The Pittsburgh Penguins have already made some trades in 2024-25. The Penguins traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals not too long ago to kick off a rebuild. And Pittsburgh added young forward Philip Tomasino through a trade with the Nashville Predators. On Friday night, Tomasino made a big impact in one of his first games for his new team.
Tomasino scored his first goal for the team on Friday against the Boston Bruins. This goal stood as the game-winning marker for Pittsburgh. They went on to win 2-1 over the Bruins at TD Garden in Boston. After the game, the new Penguins forward admitted to feeling relief after finding the back of the net for the first time in 2024-25.
“I haven’t scored all year here, so definitely kind of a little bit of a relief,” Tomasino said, via NHL.com. “I thought our whole group tonight, and especially our line, I thought we were really clicking, so I thought it was only a matter of time [before] we were going to get one.”
Philip Tomasino is playing big role early in Penguins tenure
The appeal of Philip Tomasino for the Penguins is easy to see. The former Predators first-round pick showed he could contribute at the NHL level. However, he had struggled to reproduce the promising results from earlier in his career. And cutting his ice time did no favors to the 23-year-old winger.
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The Penguins believed they could get something out of him if they just gave him a chance. So far, they are giving him a shot to play near the top of their lineup. His ice time went down on Friday night, but he played over 18 minutes in his team debut on Wednesday.
Playing in the top six may be a bit of a big jump for Tomasino. But it also makes sense why Pittsburgh is giving him a shot alongside Evgeni Malkin. The future Hall of Famer could use a better quality winger on his hip. Michael Bunting is a fine player, but there is room for the team to improve in this area.
A breakout from Tomasino helps the team and Malkin individually. It likely doesn’t help them contend for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. However, Pittsburgh is looking for players who fit more on a long-term basis. Their star players are all getting toward the final days of their careers. As a result, there is more urgency for the Penguins to find young stars who can carry the torch when the current veterans hang up their skates.