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Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Mike Sullivan

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to reward their head coach with an extension, inking Mike Sullivan for another four years. The deal will start at the end of the 2019-20 season and take him through 2023-24. GM Jim Rutherford issued a statement on his coach:

Mike has done a great job delivering four, 100-plus point seasons with our team. To win back-to-back Stanley Cups in this era speaks volumes of him as a coach. His instincts in managing the inter-workings of our team both on and off the ice has been impressive.

Sullivan was named head coach of the Penguins in 2015 after the team moved on from Mike Johnston mid-season, only to immediately lead them to a Stanley Cup after going 33-16-5 down the stretch. He’d come back the next season with an even more impressive performance, leading the Penguins to a 50-21-11 record in the regular season and a second consecutive championship. In all four years with Sullivan as head coach for at least part of the season, the Penguins have finished with at least 100 points.

Even with all that success however, there was some speculation over Sullivan’s future with the team. Reported clashes with start players like Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin along with an embarrassing exit in this year’s playoffs—the Penguins were swept out of the first round by the New York Islanders—led reporters to ask GM Jim Rutherford about his coach’s performance and future. Speaking with Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) Rutherford came to the defense of Sullivan immediately:

Personally. I believe this was the best coaching job Mike Sullivan has done since he’s been with the Penguins. The dynamic of the team this season, it was difficult for him to deal with. This team never came together. It just never did. I don’t want to get into all of the details. But Mike had to deal with a lot of different circumstances this year. He had to keep things under control. It’s impressive that he still pulled off a 100-point season.

Even with that support, Sullivan had just one year left on his contract and when the team brought in famed minor league coach Mike Vellucci recently there was talk that he might be on the hot seat. No more, as Sullivan will now have job security and a chance to take the Penguins back to the playoffs again with a different looking lineup next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Penguins To Sign Brandon Tanev To Long-Term Contract

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The Pittsburgh Penguins were not expected to be major players in free agency, but have apparently fallen in love with one particular two-way forward. TSN’s Darren Dreger initially reported the deal, and the Penguins have now confirmed the signing of Brandon Tanev to a six-year contract with a $3.5MM AAV.

That’s a significant commitment to a player who made just $1.15MM last season and whose best season was 14 goals and 29 points, but the 27-year-old provides more than offense on the ice as Tanev finished with a career-high in hits with 278. That physicality, to go with the ability to show some offense and the fact that Tanev continues to improve every year suggests that Pittsburgh believes that his best years are still to come. The hope is that Tanev can provide the team with an energy booster in the bottom-six, but who can also help those lines add some offense.

Pittsburgh likely wouldn’t have been able to make a deal like that work, but general manager Jim Rutherford freed up quite a bit of cap room in the last week by trading off defenseman Olli Maatta as well as finding a trade partner for Phil Kessel and his $8MM salary.

The Jets were thrilled with the 27-year-old’s play, but with Tanev having received quite a bit of attention on the open market, Winnipeg realized early on that they wouldn’t have enough money to keep him in the fold considering the team would already be up against the cap once the team re-signs some of their core, including Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Neal Pionk.

Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Phil Kessel To Arizona Coyotes

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have traded forward Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes, finally ending a long saga in which Pittsburgh has been trying to unload the unhappy veteran. The Penguins will send Kessel, prospect Dane Birks and a 2021 fourth-round pick to Arizona for forward Alex Galchenyuk and prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Phil Kessel for his contributions to the Penguins. He was a key component to our success in winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. We couldn’t have done it without him, and for that, we are grateful,” said Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. “With that being said, we are excited to welcome a young, skilled player in Alex, and add depth to our defense with first-round draft pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph.”

Kessel’s name has been in the news all offseason as the team is interested in moving the veteran forward and the three years remaining on his deal at $6.8MM and with some bad blood between Kessel and the Penguins, general manager Jim Rutherford was looking to move him. Rutherford said that Kessel requested to be traded several times during last season and then changed his mind, although Kessel denies that, according to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. The Penguins attempted to trade Kessel to Minnesota in May in a package that included Jason Zucker, but Kessel, who has a modified no-trade clause where he can pick eight teams that he can be traded to, rejected the deal as he had no interest in going to Minnesota. However, Kessel would be interested in going to Arizona as he has a great relationship with their coach, Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach in Pittsburgh before he took the Coyotes’ job. Tocchet was, in fact, known in Pittsburgh as the “Phil Kessel Whisperer,” and is considered the one coach who can get the most out of the veteran.

