Which roster players are rising and which are falling for the Penguins
The Penguins are currently enjoying a hot stretch where they are shooting 20% and their goalie is playing very well. Unfortunately, it’s come far too late in the season to change the team’s overall fortunes, but this last month of the 2024-25 campaign will have major ramifications for individuals on the bubble. While the team isn’t playing for much besides pride and trying to put a brave face on finishing up another year, there are plenty of jobs to be won (and lost) in the next few weeks for next year.
Today we take a look at some of these players that are on the level of being in make/break situations. So the focus isn’t on those under contract and in secure places on the team. The Pens might decide to trade someone like Rickard Rakell or Erik Karlsson over the summer but that would be for different reasons that the focus we’re approaching from today for players who are depending on this season to continue their careers with the Penguins moving ahead.
Trending Up
Ryan Shea — Shea’s arguably trended off this list, due to the contract extension he signed for 2025-26. He’s a player that Pittsburgh likes a lot and seems likely to have won a spot at the bottom of the roster next season. A large part of that was due to his strong play in the past few weeks.
Vladislav Kolyachonok — When Shea got hurt, Kolyachonok stepped into his spot skating big minutes with Kris Letang by default as the best last option. He’s done really well, at just 23 years old and with some nice skating ability and some decent size (6’2”, 195), it’s been a pretty decent start for him. There’s a long way to go but seeing a dozen more games will give Pittsburgh an almost 20 game sample to work with on the year.
Connor Dewar — Dewar’s got to be the poster boy of the Pens’ late-season four-game winning streak. Dewar scored exactly one goal in 54 games with Toronto (regular season and playoff) over the last 12 months and had zero goals this season — so of course he’s been able to produce three goals in his first four games with Pittsburgh. It’s been a fun ride for him and the team in the last week or so. His offense is a bubble that will burst but his style of play is helpful. He’s 25, he’s fast and he can help the bottom-six. Dewar’s game is “no bullshit” as Kris Letang so eloquently put it, and Dewar is playing himself into a contract for next season more and more with every day that passes.
Conor Timmins – Kyle Dubas got Timmins in the OHL, he got him for Toronto and now Dubas has him for Pittsburgh. Timmins is a right shot defender with size, always a valuable commodity. He’s got three points (1G+2A) in four games, while only averaging 14:20 ice time. Almost any decent defender with a pulse can flourish on Mike Sullivan’s highly protected third pair, could Timmins be a Justin Schultz situation where the Pens build up a guy who has the tools into something more than he’s been? Could be, if health permits.
Philip Tomasino — Three of Tomasino’s top-5 games for ice time have come in the month of March, including 17:57 against St. Louis. Tomasino has 10 goals on the season, which only five other current Pittsburgh forwards can say. The arrow is pointing up for his usage, the rest of this season could be an audition to see how viable he could be as a regular linemate for Evgeni Malkin on the second line.
Stock down
There’s not too many players down right now, considering the Pens are on a big winning streak. There’s also the matter that several players like Matt Nieto, Jesse Puljujarvi and Joel Blomqvist have already had their bubble’s burst and been recently removed from the roster (or the organization completely in Puljujarvi’s case) to bring some closure to their situations.
P.O. Joseph — Injured now, Joseph was playing with Letang because the Pens didn’t think they had any better options. Turns out that between Shea AND Kolyachonok they had two way better options all along. Out of a contract this summer, there’s not much reason to keep Joseph in the fold when others have stepped up and Owen Pickering is waiting in the wings. Joseph did his job to help patch a hole this season but his time in Pittsburgh probably is about to run its course for good.
Boko Imama — In some senses, simply staying on the NHL lineup and making occasional appearances is a big win for Imama. But after his big hit on Garnet Hathaway on Feb. 27th drew a penalty that nearly cost Pittsburgh the game, Imama was a healthy scratch until trades/injuries opened the door to get back into the game day lineup. Even then, he only gets a few shifts per game and fewer NHL players out there in this day and age are going to actually drop the gloves and fight him. He throws a lot of hits, works hard and tries his best to maximize his minutes but as far as long-term goes, there’s not much there. Imama was meant for a bygone era.
Emil Bemstrom — Bemstrom recorded his first NHL point of the season (an assist) in the last minute of the blowout 7-3 win over New Jersey on Saturday, but he’s hardly been visible in 10 NHL contests, playing only an average of 8:54 per game. He probably could/should be passed over by Vasily Ponomarev and it might take two weeks to notice that Bemstrom isn’t in the lineup, if one ever noticed he has been in it lately to begin with. Not a good sign and another guy likely to wash out of the organization at season’s end with the conclusion of his contract.