Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Category Archives: Pittsburgh

Tuesday Notes 11/7

Comments Off on Tuesday Notes 11/7 Posted by on November 7, 2017

A couple of small things to empty out the notebook. I don’t have a notebook, but that’s normally what the writers say when there is a few newsworthy-ish things to touch on before the next big event.

That event for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins is a Wednesday home date with the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies come in leading the North Division with a 9-3 record. They are virtually identical to the Penguins in percentage (.750), goals for (40) and goals against (Toronto has 25, the Penguins have 28) I could go deeper on this and may, but the idea is to let you know that the Marlies aren’t coming in Wednesday to be a pushover for the Penguins. They are a very good team, as are the Penguins.

The Penguins got some reinforcements back from Pittsburgh in the form of Zach Trotman Tuesday afternoon. Justin Schultz came off injured reserve and is playing Tuesday night against Arizona and scored a goal in his first shift back from his concussion.

News from Penguins practice today from Tom and Tyler:

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I asked Tyler about the option to send Taylor to Wheeling to get some reps in, but he indicated that the coaching staff is going slow with him with today only going his second full practice back.

Gameday setup for tomorrow’s matchup against the Marlies will hit the blog Wednesday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pittsburgh, WBS

Jarry Up; DeSmith Down 10/30

Comments Off on Jarry Up; DeSmith Down 10/30 Posted by on October 30, 2017

Didn’t really think this was an option, but that is what Pittsburgh did Monday evening, recalling Tristan Jarry from Wilkes-Barre and sending Casey DeSmith back down to Wilkes-Barre. 

You may see this transaction a few more times as the Penguins clearly don’t know what they want in a backup at this time. The word last week was recalling DeSmith so Jarry could get reps in Wilkes-Barre, so Jarry goes out last weekend and wins both games for the Penguins. Meanwhile Casey DeSmith was recalled on merit, didn’t get a formal start in the NHL, rather serving as a janitor last night in Pittsburgh’s blowout 7-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets where DeSmith relieved Matt Murray when the Penguins were already down in a 4-0 hole. 

Pittsburgh plays three games in four nights through Western Canada this week and may want a goaltender with a few more days of NHL experience, thus the recall of Jarry.

Who knows. Good to have DeSmith back regardless, he hasn’t seen the last of the NHL, that’s for sure.

Pittsburgh, WBS

Niemi Claimed by Florida

Comments Off on Niemi Claimed by Florida Posted by on October 24, 2017

Noon Tuesday came and went in Wilkes-Barre with the news that the Florida Panthers placed a claim on goaltender Antti Niemi.

That places the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in a bind at the backup position. What was a 1A-1B situation with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith is essentially Tristan Jarry and a gaping hole at the backup position.

Sean Maguire in Wheeling is hurt. He didn’t play in either of the Wheeling Nailers games this past weekend and didn’t even dress. Wilkes-Barre has no other goaltender under contract.

Silver lining, if there is one, is that the Penguins don’t play a three in three weekend for the foreseeable future. They are home and away this weekend with Hershey and Bridgeport respectively and are off next Saturday, November 4.

That gives the brass at Coal Street a few weeks to make a move for a backup. You have to think at this point the pool is pretty picked over, but there could be a diamond in the rough out there, somewhere.

Situation may not be permanent. Pittsburgh could still get a backup for Matt Murray and send DeSmith back to Wilkes-Barre. Florida could waive Niemi, whereby the Penguins could presumably claim him back and assign him to Wilkes-Barre.

While anything can and most likely will happen, I wouldn’t bank on that last paragraph as much.

More as it comes, if not then back here Friday for the Gameday setup against the Hershey Bears.

Pittsburgh, WBS

Shake It Up – Niemi Waived; DeSmith Recalled

2 Comments Posted by on October 23, 2017

Around noon Monday, news broke that the Pittsburgh Penguins placed backup goaltender Antti Niemi on waivers.

Niemi boasted horrible numbers while with the Pittsburgh Penguins serving as the backup to Matt Murray, posting an 0-3 record and a 7.49 goals against average and a .747 save percentage. He was just not working out for the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

So the Penguins waived him. The other 30 teams have till noon Tuesday to put a claim in on him. Question is, who? You have the Vegas Golden Knights who are without Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban right now due to injury. Does Vegas see Niemi as a viable stop gap until Subban or Fleury recover?

In a lateral move, Pittsburgh recalled Casey DeSmith from Wilkes-Barre.

For those who are thinking, “why not Tristan Jarry?” The answer is simple. DeSmith has played better.

DeSmith is 3-0 and has a .965 save percentage. He’s yet to give up a goal at even strength this year.

Jarry is 1-2 and has an .883 save percentage. He’s fighting through a slump and needs to work out of it. Recalling him to serve as backup now would shatter his confidence levels the way he’s currently playing.

So that leaves Wilkes-Barre in a bit of a bind.

Option A: Niemi clears. It’s already been said that he’d be assigned here if that happens. He comes down, finds his game, and makes Pittsburgh recall him again.

Option B: Niemi is claimed. That leaves Wilkes-Barre with a hole at the backup position. A recall from Wheeling (Sean Maguire most likely) becomes a short term solution while Coal Street attempts to swing a deal for a backup to Jarry.