The 31-year-old Kessel is coming off a solid season in which he scored 27 goals and 82 points, which would have been tops on Arizona’s squad by 35 points as the team’s points leader was Clayton Keller, who put up 14 goals and 47 points. Kessel provides the Coyotes with a proven veteran scorer, something that was desperately needed as no one in Arizona got to 20 goals last season. In fact, Kessel has scored 291 goals in the last 10 seasons, which is only behind a handful of top players in the league, including Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Joe Pavelski. Kessel’s contract will be the second-biggest on the team behind defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Kessel also should provide some stability in the lineup as Arizona was ravaged by injuries last year. Kessel has gone nine straight seasons without having missed a regular-season game. While Kessel isn’t known for his defensive play, it evens out as Galchenyuk is considered to be just as weak defensively.

In Galchenyuk, the Penguins would still get a solid top-six forward, but at both a cheaper price tag and with less term. Galchenyuk has just one year remaining on his deal at $4.9MM, which gives the Penguins some much-needed cap room to attempt to add to a team that got swept in the first-round of the playoffs last year and have a limited time to make a Stanley Cup run as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aren’t getting any younger. The 25-year-old Galchenyuk put up 19 goals and 41 points in 72 games last season, his first in Arizona after being acquired last offseason via trade from Montreal and should become a solid winger on one of Pittsburgh’s top two lines.

The Penguins also added some young defensive depth as Joseph was Arizona’s first-round pick in 2017 and is ready to turn pro, although he will likely need at least one year in the AHL. The 19-year-old posted nine goals and 42 points for two junior squads last year. Birks is likely to even out the trade as the 23-year-old spent all of last season in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the trade. 

Latest On Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Saturday: While he can’t get confirmation from either team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes are are currently working on a Kessel deal. No word on what the deal might consist of, but Arizona is one team that Kessel would be interested in playing for as he is close to Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach for the Penguins before taking the Arizona job.

Friday: The Pittsburgh Penguins had a trade worked out earlier this month that would have seen Phil Kessel head to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. It didn’t happen because of a no-trade clause that Kessel refused to waive, something he had negotiated into his contract years ago when he first signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Exercising his clause to block a trade was well within his right, and it seemed to quiet things down for a while in regards to the Penguins. GM Jim Rutherford admitted that a Kessel trade this offseason was now unlikely, but that hasn’t stopped reports surfacing on consecutive days that the team is still trying to unload their enigmatic star.

Yesterday, Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) reported that trade talks for the Penguins were “heating up” though it wasn’t clear exactly what Rutherford was trying to accomplish, other than dealing Kessel while making the team younger and faster. Today, another detailed piece was released by Rob Rossi of The Athletic that examines exactly what has gone wrong in Pittsburgh between Kessel and the organization and how the star player is currently holding the rest of their offseason “hostage.” Rossi quotes multiple sources that feel a Kessel trade was priority number one this offseason, in order to accomplish a sort of culture reset in Pittsburgh.

The 31-year old Kessel has three years remaining on his current contract and carries a $6.8MM cap hit thanks to a portion being retained by the Maple Leafs from an earlier trade. The deal owes him even less in actual salary, and Kessel is coming off another outstanding offensive season with 82 points in 82 games. He’s also currently on an iron man streak that hasn’t seen him miss a game since the 2009-10 season. Point-per-game wingers don’t get traded very often, but a deal this summer would be the third time Kessel is traded in his career.

Still, there is the problem of a no-trade clause that lists just eight teams that the Penguins can send Kessel to without his permission. Players in that situation usually list teams that would have little interest or that would hesitate to deal in-division. Teams like Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto and Boston all seem unlikely to get into real discussions for one reason or another, meaning his list could basically be limited to just a handful of potential destinations. With Rutherford after a “hockey trade” that brings back a player (or players) that can help the Penguins immediately, a deal might be extremely hard to find.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pacific Notes: Myers, Kings Qualifying Offers, Puljujarvi, Thompson

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With reports that the Vancouver Canucks intend to focus their sites on adding a top-level defenseman in free agency, its looks like general manager Jim Benning has made it clear who is at the top of his wishlist as Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Vancouver expects to meet with unrestricted free agent Tyler Myers today, the first day teams can speak to unrestricted free agents.

