Tuesday all doubt about who would be the Penguins seventh defensemen in the long term were laid to rest. On Tuesday the Penguins signed veteran blue liner Martin Skoula who, at 29, has the skills and the talent to partially fill the void left by the departures of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi. With 185 points (41 G, 144 A) over his career he can contribute a little offensively when need be. Overall he is a good last minute addition to the club I believe although whether or not he will have the chemistry with the rest of the team and the ability to accept and play the Penguins system will remain to be seen.

The Penguins Defense is already stacked. This morning, without Skoula, the team site officially lists eight defensemen on the roster. The locks to be wearing black and Vegas Gold on opening day are Mark Eaton, Alex Goligoski, Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang, Jay McKee and Brooks Orpik as the starting six. Nathan Guenin (a Sewickley native) and Ben Lovejoy appear to have had their hopes dashed of remaining with the team due to this signing unless the Penguins decide to carry an extra defenseman on the roster, something I think is highly unlikely. As of this moment Lovejoy remains on the roster while Guenin cleared waivers and is now in Wilkes-Barre.

One thing is for certain thought, just as with last year the Penguins will have a plethora of defensemen ready to step up when the inevitable injury bug bites.

Tonight is the final home preseason game for the Pittsburgh Penguins on account of the Columbus game which was moved up to avoid the lunacy that is about to descend upon the city with the protesters and the G-20. Yes, this one I am going to since my wife and her mother went to the Columbus game while I watched Charlotte.

Now that the field has been weeded out a little bit we will get to see Malkin and some of the other starters as well as a few of the higher skilled prospects and camp attendees. Mr. Hockeyburgh 2009, Misssssster Kennedyyyyyyyy, will also be in the lineup along with Caputi who is trying to make the club out of camp.

This will be my first live scouting mission this season as, on account of work, I have not been able to make any of the open practices. I am sure that I will have some things to sat afterwards.

In other news, I’ve been looking regularly at the pictures of the construction on the new arena. Looking pretty good. I’ll have my thoughts about that up this weekend.

With the splash Chris Kunitz made and his immediate impact upon being placed along side Sidney Crosby last year after the Penguins dealt Ryan Whitney to Anaheim for him, people forget that there was another part to that deal. The other part to that deal is Eric Tangradi, a big power forward who just might be the heir apparent to play on Crosby’s wing when Bill Guerin’s one year deal expires. Sorry Billy, all good things must come to an end.

Tangradi indeed looks like a younger version of Guerin and after his performance in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 overtime preseason victory against Columbus it is easy to see why the Penguins believe he will fill that role of power forward. But can he make the big club this year? Especially considering that the Penguins have pretty much kept their Stanley Cup team from last year mostly intact and have several other prospects they have been grooming for a chance at the bigs and who appear ready to be given their chance?

Tangradi in Tuesday night’s contest recorded primary assists on both of Sidney Crosby’s goals in the third period and looked comfortable playing with the superstar center. But with Dustin Jeffrey having paid his dues in the minors and almost certain, baring a horrible camp, to make the roster, Paul Bissonnette also trying to crack the roster as well and off season acquisition Michael Rupp hanging around how much room is there for Tangradi and does it make sense to put him on the roster just so he can play sparingly on the fourth line or even be a healthy scratch on most nights? Especially if the Penguins are grooming him to play on Crosby’s wing? A position, I remind you that is currently taken by the ever physical and ever dangerous #13, Bill Guerin?

Tangradi’s chance at the big roster requires him to play nearly a flawless camp. He can certainly impress the Penguins and make any decision to send him down to Wilkes-Barre a tough one. But I for one would rather see the young kid get constant playing time with the Baby Penguins than riding the pine at the Igloo. He could certainly learn a lot by doing that but at just 20 years of age he has plenty of time ahead of him to do what many expect him to do along side of His Sidness. Chances are if he does not make the roster out of camp either an injury or someone else not playing up to snuff will make his call up to the big time pretty easy and almost assured this season.

The Penguins today assigned several players to Wilkes-Barre Scranton including:
Keven Veilleux (F)
Casey Pierro-Zabotel (F)
Aaron Boogaard (F)
Nicholas Petersen (F)
Brian Strait (D)
Alex Grant (D)
Lane Caffaro (D)
Jordan Parise (G)

They also reassigned Nathan Moon to his Junior team in Kington.

Jamie Hunt (D) was cut outright.

No real surprises here as the team rolls on into training camp.

It’s official, when the Penguins take to the ice tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets most of the roster will be names unfamiliar to Pittsburgh hockey fans and names likely to be forgotten very quickly as the Penguins will begin to soon weed down their professional roster.

According to the Penguins, this roster will skate tonight:

Forwards
Kunitz-Crosby-Tangradi
Dupuis-Staal-Fedotenko
Conner-Jeffrey-Bayda
Sill-Vitale-Godard

Defensemen
Despres-Gonchar
Eaton-Engelland
McKee-Bortuzzo

Goaltenders
Fleury
Thiessen

Many of those names will be bagging groceries some time soon as the old saying goes. What no Mr. Kennedy? Geez … glad I gave up my other ticket for tonight so that my wife can take her mother. What fun is it if I cannot cheer for Mr. Hockeyburgh and go, “Mistttttter Kennnnedyyyyyyyyy!” all night long? Sure, I could resort to yelling Dupuis name every time he touches the puck like I did last year but it just isn’t the same!

It comes as no surprise to me to see the man readers voted Mr. Hockeyburgh 2009 skating along side Evgeni Malkin with Max Talbot out of the lineup and rehabbing after his off season shoulder surgery. When the Penguins skated Sunday at the Igloo it was indeed Mister Kennedy that filled in taking reps with Malkin and Fedotenko.

His play has earned him a shot at that position. Although it is hard to argue that breaking up one of the most dominating and energy providing lines from last year’s playoffs is a wise thing to do, the fact that Pascal Dupuis is available to take his place on the wing makes it easier.

While it is certainly true that the lines to start training camp are often not the lines that start the regular season or even the lines in place a month in to the next campaign, Kennedy is capable of filling the role he needs to on Malkin’s line. I would personally prefer to have seen Bylsma putting either Jeffrey or Caputi up there first to see what they can do and leave the Staal, Kennedy, Cooke line intact but I cannot fault him for giving a guy worthy of the shot to be a top two line winger a chance at the position.

In the long run it is Talbot that is going to have to earn his spot back once he is healed because the Penguins have a lot of capable players that can take that spot and one of them is certain to impress there making it a good problem to have.