When Sidney Crosby got back into the lineup three games ago against the Islanders, he had a new winger: Egor Chinakhov.
I asked Crosby on Thursday morning about the adjustment process with Chinakhov promoted to his line, and for Crosby, that starts with Chinakhov’s speed.
“He’s really fast,” Crosby told me. “So just trying to make sure that you have the puck with speed, and try to read off him. If you’re playing with a fast guy like that, you’ve got to move your feet as well, to make sure that I’m in good places for him.”
Chinakhov has only been with the Penguins since midseason, but he’s recorded four of the top-eight fastest speeds by Penguins skaters this season, peaking at 23.63 miles per hour last month against the Hurricanes, a mark that is beaten only by Erik Karlsson‘s record of 23.74 miles per hour against the Mammoth on the same road trip.
“I think with injuries and so many different combinations that we’ve played with, I think everybody’s pretty comfortable playing wherever in the lineup,” Crosby added. “It’s good to have that versatility, and just whatever we’ve got to do combo-wise to get wins.”
MORE PENGUINS
• Ideally, forward prospect Cruz Lucius would have opted to sign with the Penguins instead of choosing to hit free agency. But that’s now a forward contract slot that the Penguins were planning on using that is now going to be open. Aidan McDonough, Atley Calvert and Gabe Klassen would be worthy candidates from Wilkes-Barre’s group currently on AHL contracts, and might be more NHL-ready. — Taylor Haase
• A few people have asked lately if Taylor Gauthier could serve as the No. 3 goaltender in the playoffs. I mean … could he? Yeah, he’s signed, and he’s having an exceptional season. But leaving Wheeling to go sit in the press box somewhere else would be his personal hell — someone in Wheeling told me the Penguins would have to “drag him kicking and screaming” to do that. The only way he comes straight up from Wheeling is if both teams are at home, one of the two goaltenders gets violently ill soon enough before game time that only he can make it to Pittsburgh to back up. Carrying around a bonus third goaltender just to scratch them isn’t normal, anyway. — Taylor Haase
• The Penguins aren’t the only team having goaltender interference challenge issues — the success rate is about 33%, down from 55% last season. One time I mentioned the challenge success rate being down league-wide to Dan Muse, and he quips, “Yeah, that’s me bringing down the average.” It’s not! The rate is down even without the Penguins’ nine failed challenges. — Taylor Haase
STEELERS
• One of the standard practices of covering the pro day circuit in years past was tracking everywhere Mike Tomlin visited. He had his standard go-to spots every year (Georgia, Ohio State, etc.), but would usually attend at least a half dozen pro days. Mike McCarthy, in his first offseason as the Steelers’ head coach, has attended just one (Georgia).
Is this because of philosophical differences? Partially, yes. McCarthy did not have a high attendance at pro days during his time in Green Bay and Dallas, though he had a higher attendance in the latter.
But the main reason why his pro day attendance has been lower is because he and the new coaching staff have been putting in hours upon hours, days upon days, weeks upon weeks of preparing for when existing players begin to arrive for the start of the voluntary offseason program on Tuesday.
McCarthy knows a head coaching change comes with huge hurdles. So, he’s been diligent in making sure all of his players are as equipped as possible in learning the playbooks, regardless of what side of the ball they play.
McCarthy did have other pro days he was scheduled to attend. And, he was looking forward to attending them. However, he did not end up making more than just the one due to the work that was being done at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. — Chris Halicke in Pittsburgh
• I can unequivocally say the Steelers were not in on Kirk Cousins. No interest there at all. Which, again, tells me they know a lot more than they’re saying regarding Aaron Rodgers’ decision. — Chris Halicke
• The latest on the Darnell Savage situation: The Steelers still anticipate signing him. There was a snag in the medical process ahead of signing. The team expects it to be done in the next couple of weeks. — Chris Halicke
• I can tell you that Omar Khan wants to acquire some draft capital for 2027. I’ve previously reported this. However, in conversations I had with several league sources at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix, finding a trade partner for those 2027 picks could be very hard to come by. Why? Because many teams, such as the Steelers, believe the 2027 quarterback class is going to be very good. Thus, teams want to hold onto as much capital as possible to make moves of their own. So, if the Steelers wind up not acquiring any 2027 picks during this year’s draft, it won’t be for lack of trying. — Chris Halicke
• While the team still doesn’t know much about Broderick Jones’ recovery, the likelihood of picking up his fifth-year option are as slim as it gets. I actually believe that if Jones didn’t have the neck issue, the team would be picking up his option. However, the neck issue has scared the team so much that it’s scared them off from picking up an option that comes with nearly $20 million guaranteed. — Chris Halicke
• I talked with a few people on the inside to see if anyone in the Steelers organization was in favor of the Browns’ proposal to have draft picks traded up to five years out. There was no support for that. It was also unpopular among teams at the NFL Annual Meeting, which is why the Browns withdrew it. — Chris Halicke
• Tight end is a position on the Steelers’ radar in this draft. However, it’s also not a position that they feel needs to be addressed early. I believe there’s a good chance they take one on Day 3 of the draft. At the end of the day, everyone loves Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington. They don’t need a high-caliber prospect there. — Chris Halicke
PIRATES
• Both Don Kelly and Tony Beasley had productive conversations with Oneil Cruz after a rough opening inning to the season in which he made two costly mistakes out in center field. Cruz was upset. He was down on himself about it. But Beasley told me that nothing was sugarcoated within the conversations that followed.
