Metro Notes: Bowman, Rangers, Lindberg

This morning, Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest, reports that there may be some mutual interest between front office executive Stan Bowman and the Pittsburgh Penguins. On April 14th, the Penguins fired President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke and General Manager Ron Hextall after a disappointing season.

Bowman, who recently resigned as President of Hockey Operations with the Chicago Blackhawks after the 2021-22 season, has some serious connection to the Penguins organization. His father, legendary coach Scotty Bowman, coached the Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory during the 1991-92 season.

Starting as Director of Hockey Operations with the Blackhawks ahead of the 2005-06 season, Bowman was at the head of all decision-making beginning in the 2009-10 season, when he was named General Manager in Chicago. Under his tenure, the Blackhawks would go on to win three Stanley Cups, and would routinely put on a master class in retooling his roster to stay competitive in the salary cap era.

The major sticking point with not just the Penguins, but any team beginning a relationship with Bowman, is the involvement he had in hiding information about the former video coach Brad Aldrich’s alleged sexual abuse of former player Kyle Beach. The lead investigator at the time, Reid Schar, reported that Bowman’s failure to report the abuse likely led to further abuse of the player.

Other Metro notes:

• As their season came to an end on Monday night, the New York Rangers have assigned Jonny Brodzinski, Jake Leschyshyn, Libor Hajek, and Louis Domingue to their AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack. Because their services are no longer needed for the year in the NHL, these four will undoubtedly help Hartford compete for the Calder Cup. As things stand currently, Hartford is one win away from knocking out the Providence Bruins, shortly after knocking out the Springfield Thunderbirds in the first round.
• Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports that Penguins prospect Filip Lindberg has signed a contract with TPS of the Finnish Liiga. Lindberg was originally drafted by Pittsburgh at 197th overall in the 2019 NHL draft. Dealing with injuries the last couple of years playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Lindberg finished this year with a 6-11-1 record, posting a .896 SV% and a 3.13 GAA.