Pens Points: Gearing up for the start

News and notes around the Penguins with just two more sleeps until the start of the 2022-23 season.

The Pens’ had an unusual night practice starting at 6:30pm last night, as the team gears up in a game time-appropriate way at the arena. Teddy Blueger was absent from the practice, otherwise all 21 other players on the roster were there. [Twitter - Josh Getzoff]

Marcus Pettersson really wants to be a reliable guy for the Penguins this season. [Tribune Review]

Getting his family situation settled was a big reason why Jeff Petry wanted out of Montreal. He’s thrilled now with the current situation to play in Pittsburgh and be reunited with his young family. [Post-Gazette]

Josh Yohe with 10 predictions for the Pens, several of them very bold and also very positive. [The Athletic $]

The Pittsburgh Penguins and....Jonathan Toews? That’s certainly one bold prediction for this season. (Let’s aim for that OTHER Chicago franchise impending free agent icon, eh?) [Sportsnet]

Go to the home opener on Thursday night and you can get a magnetic schedule and special rally towel as part of the plans that the team has revealed. [Penguins.com]

The Lightning have issued a statement on former Penguin Ian Cole, who has now been suspended pending an investigation following allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. [NHL.com]

2022 first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky will start the season in the NHL with Montreal. [Daily Faceoff]

Former Penguins Jaromir Jagr, Bill Guerin and Bugsy (aka Ryan Malone) are among the NHL alumni who will be available in virtual form to play in this year’s NHL video game. [Daily Faceoff]

The Capitals were hit hard with waiver losses yesterday (womp womp). Brett Leason (ANA) and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (WIN) got new places to play. [Japers Rink]

Old pal Matt Murray is the opening night starter for the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night. No pressure, Muzz! [NHL.com]

Staying in Toronto, it was a PTO success story for Zach Aston-Reese, who has signed a one-year contract with the Leafs. [Pension Plan Puppets]

And in more former Penguin PTO resolutions, Derick Brassard has done it again and will stay in the league back with an old team for him in Ottawa. [NHL.com]

Friend of the blog Justin Bourne says it’s anyone’s year in the NHL this season. [Sportsnet]

Congrats to former Penguin assistant GM Patrik Allvin (now the Vancouver GM) for creating a perfect LTIR upper limit. [CapFriendly - twitter]

The Canucks were not the only ones, NHL teams maximized their LTIR viability down to almost the dollar in many cases. [Puck Pedia - twitter]

Finally, happy opening night! While there were a couple of afternoon SJ/NSH games in Europe last week, tonight is more feeling like the beginning of the season. TB/NYR is at 7:30 and VGK/LA is the late game at 10 as the league kicks off from America.