Myers, who has played with the Winnipeg Jets for the past five years, is one of the top three unrestricted free agent defensemen along with Toronto’s Jake Gardiner and Montreal’s Jordie Benn. The 29-year-old could add some offense as he tallied nine goals and 31 points last season in Winnipeg. The 6-foot-8, 229-pound blueliner would give the team a solid top-four defenseman for the Canucks, who have lacked a solid top-four for years. Myers, along with a full season of 2018 first-rounder Quinn Hughes, could help bolster the team’s defense for a long time if the Canucks can convince him to sign with them.

  • The Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke reports that the Los Angeles Kings will tender qualifying offers to Alex Iafallo, Adrian Kempe, Michael Amadio, Daniel Brickley, Calvin Petersen, Sheldon Rempal and Matt Roy. No surprises there. He adds the team also does not intend to make qualifying offers to Nikita Scherbak, Alex Lintuniemi, Matteson Iacopelli and Pavel Jenys. Scherbak, who was claimed off waivers from Montreal, struggled after coming over to the Kings, while Lintuniemi has been passed by a number of Kings defenseman on their depth chart after the former second-round pick finished the season in Ontario in the AHL with a minus-30 rating.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins reports that the Edmonton Oilers haven’t had much success so far in trying to trade winger Jesse Puljujarvi, who has asked for a trade, and had been shopped at the NHL Entry Draft Friday and Saturday. Edmonton has already made it clear they do not intend to trade him away for nothing and supposedly are asking for quite a bit. Leavins writes that they did talk to Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, but he balked at the asking price, which was winger Bryan Rust. Puljujarvi, a restricted free agent, has made it clear if he isn’t traded, he will play in Europe.
  • Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs are considering Chicago Wolves head coach Rocky Thompson to join Mike Babcock’s staff this upcoming season. Thompson, who led Chicago to the Calder Cup Finals in the AHL this season, has been considered a candidate to move to the NHL. Toronto has lost two assistant coaches this offseason. D.J. Smith was hired as the Ottawa Senators head coach, while Jim Hiller left the team to join Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz with the New York Islanders. No word on whether the Vegas Golden Knights will release him from his contract.

Morning Notes: Barrie, Subban, Penguins

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For all the anticipation that the NHL Entry Draft creates, fans were left somewhat disappointed last night when not a single player was traded. All the viewers got from the floor in Vancouver was the Arizona Coyotes moving up three spots and the Philadelphia Flyers adding a second-round pick. The kind of movement that had been hinted at all day never materialized, perhaps thanks to the still-not-finalized cap ceiling. The league is expected to release the final number today, hopefully kicking the market into gear.

Nevertheless, here are some notes from last night’s show:

  • The player most rumored to be on the move yesterday may have been Tyson Barrie, who was linked several times to the Vancouver Canucks. The offensive defenseman’s name came up even more when the Colorado Avalanche selected Bowen Byram fourth overall, but GM Joe Sakic wants everyone to calm down. Sakic told A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver that there is no truth to the idea that Barrie is already traded, and Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now that the rumors are “news to him.” Even with the apparent denials, Barrie’s name will continue to float around in trade speculation until he has a new deal with the Avalanche or is moved. The 27-year old is entering the final year of his current contract and carries a $5.5MM cap hit.
  • Another defenseman drawing plenty of speculation is Nashville Predators star P.K. Subban who is apparently on the market as the team tries to clear cap space. Subban has three years remaining at a huge $9MM cap hit, but Darren Dreger of TSN suggested that the Predators may be willing to retain up to $3MM of that. If that’s true, there will likely be teams lined up to take on the Norris-winning defenseman.
  • After a disappointing season from the Pittsburgh Penguins and some frustrated comments from GM Jim Rutherford, some expected the team to make a huge move and send one of their superstar talents packing this summer. While the team did try to move Phil Kessel to the Minnesota Wild, they won’t be dangling Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang. Rutherford spoke to Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and told him it’s “highly unlikely” that either one is moved and that there was never an intention to have a ton of roster turnover in Pittsburgh.

Phil Kessel Trade Now Unlikely, Says Pittsburgh GM

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The Pittsburgh Penguins tried to trade Phil Kessel last month to the Minnesota Wild, but after the enigmatic forward wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause the deal fell apart. Now, in conversation with The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required), Penguins GM Jim Rutherford admits that Kessel will likely play for Pittsburgh next season.

