Top Pittsburgh Penguins Headlines Of 2015
As the calendar changes to 2016, here's a look back at some of the top stories about the Pittsburgh Penguins last year.
Penguins Acquire David Perron
The Penguins didn't waste any time making moves in 2015. On Jan. 2, they sent a first-round pick and Rob Klinkhammer to the Edmonton Oilers for David Perron.
To date, Perron has played 80 games with the Penguins. In that time, he has scored 16 goals and added 21 assists.
The Oilers later sent that first-round pick to the New York Islanders, which was used to select Mathew Barzal 16th overall.
Penguins Add Ian Cole & Ben Lovejoy
At the Trade Deadline, the Penguins added two defensemen by shipping out two of their own.
First, the Penguins sent Robert Bortuzzo and a 2016 seventh-round pick to the Blues for Ian Cole.
Then, they made a buzzer-beating deal with the Anaheim Ducks that still has Penguins fans scratching their heads.
In that deal, the Pens sent Simon Despres to Anaheim to bring Ben Lovejoy back to Pittsburgh. Many felt that the Pens should have received something more in exchange for Despres.
Pens Bow Out In First Round
It didn't come as much of a surprise that the Penguins went out in the first round of the playoffs last year.
The team limped into the playoffs, needing a win against the Sabres on the final day of the season to secure their spot. Injuries and some mismanagement of the salary cap left the team playing shorthanded down the stretch.
Their reward for making the playoffs was to play the top-seeded New York Rangers in the opening round.
In the first two games on the road, the Pens did what they had to do by earning a split.
However, they would lose the next three games by the same 2-1 score, with the final two coming in overtime.
Penguins Up For Sale
Summer usually signifies a time of change as teams gear up for the following season. However, one change many didn't expect was the co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle exploring the sale of the team.
Lemieux, a Hall of Famer who led the franchise to consecutive Stanley Cups as a player in 1991 and 1992, and Burkle led an investment group that purchased the team out of federal bankruptcy court in 1999.
KDKA's Bob Pompeani talked to someone close to the situation who told him there has been outside interest in "getting a piece of the pie" for several years – not unlike what the Steelers went through several years ago when they expanded their ownership group.
Will a sale happen in 2016?
If it does, we're guessing it won't be to a group of Flyers fans.
Sprong Drafted
With their first pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, the Penguins drafted Daniel Sprong 46th overall.
Sprong scored 39 goals and had 88 points in 2014-15 for Charlottetown in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Sprong impressed in training camp and made the team. However, he only saw limited playing time.
In 18 games, he scored two goals. Ultimately, he was sent back to his junior team in December.
Phil Kessel Trade
The Penguins made waves this summer by acquiring sniper Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With many teams scrambling to throw money at free agents, the Penguins went all-in.
Pittsburgh sent Nick Spaling, prospects Scott Harrington and Kasperi Kapanen and their 2016 third round draft pick to Toronto for Phil Kessel, Tyler Biggs and Tim Erixon.
But wait! There's more!
Should the Penguins qualify for the playoffs this season, Toronto would also get a first round pick. Pittsburgh would also get a second-round pick in the deal.
If the Penguins miss the playoffs, the Maple Leafs would receive Pittsburgh's 2017 first round pick in exchange for their own second round pick.
If the Penguins miss the playoffs for the next two years, Toronto would receive Pittsburgh's 2017 second round pick. In this scenario, the Penguins would not get a pick back from Toronto.
In 37 games this season, Kessel has 11 goals and 10 assists.
Penguins Trade Brandon Sutter
With the addition of Kessel to the roster, the Penguins still had some more re-tooling to do.
On July 27, the Penguins made two simultaneous moves.
The first was sending Brandon Sutter and a 2016 third round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening and a 2016 second round pick.
The second was signing Eric Fehr to a three-year $6 million deal.
Both Bonino and Fehr have helped to fill out the Penguins' bottom six forward group this season.
Man Steals Puck From Little Pens Fan
Former coach Dan Bylsma made his return to Pittsburgh as the coach of the Buffalo Sabres in October.
Bylsma attempted to flip a puck to 8-year-old Trey Dopson, but another "gentleman" intercepted the pass and pocketed the puck. He was soundly booed by the fans and eventually left his seat.
Bylsma saw what happened and wasn't done. He had an assistant come up with another puck, and motioned to Trey to come down the aisle again.
The Penguins took notice too and hooked the boy up with a Crosby jersey! In the end, Trey got two pucks, the jersey and a stick from one of the Sabres.
Crosby Lemieux Rift
When a team is struggling, as the Pens have this season, it's only natural for people to try and figure out why.
One theory that surfaced around Thanksgiving was that there was a "rift" between Crosby and Lemieux. Former Penguin Matt Barnaby was the source of the rumor.
Lemieux, uncharacteristically, quickly responded to and completely denied the report.
The response came on the team's Twitter account, saying, "Mario Lemieux on rumored 'rift' with Sidney Crosby: "It's absolutely not true. It's silly."
Pascal Dupuis Retires
Pascal Dupuis will always be a fan-favorite in Pittsburgh. That's what made it so difficult when "Duper" announced that he was retiring due to an ongoing blood clot condition.
The 36-year-old forward played 18 games this season while taking blood thinners, but the team said he experienced several medical incidents that are possibly related to the condition.
Dupuis was originally diagnosed with blood clots back in January of 2014 after suffering torn ligaments in his knee. He was then diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung in November of 2014, missing the rest of last season.
In his career, Dupuis played 15 seasons tallying 190 goals and 409 points and won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins back in 2009.
Johnston & Agnew Fired
With the team struggling to score goals and win games, the Penguins felt it was necessary to make a coaching change.
On Dec. 12, the Penguins fired Mike Johnston and assistant coach Gary Agnew.
Johnston joined the Penguins as head coach in June of 2014 and was dismissed after 115 games. Agnew was hired in July of 2014.
Mike Sullivan took over the head coaching duties after being promoted from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
At the time of his hiring, the Baby Pens were 18-5.
Jacques Martin replaced Agnew as assistant coach.
Scuderi Trade Shocker
Things tend to come in threes. That was the case in December for the Penguins. With the Dupuis news and coaching change, what would the third thing be?
How about the Penguins trading Rob Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks for Trevor Daley? The Penguins dropped the news during a 4-1 loss to the Capitals on Dec. 14.
Scuderi had looked like a shell of his former self for a while and many fans desperately wanted him to have been bought out last summer.
Additionally, the four-year $13.5 million deal he signed in 2013 was a big problem to try and dump on another team.
Because of that, the Penguins agreed to pay one-third of the remaining money to get the deal done with Chicago.
"Home Alone" Holiday Video
In what is becoming a tradition, the Penguins spoofed a classic holiday movie.
Last year, the Penguins spoofed "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." This year, they tackled "Home Alone."
Two years in a row, legendary broadcaster Mike Lange stole the show.
We can't wait to see what they come up with next year!
Hopefully, there's a cameo with the Stanley Cup!
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