brayden Yager should be told to sink or swim. My guess is he will swim.

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar As most of North America watched the 2023 NHL Draft unfold this past Wednesday, we observed a spectacle of draft picks chosen throughout the night, with the audience and those at home watching anxiously to learn their team's new players. The most important aspect of this draft for the Pittsburgh Penguins management was that they would have to go in with a solid game plan to complement their farm league, but also keeping the short-term in mind with aging stars. What will the roles be of these future players? And how long could it take them to get to the NHL? For the first pick, 14th overall. By selecting 18-year old forward Brayden Yager, the team feels well-equipped for the future because of his attitude towards the game and the well-maintained skill level he can achieve with the right mix of forwards. Yager can score goals and most importantly make plays for his teammates, having the ability to impact the game in many areas. His ability to handle the puck defensively was the main reason he was selected by the Penguins, reiterating the point of drafting defensive assets. In my opinion, with the right set of forwards, he can achieve more of a dramatically balanced game. Depending on the draft picks in the future, maybe another combo of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and defenseman Kris Letang-type era, once again, is burgeoning. There were three defensemen taken by management in this draft, and four forwards with defensive assets to their resume who will have a top percentile size and grit of the majority of players when they play at an NHL level. With the third-round selection, 91st overall, the Penguins took defenseman Emil Pieniniemi. His defensive-to-offensive game description sounds promising for the team, as he will be considered to be a depth player. With the fifth-round pick, number 142 overall, the Penguins selected Russian forward Mikhail Liyin. There is not much of a profile for this young man, as he is only eighteen years of age. However, he is known to excel amongst his teammates and knows how to play the game, as he’s quite savvy. His frame needs a little work toward playing in the NHL, but he could someday be that young, refreshing speedster the team will rely on. In the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, 174th overall, the Penguins choose forward Cooper Foster. This young man is a speedster with a nifty goal-scoring ability to his game, and nice playmaking techniques. Foster lacks the size and grit to play at the NHL level but with his feistiness, he will be able to produce and compete with respectability on a nightly basis. The last two picks in the seventh round, the first being Emil Jarventie, going 217th overall. Emil is a tall winger, with roots in Finland – and he’s a pup, at just under the age of twenty. He is a wonderful skater and puck handler, with the ability to set up plays that will result in goals. And last, but not least, Defenseman Kalle Kangas was taken at pick 223. His weight and size give him a favorable opportunity to bring the added grit the team needs in the farm league. Most importantly allowing him to develop and play to potentially carve out a niche as a role player down the line.

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Kuljit Parmar With the 2023 NHL Draft approaching fast, I’m going to take my best guess as to what the game plan is for President of Hockey Operations and temporary General Manager Kyle Dubas. What does he have in store for the Pittsburgh Penguins organization in terms of roster changes? So far, he has signed two depth players to one-year contracts, which will not affect his cap space. Rightfully so, working according to his plan that would be to retool the line-up, and he has a couple of options to work with following that blueprint. If I were to guess what his moves might be, including their first round pick at 14, I would indeed say he may go in the direction he left off with the Toronto Maple Leafs – and focus his attention on the defensive core. One possibility might involve selecting a defenseman that would evolve within two years in the farm-team stage, however, the temporary GM Kyle Dubas has been known to trade away a first-round pick for more of a win-now mentality and go all-in type of trades. His first order of business will be fixing the roster as it was badly out of shape last year when the team failed to make it to the playoffs, missing the postseason for the first time in 16 years. Who would he trade the first pick for, you may ask? The first guess would be indeed acquiring goaltender Conner Hellybyuck to fix the depleted goaltending the team has been dealt with. Tristan Jarry is questionable in the playoffs, and Casey DeSmith was overworked last year. I’m not sure how much blame can be put on Casey, given that he wasn’t expected to handle a starters’ workload. If I were the GM, I would not sign Tristan Jarry and let him test the free agency market, while signing goaltender Hellybyuck to a long-term deal, with DeSmith backing him up. I would try my best to keep forward Jason Zucker for at least another year, and then see at the trade deadline if he is a good trade chip. I would also keep fourth-line forward Josh Archibald and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for depth purposes. With Kulikov being primed for more of a long-term solution to the defense’s core and depth play. Brian Dumoulin, I would attempt a sign-and-trade with a team like Washington Capitals, or the Philadelphia Flyers, who are also working on a potential rebuild around their stars. Letting the rest of the free agents walk might make somewhat of a difference, according to their contracts, but it will help positively reshape the roster, and give Kyle Dubas more breathing room to work with. Trading away a contract or two might be an option as well, but determining the players to be traded will have to be sorted out, because of contract obligations the team made prior to the Kyle Dubas era. In short, nobody is going to want Jeff Carter. Thus my Yinzers, we are in the dawn of a new era. Let's enjoy the beginning this summer, as well as the draft tonight!

