The Pittsburgh Penguins picked up two bitchin’ forwards this offseason: Alex Galchenyuk and Brandon Tanev. Pittsburgh picked up Galchenyuk (and Pierre-Olivier Joseph) via Trade with Arizona in exchange for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a 2021 4th Round Pick. Tanev signed with the Penguins on July 1st for 6-years with a $3,500,000 AAV per season.
The Penguins have placed the two new guys on a line with Evgeni Malkin, team’s A and leader. And it is going swimmingly. There has one been only good things said between the three.
Coach Mike Sullivan, who led the Pens to two Stanley Cups, said:
“We were real familiar with [Tanev’s] game before we acquired him. One of the things we liked was he has a real good, conscientious 200-foot game. He could be a guy that could be complementary of Geno and Alex. We thought we’d try him (there) at training camp.” (x)
Last season, Galchenyuk finished with 41 points in 71 games, Tanev closed the season with 29 points in 80 games, and Malkin finished with 72 points in 68 games.
This is a great first step for the Pens after a disappointing end to last season. They’ve got chemistry built within the first few meetings and hopefully, the coaching staff can keep this group together to let them grow.
I wrote recently about Malkin and how he is going to have a comeback season. Two fresh wingers can be the key to success.
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