Pittsburgh Penguins Permit Jim Rutherford To Interview Elsewhere
If there was a free agent market for front office executives, a Hall of Famer just became a UFA. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins have given teams permission to speak with Jim Rutherford before his contract expires later this month. As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday, there are no current general manager vacancies in the league, but Rutherford could be a fit in a different role.
After resigning from his position with the Penguins earlier this year, Rutherford’s name has been routinely brought up by insiders speculating on his next move. It has always seemed likely that he would return in some fashion, though it’s not clear if he’ll be taking over the day-to-day work of a GM or joining an organization in a president role. It’s also not clear which teams have spoken to him at this point.
Even if you disagree with some of his moves, it’s hard to see Rutherford as anything other than a legend in the sport. A three-time Stanley Cup winner as an executive, he has been a GM in the league since 1994. Known as a risktaker and willing trade partner, there have been some wild deals swung by Rutherford over the years. Even some of the moves that were lambasted at first, like acquiring Mike Matheson this past offseason, end up turning out okay in the end. That’s not to say he is infallible, but a team looking for stability in its front office could do much worse than bringing in someone with decades of experience.
2021 Vezina Finalists Announced
Over the next week, the NHL will be releasing the finalists for all of the major regular season awards. First up is the Vezina Trophy, which is given to the best goaltender in the NHL and is voted on by the league’s general managers.
The finalists this season are Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights, Philipp Grubauer of the Colorado Avalanche, and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fleury, 36, has been written off several times in his long career but seems to just get better with age. He posted the best regular season of his career in 2020-21, recording a .928 save percentage while splitting the net with Robin Lehner. The tandem already won the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the league, and Fleury personally ranked among the top of almost every category. Despite winning nearly 500 games in the NHL, Fleury has never been a Vezina finalist before.
Grubauer, 29, is also a finalist for the first time. The Avalanche netminder posted a .922 save percentage in 40 appearances, leading the league in shutouts with seven. His record was impeccable, losing only nine games in regulation all season. Though Grubauer has put up numbers like this before, he has never carried a heavier workload. His career to this point may be easy to overlook, but among goaltenders with at least 200 starts, Grubauer’s .920 save percentage would put him fifth all-time.
The two new finalists will have to slay a giant if they want the award though, as Vasilevskiy is back again. The Lightning goaltender has been a Vezina finalist for four consecutive seasons, winning the award in 2019. For the fourth year in a row, he had led the NHL in wins, this time taking home 31 of his 42 appearances. His .925 save percentage matched his career-high (the number that won him the Vezina) and his goals-against average dropped even further. Even though he’s only 26, it seems clear that Vasilevskiy is destined to go down as one of the best goaltenders the NHL has ever seen.
Kenny Agostino Signs In KHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a long list of forwards hitting unrestricted free agency this summer, but at least one of them won’t be returning. Kenny Agostino has signed a contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL after spending most of the last two seasons in the minor leagues.
Agostino, 29, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Maple Leafs in 2019, likely believing he’d be an often-used injury replacement after playing 63 NHL games the previous year. Instead, he spent the entire 2019-20 campaign in the AHL, racking up 49 points with the Toronto Marlies. This season was much of the same, though Agostino did receive one game with the Maple Leafs where he went scoreless. In 22 AHL contests, he continued his career point-per-game pace, scoring nine goals and 22 points.
With 30 points in 85 career NHL games and a 30th birthday that doesn’t come until next year, one might have expected Agostino to search for another job in North America. Instead, he’ll head overseas to test himself at the KHL level. While obviously nothing is guaranteed, the veteran forward is certainly talented enough to be a star in Russia.
Ryan Reaves Suspended Two Games
The Department of Player Safety has decided on a two-game suspension for Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves. The suspension comes after Reaves was given a match penalty last night for his actions in the third period, kneeling on the head of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that this incident is retaliation for an earlier hit that Graves threw on Golden Knights’ forward Mattias Janmark, which knocked Janmark from the game. Reaves and the Golden Knights acknowledge that, angered by the earlier hit, he takes this opportunity to send a message to Graves as payback. And while some of the actions taken by Reaves could be sufficiently penalized by the on-ice officials, the totally of Reaves’ actions, combined with the game situation and the retribution involved in the play, necessitates supplementary discipline.
Reaves has been suspended twice before, with the latest coming in late-2020. He has also earned two fines, meaning there were four previous incidents considered for this discipline. Graves did not suffer a serious injury on the play.
With the Golden Knights down after game one in the series, they’ll have to find someone else to add the physicality that Reaves brings. He’ll miss the next two while serving this latest ban.
Coaching Notes: Sullivan, Ducks, Lambert
When the Pittsburgh Penguins went down in the first round, losing to the New York Islanders after a brutal game six by Tristan Jarry, the question emerged whether head coach Mike Sullivan would be back. It’s now been four straight early exits for the Penguins since their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, but Sullivan isn’t going anywhere just yet.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Sullivan will be back behind the bench next season and is a likely candidate to lead the U.S. Olympic team next year. Sullivan still has three years left on his contract, but will have to perform for his new president and GM.
- The Anaheim Ducks will also bring back their head coach next season, confirming earlier this month that Dallas Eakins is staying. That doesn’t mean there won’t be change though, as Friedman notes that the Ducks are looking to mix up their assistant coaches.