Kessel, 31, has three years remaining on his contract with the Penguins but holds a no-trade clause that limits the teams he can be sent to. In fact, Kessel submits a list of just eight teams he would accept trades to, and given his history in certain markets that likely leaves only a few real options for Rutherford. With such a huge leverage advantage, it’s easy to see why the Penguins GM is resigned to having his star forward remain next year. There was no use in trading him without getting something in return, as even with his ’problem child’ persona—tenuous as that moniker may be.

Kessel is after all an incredible offensive weapon even as he enters his thirties. He recorded 82 points in 82 games last season, and now has 823 for his career through 996 regular season games. That huge total of games played comes from the face that he has now not missed a single game in nine consecutive seasons, consistency that is also valuable to a team looking to contend for the Stanley Cup.

Still, Rutherford has been clear that he intends on shaking things up in Pittsburgh this summer. While he has backed off his earlier comments about Evgeni Malkin potentially not being a core piece any longer—Rutherford tells Yohe that he “knew [Malkin] was going to be part of this team going forward”—there is still real change brewing for the team. Kessel’s nixed trade proves that, but the veteran GM will need to find another way to clear cap space and give his club a different look next season.

Snapshots: Kessel, Malmquist, Vladar

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It’s been confirmed by many sources now that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel himself nixed the proposed deal that would have sent him to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker, among other pieces. What was unclear is exactly why. Kessel is a native of nearby Wisconsin and played his college hockey for the University of Minnesota. It would seem that the Wild would have been a nice fit for the veteran scorer. However, as noted by the Athletic’s Michael Russo, Kessel’s reasoning for turning down the destination is quite simple: he doesn’t think the team is a contender. In fact, after talking to those close to Kessel, Russo phrases it as Kessel didn’t think the team was even “close to contending”. GM Paul Fenton certainly left a mark in his first season at the helm, trading away established veterans Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, and Nino Niederreiter and on paper the team does look to be in more of a rebuild than a title window. Fenton reportedly called Kessel to try to change his mind, but to no avail. Kessel will be 32 next season and has already showed signs of slowing down, so the star winger apparently has his sights set on competing for more Stanley Cups before his playing days are over. That could make the prospect of dealing him that much harder for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, further limiting Kessel’s trade options to contenders on his eight-team trade list that have both the means and interest in acquiring him. Meanwhile, Fenton and the Wild have to hope that other prominent players, free agents or trade targets, don’t share in Kessel’s pessimistic outlook on the team’s chances or they may have a hard time improving this off-season.

  • Kessel’s home of Madison, Wisconsin is set to see another promising player make his way into town in a couple of years. Liam Malmquist, a standout high school forward from Edina, Minnesota, has announced his commitment to play his college hockey for the University of Wisconsin. However, Malmquist will not join the Badgers until 2020-21 and will play next season for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, the team announced today. Malmquist, 18, is an undersized scoring forward, whose lack of stature and relatively weak competition level likely kept him off the radar of NHL team’s in his first time through the draft last year. However, after recording 52 points in 24 games this year, he’s entered the conversation as a possible late-round overage waiver this June. Malmquist’s older brother, Dylan Malmquist, remains unsigned but just wrapped up a strong collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame. Even if Malmquist is not drafted, he can stay in the pro picture if he is able to replicate or top his brother’s numbers while at Wisconsin. He should be surrounded by plenty of talent too, as Malmquist joins a talented Badgers team that will add top 2019 prospects Alex Turcotte, Cole Caufield, Ryder Donovan, and Owen Lindmark, as well as intriguing 2020 name Dylan Holloway next season and another top 2020 prospect in Tanner Latsch the year after.
  • The Boston Bruins have already lost forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and defenseman Emil Johansson to Europe this off-season – even though the team’s off-season has yet to begin – and for the good of their minor league depth hope to avoid any other such losses. However, it is worth noting that AHL goaltender Dan Vladar was the subject of a recent trade in the KHL. Vladar’s rights were acquired by contender Lokomotiv Yaroslavl from HK Sochi in exchange for 22-year-old active KHL forward Alexander Polunin, a somewhat hefty price for just a player’s rights. There has been no word as to whether Vladar has talked about jumping overseas, prompting the trade, but it certainly shouldn’t be ruled out. Vladar, a 2015 third-round pick of the Bruins, is still only 21 but has yet to make an NHL appearance in three pro seasons. Vladar played as the Providence Bruins’ backup this season, making 31 appearances to starter Zane McIntyre’s 47. Both goalies put up just pedestrian numbers and McIntyre, a pending unrestricted free agent, is not a lock to return. With NHL backup Jaroslav Halak also signed for just one more season, it could be that Vladar remains on the fast track to start for Providence next season and one day back up Tuukka Rask. One would think that position would keep the young net minder stateside. However, he now faces a challenge from other promising young goalies in the pipeline like Kyle Keyser and Jeremy Swayman and may no longer feel that he is guaranteed to ever see time with the Bruins. Such a mindset could see Vladar off to Russia this summer.