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Hazem Alsahlani. Follow him on Twitter @Hazzyness When I think of sports during my lifetime, there has been one constant throughout: Stan Savran. As a kid, I spent countless evenings watching Sportsbeat, tuning into a Pens game, and then watching Hockey Hotline. Stan was the person that got you ready for the game, talked in between periods, then ended the night by analyzing the game. But the best part about Stan is that he was talking TO you, not at you. He was having a conversation with you, like you were sitting at a restaurant, rather than acting like he was better than you simply because he was on television. In fact, sometimes I looked forward to Hockey Hotline more than the game, because I wanted to hear what he had to say, and what he felt the team needed to do to win. He would always say “the Penguins need to figure out how to win games 3-2, not 7-6. In the playoffs, you win games 3-2, not 7-6!!” He was right. When Mario Lemieux shocked the hockey world and announced his comeback in December 2000, the first person everyone in Pittsburgh turned to for information and analysis was Stan Savran. I was a senior in high school. Not only did he break the news that Mario was returning, he was there each night to prepare us for the epic moments ahead. Our eyes were glued to Sportsbeat to capture the days leading up to December 27, 2000: Mario’s comeback game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Once again, it was Stan leading the pre-game, intermissions, and post-game. Unfortunately, I never had the courage to call into Stan’s show while I was in high school. Finally, during my sophomore year of college in 2003, I mustered up enough courage to call Stan on his radio show. I still remember the exact questions I had for Stan. A nervous me called in…hey Stan love the show….ummm I wanted to ask you if you think Johan Hedberg is someone the Penguins might consider trading at the deadline? What about Marty Straka? Could he be a trade target? Stan answered my questions with class and courtesy, which made it easier for me to call in or write his show in the future. His impact on my sports fandom growing up was immense. For me to remember a question I called him about 20 years ago shows how engaged he was with people like me across Western Pennsylvania. What is perhaps even more interesting is that Stan did more than hockey. He hosted the Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin press conferences, the Pirates pre and post-game shows, and hosted a daily radio show. Throughout that time, I cannot recall a time where Stan was rude, belligerent, or insulting to his listeners. His work ethic was unmatched and his ability to connect with listeners was remarkable. When Stan passed away, I felt like part of my upbringing was gone. There will be no more evenings watching Sportsbeat or Hockey Hotline. No more Stan and Guy together, no more afternoon radio shows that focus on substance rather than silliness. Despite losing a Pittsburgh sports legend, I choose to remember the good moments: Stan and Guy’s summer porch tour, Sports Beat mock NFL draft, Hockey Hotline, and Sportsbeat on KBL from 6:30pm – 7:30pm every weeknight. Those were the days!! On behalf of thousands of people just like me, who are probably now in their 30s and 40s, I want to say thank you Stan. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Thank you for being a staple of my sports watching for nearly 35 years. I loved every show! May God rest your soul. Gone but not forgotten.