Jonathan Bombulie stories, Page 12

This isn’t the kind of thing a general manager would trumpet about the marquee piece he just acquired in a deal for a three-time all-star winger, but it’s something Jim Rutherford easily could have said when he picked up Alex Galchenyuk in the Phil Kessel deal in June. Galchenyuk is...

Assessing the game of 25-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins winger Dominik Simon is as simple as can be. There’s one big plus: The Penguins score goals more frequently when he’s on the ice than when he’s not. There’s one big minus: He’s almost never the one actually putting the puck in the...

In the weeks immediately following a humiliating first-round playoff ouster, Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin took a tremendous amount of heat. Perhaps the intensity of the flames — the ones that suggested he could be traded as Penguins management mulled how dramatically it would alter the team’s roster — was...

Beat writer Jonathan Bombulie has compiled a countdown of the top 15 Pittsburgh Penguins players of the 2010s. Follow the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long....

The Pittsburgh Penguins added to their prospect pool on defense Thursday, signing John Marino to a two-year entry-level contract. The Penguins acquired Marino from the Edmonton Oilers last month in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft. If Marino signed with the Penguins before the draft, the...

By the time he was 18, Sidney Crosby was already a world-class NHL player. A world-class pet owner? Not as much. During an appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, a Barstool Sports production hosted by former Pittsburgh Penguins players Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Whitney, Crosby told a story from his...

Given his resume and reputation in the hockey world, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant general manager Bill Guerin is likely to land an NHL GM job some day. The only question is whether some day is now. According to a report by Michael Russo of The Athletic in Minnesota, Guerin interviewed Monday...

According to Vegas odds, there are 10 teams with a better chance of being 2020 Stanley Cup champions than the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to NBC, the list of teams that could be NHL ratings champions is much smaller. The Penguins will make 16 appearances on national television next season, according...

Bryan Reynolds is quickly becoming the top bright spot of the Pittsburgh Pirates season. On Monday night, Reynolds made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Mike Moustakas of a sure home run in the second inning, stealing the ball from a fan about to...

Jose Osuna continues to be the primary recipient of the at-bats opened up when the Pittsburgh Pirates sent Corey Dickerson to Philadelphia at the trade deadline and designated third baseman Jung Ho Kang for assignment. Osuna was in the starting lineup for the third time in four games Monday night...

Because they opted against holding a fire sale at the trade deadline, there aren’t a whole lot of open spaces on the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup card for young players to take. There are a couple, though, and starting pitcher Dario Agrazal occupies one. When the Pirates sent Jordan Lyles to...

On the scale of former Pittsburgh Pirates making an emotional return to PNC Park, the standing ovations Andrew McCutchen received when he came back with the San Francisco Giants last May sit at one end of the spectrum. Adeiny Hechavarria lining out to left field as a seventh-inning pinch hitter...

Sidney Crosby is the second-best center in hockey for the third straight year, according to a list compiled by the NHL Network. Crosby checked in behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid on the show “Top 20 Centers Right Now,” which premiered Sunday night. Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin was ranked 13th. Colorado’s Nathan...

The Pittsburgh Penguins will pay tribute to Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange at their third home game of the season Tuesday, Oct. 8. All fans in attendance at PPG Paints Arena will receive a bobblehead doll depicting Lange, headphones on, calling a game from a Penguins broadcast desk. The...

On the first anniversary of Chris Archer’s first start in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform, his bullpen didn’t bake him a cake. Didn’t do him any favors at all, in fact. Jeff McNeil and Wilson Ramos hit late-game home runs to turn one of Archer’s best starts in black and gold...

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Keone Kela dropped his appeal and began serving his 10-game suspension for his role in Tuesday’s brawl with the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night. Kela received the punishment for throwing in the area of the head of Reds infielder Derek Dietrich. Jose Osuna (five games), Kyle...

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chris Archer has had his share of struggles this season, coming into Saturday night’s matchup against the New York Mets with a 5.58 ERA, having allowed an NL-high 25 home runs. As he tries to get his game back on track, a quirk of scheduling has...

Clint Hurdle has been a big league manager since 2001 and is in his ninth season at the helm of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Still, he got the chance to do something Friday night he had never done in his career. He watched a game with his wife and kids. Hurdle...

Major league relief pitchers can face some pretty harrowing situations, coming into a game to face the heart of an opponent’s order with men on base, for instance. No matter the circumstance when new Pirates pitcher Parker Markel takes the mound, it won’t be the most difficult day he has...

Last summer, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie made a series of predictions leading up to the start of the 2018-19 season. Some were OK. Some were hilariously off the mark. In this series, Bombulie will explain what he was thinking and where his logic went off course. THE QUESTION Which Penguins...

During Matt Cullen’s three seasons as a player with the Pittsburgh Penguins, coach Mike Sullivan often said he considered the veteran center an extension of the coaching staff. Now, Cullen actually will be an extension of the coaching staff. Cullen, who announced his retirement after a 21-year pro career last...

Last summer, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie made a series of predictions leading up to the start of the 2018-19 season. Some were OK. Some were hilariously off the mark. In this series, Bombulie will explain what he was thinking and where his logic went off course. THE QUESTION Will Evgeni...