“We’re accountable,” Beasley said. “When we do things good, we praise it and when we do things not so good, we address it. That’s the only way to get better. We tackle things head-on.”
Cruz broke in on a ball off the bat of Brett Baty and lost Marcus Semien’s fly ball in the sun. Runs scored on both plays and the dominoes fell from there. Paul Skenes didn’t make it out of the first inning because of it, and the bullpen was taxed more than the Pirates would have liked on day one of the season.
“It’s not what we want, it’s not the expectation, it’s not the standard,” Beasley said. “He knows that, I know that and everybody here knows that. Our job is to serve the pitching staff and if they get contact, our job is to convert batted balls into outs. We had chances to do that and we didn’t do it in that game and it hurt us because Skenes didn’t make it through the first. If we make those plays, maybe he gets a chance to recoup and get back into it and maybe we win that game. You never know. We affect the whole sequence of how the game is going to be played, depending on how we play defense. That’s something that’s a big part of our mantra and what we do. We’re the last line of defense. We want to play 27 outs and that’s the goal every day.”
Beasley admitted he hated missing out on time with Cruz while he was participating in the World Baseball Classic. The organization was happy to see its players get the chance to represent their countries on that big stage, but Cruz didn’t get to play in the outfield and was away from Beasley for three weeks. That’s important time missed. And it’s not like there was a lot of time left in spring training when Cruz returned to Bradenton, Fla.
Beasley’s trying to make up for lost time by giving Cruz certain tasks each day in an effort to keep him engaged. He lauds the physical abilities he possesses, describing them as “off the charts.” It’s all about making sure he’s showing up for every pitch and thinking the game.
“There are certain balls that are still tough. Those backspin line drive balls, those balls that are line knuckling, those are tough balls to read for any outfielder, especially someone with not a whole ton of experience out there, as himself,” Beasley said. “He’s still kind of reacting to the big swing, break back, the recovery end. But his first step is good so far. I like his routes. His routes are good. … I’m not concerned. It’s a task that I welcome. I love the challenge because of his ability and his talent. He can be elite and that’s the goal, is to get him to an elite status defensively. He’s a game-changer player. So, I just want to make sure he’s able to fulfill his potential.” — José Negron in Pittsburgh
• Beasley will get to experience opening day in Pittsburgh as a member of the Pirates’ coaching staff for the first time in 16 years. In his own words: “It’s a good feeling. I love Pittsburgh. Most of my career was in Pittsburgh, so it’s good to be back, it’s a blessing to be back, and I think I’m back at a good time. We feel good about our group and that we’re going to do some good things this year.” — José Negron
• Ryan O’Hearn is a nine-year major-league veteran who has experienced his share of ups and downs throughout his career. That means there have been good and bad stretches, both individually and from a team perspective. Some players might find it difficult turning the page after a rough game or start to a season. In O’Hearn’s case, it’s not difficult for him to avoid overreacting or pressing the panic button six games into a 162-game season.
“I think it’s probably good for players to stay away from having those emotional reactions,” O’Hearn told me. “Just continue to lock in, flush every game, show up the next day, continue to work on your craft, try to go out and win every day. Leave the emotional reactions to the fans and the media, and that’s fine, that’s what they’re gonna do because they’re passionate. But I think the minute you take yesterday’s game into the next game, as a person actually playing the game, that’s detrimental.” — José Negron
• Braxton Ashcraft’s curveball was an effective secondary pitch last year, one that he turned to 21% of the time and limited opposing hitters to a .122 average with. It was a breaking pitch he could use late in counts and keep hitters off balance with. It was his most-used pitch in his season debut against the Reds on Monday, and it’s possible we could see him turn to it more this year, especially if he doesn’t have a feel for his bread-and-butter slider on certain days. Just another weapon that seems to be getting better for a young guy looking to make more of an impact at the big-league level. — José Negron