- One name that continues to come up in regards to coaching searches is Lane Lambert of the New York Islanders, including for the Arizona Coyotes according to Friedman. Lambert is off-limits for as long as the Islanders continue to battle in the postseason, meaning if a team is really interested in interviewing him they’ll have to put their search on hold.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/31/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in the COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Colorado – Jayson Megna
Vegas – Brayden McNabb
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
Still no changes today, meaning McNabb is still unavailable to the Golden Knights. The defenseman has now been on the list for six days. The team has today and tomorrow off before resuming their series against the Avalanche, but it is unclear if McNabb will be removed by game two.
Vegas Golden Knights Sign Mason Primeau
There’s another Primeau on the way. The Vegas Golden Knights have signed Mason Primeau to a three-year, entry-level contract that will begin in 2021-22. The young forward split the season playing for the Henderson Silver Knights and Fort Wayne Komets, waiting for the OHL to return to action.
Primeau, 19, was the Golden Knights’ fifth-round pick in 2019 and would have become an unrestricted free agent if not signed by tomorrow’s deadline. He comes from a very established hockey family as the son of Wayne Primeau, nephew of Keith Primeau, and cousin of Cayden Primeau.
Like his dad and uncle, Primeau is a big, physical center that uses a 6’6″ frame to protect the puck or remove it from a defender. While he has never really broken out offensively with a career-high of just 33 points in the OHL, his physicality, defensive ability, pedigree, and leadership still make him an interesting prospect to follow. In ten games for the Silver Knights this season, he registered three points but is still looking for his first goal at that level.
Because he will turn 20 later this summer, Primeau will not be forced back to the OHL next season and can stay with the Silver Knights for 2021-22.
Prospect Notes: Plasek, Walli Walterholm, Westerlund
There are more than two dozen prospects that will see their draft rights expire if not signed by tomorrow afternoon, but for some of them the decision is already made. The Vancouver Canucks for instance are expected to sign Karel Plasek according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Drance notes that it’s Plasek’s hockey IQ that the team believes in and wants him to join their AHL team in Abbotsford next season.
The 20-year-old forward had six goals and ten points in 44 games with Brno Kometa this season and is two years removed from going 175th overall in the 2019 draft.
- Not everyone is signing though, as Craig Morgan of AZ Hockey Now reports that Erik Walli Walterholm will not ink a deal with the Arizona Coyotes. Walli Walterholm was a seventh-round pick in 2017 and has experience at the SHL level, but played this season in the Swedish second tier. Though he scored just 14 points during the regular season, the 22-year-old forward turned things around in the playoffs, recording nine points in 15 games for Timra.
- Perhaps more significant is the news on teammate Filip Westerlund, the Coyotes’ second-round pick, 44th overall in 2017. Morgan reports that he is also not expected to sign, making him a free agent. The 22-year-old defenseman had 21 points in 52 games during the regular season and was once regarded as a top prospect, even ranked 15th among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting in 2017. Of the nine players selected by the Coyotes that year, only two—Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Mackenzie Entwistle—have played in the NHL, but neither for Arizona.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Wyatt Newpower
The Detroit Red Wings have snapped up a prospect from under a division rival’s nose, signing Wyatt Newpower to a two-year entry-level contract. Newpower spent this season playing with the Clevland Monsters, AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets on a minor league contract. The Blue Jackets of course were only division mates of the Red Wings for this season, but it still is interesting to see the young defenseman jump to another organization.
Newpower, 23, was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of Connecticut, where he spent four seasons prior to this year. In his senior year the 6’4″ defenseman posted 22 points, a strong offensive performance that carried over to his first season of professional hockey. In 24 games for the Monsters, Newpower scored three goals and 10 points, finishing first on the team at +10.
It’s not like this is a dramatic signing that brings in an impact player for the Red Wings, but it’s clear that GM Steve Yzerman is willing to look just about anywhere to add talent and depth to the organization. At worst, Newpower can continue to develop and be a strong contributor for the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Ryan Reaves To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
With the match penalty that was given to Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in last night’s game for kneeling on the head of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves comes an automatic review from the Department of Player Safety. The incident has risen to the level of supplementary discipline and Reaves will have a hearing with the league today. Of note, it does not appear to be an in-person hearing, meaning Reaves will not face a suspension greater than five games.
The incident occurred in a game that was already basically over, with Colorado holding a 6-1 lead in game one of the second-round matchup. Reaves first contacted Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer, which drew a scrum, with Graves falling to the ice. Reaves appeared to force his knee down onto Graves’ head and was given a match penalty for intent to injure and two roughing penalties. The result of the incident, which included several other penalized players, was a nine-minute powerplay for the Avalanche in the third period.
Notably, Graves did not suffer a serious injury on the play. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog believes that wasn’t for a lack of trying, telling the media including Peter Baugh of The Athletic that Reaves is “on a mission to go out there and hurt someone in the third. That’s what he does.” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar wasn’t quite as convinced, telling Baugh “I don’t think he’s out there trying to injure people on purpose” but suggested that the incident was “out of the context of the game” at that point.
Reaves was suspended in September of last year for a check to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Tyler Motte. He was also suspended three games in 2016 for boarding Matt Tennyson, then of the San Jose Sharks.