Checking in on Penguins-related NHL news

Kyle Dubas and the Penguins have been relatively quiet lately, so let’s check in on some news hits involving Pittsburgh friends, rivals and alumni across the league.

Evgeny Kuznetsov wants out of Washington... Kuznetsov, the man who destroyed the Penguins’ hope of a championship three-peat in 2018 with his Game 6 overtime goal, has requested a trade from the Washington Capitals, washingtoncaps.com’s Mike Vogel confirmed Thursday. That doesn’t mean he’ll be gone right away, especially given the flat salary cap heading into next season and the fact that the Caps are reluctant to retain any of Kuznetsov’s $7.8 million cap hit, Vogel said.

Friction between the Capitals and Kuznetsov has been rumored since he was benched for disciplinary seasons in 2021. Reports of Kuznetsov requesting a trade first surfaced on Russian news outlets in March, per RMNB’s Chris Cerullo. Last season, Kuznetsov ranked third on the Capitals roster with 55 points, although he was relatively quiet against the Pens with two assists in three rivalry games.

Arizona Coyotes terminate Alex Galchenyuk’s contract... Galchenyuk, who played 45 games for the Penguins during the 2019-20 season, was placed on unconditional waivers by the Coyotes Thursday with the purpose of terminating his contract. The forward was arrested on July 9 for charges including “a private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest and threatening or intimidating,” the Scottsdale Police Department told The Athletic’s Katie Strang. No one was hurt in the hit and run, Strang reported.

The Coyotes signed Galchenyuk to a one-year, $775,000-contract July 1. Since his stint with the Penguins, Galchenyuk has skated for the Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche. He has not played more than one season with the same team. It’s been a disappointing few seasons for the former third overall pick.

Tony DeAngelo hits the free market... DeAngelo became the first NHL player in history to be bought out more than once, per CapFriendly, when the Philadelphia Flyers placed him on unconditional waivers Friday.

That could be bad news for the Penguins because of what it means for the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina started working with the Flyers with a trade for DeAngelo back in June, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Did the Hurricanes end up not completing the deal because they decided against adding player with a history of clashing with teammates, or did they decide not to pursue DeAngelo in order to add another defenseman— say, Erik Karlsson?

Friedman said Monday that Karlsson will be “likely traded” to either the Hurricanes or the Penguins after his 101-point 2022-23 campaign. Pens fans in favor of acquiring the veteran defenseman will hope the DeAngelo trade fizzling out does not mean Carolina is closer to winning that race.