Break thoughts on Erik Karlsson, Philip Tomasino and more

Christmas break thoughts

Following in Gretz’s footsteps from yesterday, some random Christmas break thoughts of my own...

Karlsson has motivation

Everyone’s got an Erik Karlsson prediction, and seeing this at The Athletic about the 4 Nations made me go hmm..

Can Erik Karlsson still dial it up?

His days as one of Sweden’s best defensemen are probably over, but the tournament could still be an indicator of what Karlsson is (or isn’t) capable of at this point in his career. Part of the reason Pittsburgh acquired him in the summer of 2023 was the possibility that his presence as a play-driver could make up for a lackluster bottom six. The results have been… mixed, let’s say, and he’s likely to be tasked with something similar in February. If he can pull it off, he’ll solve one of Sweden’s biggest issues and change that roster’s calculus moving forward.

It’s no secret that Karlsson has struggled, even to the point of a former Team Sweden coach going out and pretty viciously laying into Karlsson’s “shortcomings”. Pro athletes — especially ones good enough to win the Norris trophy three times — are nothing if but prideful, and now we’ll see what Karlsson might have to stop some critics.

In fact, I’m not so sure we’re not already seeing it. Since the Pens’ big turnaround on Nov. 27th, Karlsson has been on ice for 18 5v5 goals for to just nine against, while leading the team by wide margins in time on ice, scoring chances, expected goals and all that jazz. Karlsson’s got 1G+11A in the 13 games of this span.

To some Erik Karlsson will never shake the reputation of the guy who came in when the bottom was falling out and isn’t of the style or at his peak while having a large contract. All of those things are true. But don’t risk dying on the hill to not see recent results as well as the huge motivation Karlsson should have to tune his game up for February and the 4 Nations tournaments. There’s nothing hockey players love more than playing for their country and against the best. It’ll help the Penguins if Karlsson is gearing up for his best. He just might be.

Tomasino...shades of McCann?

Close your eyes and picture a young, offensive forward. Skill to burn, a former first round pick, has a knack for hitting the ne, but having some trouble finding a niche and moving through NHL organizations. That description applies to current day Phil Tomasino, but it also shares a lot of parallels with Jared McCann back when the Penguins got him in 2019.

Maybe it’s just because Pittsburgh isn’t blessed with a ton of young, talented wingers lately so there aren’t a ton of close comparisons available. But there might be something there for Tomasino/McCann. Granted, I’d bet against Tomasino being a 40-goal guy or routinely leading an NHL team in scoring in the future. But, hey, who knows, at this rate it’ll be nice to find out.

The best part being there’s no impending expansion draft or plodding Ron Hextall to figure out how to blow it all.

But, either way, it’s nice to see young talent get a real opportunity with the Penguins to flourish. Tomasino’s 4G+1A in 12 games don’t leap off the page, but he’s been a tremendous add for a throw-away fourth round pick. It’s nice to be on the side of the trade where Pittsburgh gets the untapped talent.

Digging a Grave(s)

Sidney Crosby made a nice gesture (no surprise) after Monday’s big win over the Flyers when he passed the player-named motivational “player of the game” helmet to fellow Nova Scotian Ryan Graves. It goes without saying that by no measure was Graves the actual player of the game, but anything for some positive reinforcement at this point isn’t a bad thing. It’s surface level at most but still interesting to see the captain give some shine and spotlight to the player on the team who has been struggling the most.

It’s still more of a “there’s no way this ends well” type vibe with Graves in the bigger picture, but it’ll be amazing in the cringe-worthy way to see what happens with Graves. Look, Ryan Shea and newly re-acquired P.O. Joseph played more ice time than Graves in the last game, it’s beyond clear the Pens would rather do almost anything but play the free agent bust for except the minimum time they have to and only when they have to.

They’re left with no choice right now that Marcus Pettersson and Owen Pickering are injured. That might not be forever, though. GM Kyle Dubas said on his podcast earlier that the news was favorable on Pettersson and he will be out 2-3 weeks (which puts a potential return date from Dec. 28 - Jan 4). Pickering is concussed and his timeline can’t be speculated, but ideally won’t be on the shelf for an indefinite time.

That makes the future for Graves that much more intriguing with Joseph back on board and if the NHL team is able to get back towards health at the same time.

Do the Pens waive someone else like Joseph or Shea and continue to string Graves along? Bite the bullet and cut Graves? Find a miracle trade?

Any and all possibilities can’t be dismissed at this point, which makes it that much more exciting. Sadly, the best case scenario and most reasonable one (Graves plays modestly well enough to be a lineup regular) has always seemed like the one that’s least likely to happen.

Organizational ups and downs

Being as 2024 is almost over, who are the biggest ups and downs within the organization lately as 2025 is about to dawn?

I’d put Tomasino and Pickering as big movers in the positive direction. If the Pens want to successfully land whatever soft relaunch/rebuild/retool and try to compete for the playoffs in the final few years here in the Crosby/Malkin days, they’re going to need these young players to become higher-end contributors. It’s probably too soon to declare complete success, but it’s looking good so far. Same goes for the 2024 second round picks in Tanner Howe and Harrison Brunicke; they’re light years away from NHL impact but impressing more and more seemingly with each passing month. Joel Blomqvist has stepped up when called upon, nothing with goalies is safe but his steady style makes him seem like as good a bet as any could be.

And who for stock down? I’d be pretty bummed 8-12 months ago to see that Jack St. Ivany and Valtteri Puustinen have both fluttered away from NHL jobs. Ditto Sam Poulin, mired as ever in some professional purgatory. Tristan Jarry, whatever happened there (nsfw). Drew O’Connor hasn’t scored in forever and hopes he might graduate into a 20+ goal guy aren’t looking too promising right now.