A slow news cycle did not accompany Sam Girard’s first day with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After trading for the 27-year-old defenseman Tuesday, the Penguins announced Wednesday that captain Sidney Crosby would be sidelined for at least four weeks as a result of an injury suffered during the Milano Cortina Olympics.
Nonetheless, Girard, who made his practice debut with the Penguins on Wednesday after arriving from the Colorado Avalanche, got down to business with his new team.
“I had a great time in Colorado, but I’m very excited for a new start here,” Girard said. “Great team, good stuff has happened here, good organization, so very happy and very excited.”
Girard’s arrival in Pittsburgh coincided with fellow defenseman Kris Letang’s return from injured reserve. Letang missed the Penguins’ final four contests leading into the Olympic break with a foot fracture.
Coach Dan Muse deployed Girard next to Letang to form the Penguins’ second defensive pairing. Before missing time due to injury, Letang had been skating with Brett Kulak, who was shipped to the Avalanche in exchange for Girard and a second-round draft pick in 2028.
“He’s a really good puck mover,” Muse said of Girard. “Great at just going back and a deceptive skater, too. He can break pressure there with his skating. At the blue line, same thing. He’s a guy who’s got a different type of offense there in terms of the (puck) movement.
“I think (he) probably doesn’t get enough credit for how he defends. He does a really good job. … He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he defends really well with his brain, he anticipates and has really good stick detail.”
The 5-foot-10, left-shooting Girard joins Pittsburgh after spending the past nine seasons in Colorado, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Originally selected by the Nashville Predators in the second round (No. 47 overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Girard played five games for that club before being traded to Colorado in November of 2017.
From there, he went on to play 583 games and has scored a total of 37 goals with 198 assists in his NHL career.
At the time of his trade, Girard had appeared in 40 contests, scoring three goals with nine assists while averaging 17 minutes, 41 seconds of nightly ice time. In October and November, he was sidelined for 15 games due to an undisclosed injury.
Statistically, his most impactful campaign came in 2022-23, when he had six goals and 31 assists over 76 games.
In six of his nine seasons with Colorado, Girard contributed at least 21 assists.
“I think I’m very good at getting the puck out of the zone,” Girard said. “I think that’s my first quality. Obviously, using my feet, got some good speed so I think I can bring some offense to the team, as well. But it’s going to take a little bit to get adjusted to the system of the team. I’m just going to have to make sure I’m ready for (Thursday) night (vs. the New Jersey Devils). I’m very excited.”
With Colorado this season, Girard paired mainly with Sam Malinski. From 2023-24 to 2024-25, his on-ice partner was mostly veteran Josh Manson.
Additional past partnerships included eventual two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, fourth overall draft pick (2019) Bowen Byram, Devin Toews and Erik Johnson.
One familiar face Girard reunited with in Pittsburgh was defenseman Ryan Graves, with whom he played in Colorado for parts of three seasons.
“He creates a lot of space with his feet and is hard to contain,” Graves said. “Obviously, an undersized guy, but is good defensively despite that. He creates a lot of offense. … He’s so shifty and the puck’s so close to him all the time because of that small stick. He can possess it in a really good way. Happy to have him.”
In November of 2023, Girard navigated what had to have been among the most significant challenges in both his professional and personal life by entering the NHL Player Assistance Program.
Following a step away from the Avalanche for personal reasons, Girard decided to seek help for “severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse,” per a statement released at the time by his agency, CAA.
After entering the NHL Player Assistance Program on Nov. 24, he was cleared to resume practicing with the Avalanche on Dec. 22 and went on to play in 44 games for the remainder of the season.
“It was just to be a better person, to be honest,” Girard said. “I think of myself as more. That’s why I went there. I was not going in the right direction and that’s why I took the decision of going there.”
Over two years later, Girard knows he made the right call to seek help.
“I feel very good about it,” Girard said. “Feel great. Sometimes you need a little change and that’s what I needed. I’m happy that I went through what I went through. I’m a better person today.”
Note: Penguins winger Egor Chinakhov was absent from practice Wednesday to attend to his wife, who gave birth to a daughter. Per Muse, Chinakhov, who has eight goals and four assists over 18 games with the Penguins, will be available Thursday night at home vs. New Jersey.