Penguins This ‘n’ ‘At

Hey all. Just a brief Penguins hodgepodge from yours truly to begin your Thursday.

Yesterday, PP colleague Caleb DiNatale called my attention to a comment made by defenseman Ryan Graves in an article by Seth Rorabaugh on the Tribune Review.

In discussing his play last season, the 29-year-old blueliner remarked, “The media loves a negative story line. If you read the story lines, you’d think I had played bad every night. That’s not the case.”

Most observers agreed that Graves, our marquee free-agent signing from a year ago, endured a disappointing first season in the ‘Burgh. Coming off a strong 2022-23 campaign for the Devils (eight goals, 26 points, plus-34), he was expected to fill a top-four slot next to Kris Letang or fellow newcomer high-profile Erik Karlsson. He struggled to find a fit with both.

Indeed, his best work seemed to occur after he was demoted to the third pairing, especially when skating next to sturdy rookie Jack St. Ivany.

For the record, he experienced similar struggles his first year in New Jersey before blossoming alongside Dougie Hamilton in ’22-23.

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