We will see what happens. The situation is hardly ideal for the organization as a whole but Niemi’s play left no choice.

More Tuesday after noon, presumably.

Pittsburgh, WBS

Summers Up – No, Literally

Comments Off on Summers Up – No, Literally Posted by on October 10, 2017

With Ian Cole taking a full slap shot off of his two front teeth in Pittsburgh’s last game against Nashville on Saturday night, the Penguins today recalled D Chris Summers from Wilkes-Barre this afternoon.

In the aftermath, Cole tweeted a picture of his repairs that is as graphic as you can think of. He had swelling and is doing better than expected per Mike Sullivan.

Summers isn’t expected to play in Pittsburgh’s games in Washington Wednesday and Tampa Bay Thursday but the Penguins needed to make a recall because historically they like to roll with seven defenseman.

Summers wasn’t my first choice as a player to go up in a role of the seventh defenseman, I expected Frank Corrado to get that call. But I just blog about the team, I don’t make hockey decisions.

On Coal Street, the Penguins defense is already stretched thin with the recall of Summers. Jeff Taylor, Zach Trotman and Jarred Tinordi are all out and most likely ruled out for the weekend. The skinny on Trotman, who left the game Saturday, is that he is day to day but is unlikely to play in this weekends games. (Isn’t that week to week?) So that leaves some combination of Andrey Pedan, Ethan Prow, Kevin Czuczman, Kevin Spinozzi, Frank Corrado, Dylan Zink and Lukas Bengtsson for Clark Donatelli and his staff to choose from. With a three in three coming up for the Penguins, expect to see a recall from Wheeling at some point before Friday, one would assume.

In other news, the Colorado Eagles will become the AHL’s 31st team in 2018-19 serving as the primary affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. The Eagles are already the ECHL affiliate of the Avalanche so they are stepping up a league. They are going to play in the Pacific Division. That means you are probably going to see the Texas Stars and San Antonio Rampage head to the Central Division and most likely the Cleveland Monsters head to the Eastern Conference and the North Division. All yet to be determined, but we do know that the Eagles are coming next season and will play in the Pacific. What we don’t know is if they will play 76 like the rest of the AHL or 68 like the California teams and the Tuscon Roadrunners.

Oh, in case you were wondering what happened with the Avalanche’s current AHL affiliate the San Antonio Rampage, the St. Louis Blues announced that they have signed the Rampage up as their primary affiliate beginning in 2018-19.

Still waters run deep in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre.

More news as it comes this week, if not, check me out Friday for your Penguins / Phantoms Gameday setup.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Spinozzi Signed, Maguire to Wheeling 10/4

Comments Off on Spinozzi Signed, Maguire to Wheeling 10/4 Posted by on October 4, 2017

News dujour out of Coal Street Wednesday was news that the Penguins signed Kevin Spinozzi to a professional tryout agreement and then later in the day sent Sean Maguire to the Wheeling Nailers.

Spinozzi certainly earned the extended tryout agreement. While I don’t see him as a regular contributor to the Penguins defensive corps in the immediate future, he may play a factor when the injuries start piling up and bodies are pulled from all over the place. Obviously, Clark Donatelli and his staff saw enough of Spinozzi to offer him the tryout agreement.

Sean Maguire was sent to the Wheeling Nailers. It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when for Maguire with the tandem of Tristan Jarry / Casey DeSmith already set in goal for the Penguins. Maguire should see the majority of starts for the Nailers and be ready should his services be needed by the Penguins in the near future. 

Pittsburgh finalized its roster. Here it is:

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That does not include Andrey Pedan, who we can only assume has been assigned to Wilkes-Barre.

AHL Previews are rolling along with the Pacific, Central and North done and the Atlantic rounding things out Thursday at noon.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Derrick Pouliot Traded for Andrey Pedan; Other Stuff

Comments Off on Derrick Pouliot Traded for Andrey Pedan; Other Stuff Posted by on October 3, 2017

The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Derrick Pouliot to the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday for Andrey Pedan in a defenseman for defenseman swap. The Penguins also get a 4th round pick from the Canucks in 2018.

The Penguins weren’t going to keep experimenting with Pouliot any longer. This article from Pensblog last week explains it all and the writing was on the wall for Pouliot regarding his future with the Penguins.

Andrey Pedan heads the other way and he’s a depth defender who has already cleared waivers from Vancouver. Here is what some had to say about the Penguins newest acquisition:


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Tom weighed in on the size of the WBS blueline should Pedan make it down to Coal Street:

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Pittsburgh already has eight defensemen on the roster currently. They would need to put Patric Hornqvist on injured reserve which I think they may have already to get to the 23 man roster limit. So seemingly as soon as Hornqvist comes off IR, Pedan gets sent down, doesn’t have to clear because he cleared already, and we are ready to roll.

That is, provided there aren’t any injuries to anyone on the NHL roster in the coming days / weeks / months.

Pensblog also had a WBS Preview of sorts you can check out here. tl;dr version, Wilkes-Barre is stacked deep at all positions and is a strong Calder Cup contender.

Here are some updates from practice at Coal Street today…

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My AHL Previews have started if you haven’t seen already. I checked off the Pacific and Central Divisions so far with the North and Atlantic to come tomorrow and Wednesday. Please do check them out.

Pittsburgh, WBS

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