Evgeni Malkin was all smiles outside of the Canucks' locker room at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday morning as he told Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet that a fitting name for his team was "Penguins West."
Geno isn't wrong. Anywhere you look at the Canucks' organization -- from the on-ice product, to management to the support staff -- there's a former Penguins connection.
The roster is full of former Penguins, with forwards Teddy Blueger and Sam Lafferty, defensemen Ian Cole and Mark Friedman, and goaltender Casey DeSmith. Thursday's game between the Penguins and Canucks will mark the first time each player except Cole has been back at PPG Paints Arena since leaving the Penguins, though Friedman won't play and DeSmith will dress as backup.
Behind the bench are more Penguins connections, with former assistant coach Tocchet leading the team. Two more former Penguins assistant coaches in Sergei Gonchar and Mike Yeo join Tocchet behind the Canucks' bench.
Former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford serves as the Canucks' president of hockey operations, and former Penguins assistant general manager Patrik Allvin is the Canucks' general manager. Scott Young, who previously served as the Penguins' director of player development, works as the director of player personnel in Vancouver. Rounding out the group of connections is former Penguins strength and conditioning coach Alex Trinca, who is the director of sports performance for the Canucks.
"It's good to be back," Tocchet said after the Canucks' morning skate on Thursday. "A lot of guys are excited to be back."
Blueger, Lafferty and DeSmith went out to dinner with a big group of their former teammates on Wednesday evening, meeting up with Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Marcus Pettersson, Jeff Carter, Tristan Jarry and Chad Ruhwedel at Il Pizzaiolo near Cranberry.
It's a weird feeling for Blueger and Lafferty as they prepare to play their former team in the city where they started their NHL careers. This is the first time Blueger has played against the Penguins since being traded to Vegas last spring. Lafferty has played against the Penguins since first being traded during the 2021-22 season just once, in Chicago with the Blackhawks in 2022. This is his first time returning to PPG Paints Arena, though.
"It'll probably be a little weird, maybe at first," Blueger said. "Spent a lot of time on the other side here in the other locker room. But I'm sure once the game starts, it's just another game."
Lafferty echoed the sentiment.
"It feels a little weird, honestly," said Lafferty. "It's such a familiar spot, and I haven't played here as an away team. I'm sure it'll feel weird, but I'm really excited for tonight. Two good teams going at it."
Both the Penguins and Canucks have been hot as of late, with identical 7-2-1 records in their last 10 games. While the Penguins are still pushing to get into a playoff position, the Canucks are one of the top teams in the league. Their 27-11-3 record gives them a .695 points percentage, good enough for third in the entire league. And the ex Penguins players have been a big part of that success.
The Canucks' tandem of Thatcher Demko and DeSmith is one of the best in the league, with their combined save percentage of .914 ranking third overall. DeSmith has appeared in 13 of Vancouver's games, posting a 7-3-2 record, 2.53 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and one shutout. That's his second-best goals-against average in his career, behind only his 2.53 average in 14 games in the 2017-18 season. That .916 save percentage is rivaled by only his previous high of .921, also set in 2017-18.
Cole has primarily been a third-pairing defenseman for Vancouver this season and has a goal and six assists in 40 games. Friedman, who was acquired by the Canucks in a training camp trade, is more so a seventh defensemen. He has only appeared in 18 games this season, recording one assist. But when he has gotten into the lineup, Tocchet's been impressed.
"I'll be honest with you, we were struggling," Tocchet told me. "We had some injuries and depth problems on defense, and he came in there. We went into Florida and won that game, played another team and beat them and Frieds was in the lineup. We needed a defenseman when Patrik (Allvin) got him. He's great in the locker room, he knows his role right now. He's added a lot of spark to our team."
TAYLOR HAASE / DKPS
Mark Friedman in the Canucks' morning skate Thursday at PPG Paints Arena
Up front, Blueger and Lafferty are in familiar bottom-six roles. Blueger has been centering the third line as of late, and Lafferty has been on the fourth line wing. Both are on track for career years. Blueger has five goals and 12 assists in 27 games after missing the start of the season due to injury. Even taking those missed games into account, he's on pace for a 43-point season in 68 games, a big leap from his previous high of 28 points in 65 games in 2021-22.
"'On pace' is kind of a tricky thing right?" Blueger said with a grin when I asked about those results. "So I wouldn't read too much into that. But I've been fortunate since I've been back (from injury), playing with (Dakota Joshua) and (Connor Garland). Those guys have been clicking really well, and for the most part it's just getting them the puck. Especially (Garland) down low, he just wants the puck. He doesn't want us near him. He wants to be able to create. (Joshua) is great at the net front, physical, big and strong. (Garland) is quick and creative and smart. Their skillsets complement each other. That's been nice to play with."
Blueger was quick to credit his linemates for that success he's had, Tocchet acknowledged the good that he's seen from Blueger this year.
"Teddy's a system guy," Tocchet said. "He's one of those guys that when a coach leaves, he's preaching what the coaches are saying. That's why we got him. His PK has really helped, and he's really solidified playing with Garland and Joshua. Those guys have been really good, especially the last 25 games. He's got some offense to his game, and he's really showed it this year."
The Canucks are Lafferty's third stop since Pittsburgh two seasons ago, after getting traded from Chicago to Toronto last season. His nine goals and nine assists in 41 games has him on pace for a 36-point season in 82 games, which would beat his previous high of 28 points over 70 games between Chicago and Toronto last season.
"It's maybe a little more consistency and knowing my process a little better," Lafferty said of what is behind that production. "We have a pretty clear system here of how we
Tocchet said that he got intel from both Mike Sullivan and Chicago's Luke Richardson when the Canucks signed Lafferty.
"He's the presence we need where a guy will go to the net," Tocchet said. "He's been getting a lot of goals around that net area, we needed those types of players. He's got nine goals right now, that's a lot of the middle driver, hanging around the net."
Tocchet said that he thinks there's a lot of similarities between the Penguins and Canucks -- working under Sullivan for a number of years has led to Tocchet adopting some of Sullivan's philosophies as his own. And even though the Penguins aren't quite where the Canucks are in the league standings, Tocchet's expecting a pretty close matchup Thursday night. He thinks the Penguins are better than their record suggests, and the captain is a big reason why.
"If you look at analytics, Pittsburgh is one of the top," Tocchet said. "They struggled a little early in the season, but they're a really strong team. Anytime you have Sidney Crosby on your team, you're always in it. He's playing outstanding hockey. From afar I watch him and marvel at how his game doesn't slip, how good he is."