Metropolitan Division: Kessel, Martin, Sorokin, Lee

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Just a few days ago, it was leaked that the Pittsburgh Penguins were closing in on a deal to send veteran forward Phil Kessel to Minnesota in a four-player trade. However, that trade hasn’t happened yet, suggesting that Kessel, who has can choose eight teams that he cannot reject a trade to, isn’t interested in playing for the Wild.

This complication could be a major issue for Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, according to The Athletic’s Rob Rossi (subscription required), whose goal was to move Kessel and free up some cap room as early as possible, so the team could begin reshaping its roster. Once that deal was done, Rutherford could concentrate on his checklist that includes finalizing a new contract for goaltender Matt Murray, smoothing things over with Evgeni Malkin, working towards adding more youth throughout its franchise and possibly adding more picks in the early portion of the upcoming draft.

Yet, with Kessel flashing an unwillingness to be cooperative in where he gets traded, Rutherford’s job has gotten quite a bit harder. Rossi points out that Kessel’s value takes a big hit if he has little control on where Kessel goes, which could limit the team’s ability to cut salary this offseason. On top of that, now that everyone knows that Rutherford wants to move Kessel out, it will even be harder to get a good trade in the future.

  • Sticking with the Penguins, TribLive’s Jonathan Bombulie reports that after not getting the head coaching position with the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin will return for a fifth season with the Penguins. That’s good news for Pittsburgh, as he was critical in running the team’s defense and penalty kill. Martin lost out on the Ottawa job to Toronto assistant coach D.J. Smith, while Buffalo hired Ralph Krueger.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that it doesn’t look like the New York Islanders will be signing goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin out of the KHL this season. The team had hoped that Sorokin would buy out his final season of his KHL contract after he led his team to the Gagarin Cup Championships this year and come over to New York a year early. However, Staple writes that the 23-year-old netminder, who posted a 1.16 GAA and a .940 save percentage in the regular season for CSKA Moscow and was equally good in the playoffs, has chosen to finish out his contract, so the earliest New York would see him was the 2020-21 season.
  • The New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis writes that now the New York Islanders have locked up center Brock Nelson to a six-year, $36MM deal, the team must now focus their attention on captain Anders Lee, who is rumored to be seeking a seven-year deal at $7MM per season. That may be too much for general manager Lou Lamoriello, but at the same time would leave a huge hole in their lineup if they let him walk, leaving Lamoriello with the task of replacing him with either Jordan Eberle or another underwhelming option.

 

Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Chad Ruhwedel

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The Pittsburgh Penguins may have a logjam on the blue line as it is, but that won’t stop GM Jim Rutherford from keeping one of his favorite players around. The Penguins have announced a new two-year, one-way deal with defenseman Chad Ruhwedel. The contract carries a minimum $700K AAV.

Ruhwedel, 29, arrived in Pittsburgh in 2016 as a free agent and took on a surprisingly large role for the Penguins as a primary depth option in the regular season and postseason en route to a Stanley Cup title. He played even more last year, skating in a career-high 44 games and starting in the playoffs. However, his career trend went in the opposite direction this season, as Ruhwedel spent almost the whole season in the press box, playing in just 18 games with Pittsburgh and five with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Even in a reduced role, Rutherford and head coach Mike Sullivan were consistent in their praise for Ruhwedel as a reliable depth player and positive locker room influence. In the team’s release detailing the new contract, Rutherford said the following of his extended defender:

Chad has exemplified what it means to be a team player the past two years. His work ethic and conditioning have allowed him to jump into the lineup at a moment’s notice, which is vital to a team’s success.

Ruhwedel was unlikely to land anything other than a minimum contract on the free agent market, so it makes sense that he chooses to return to Pittsburgh where he is comfortable and where he has found success. More likely than not, Ruhwedel will have to clear waivers at some point this season, as the Penguins are well-stocked on the back end. Barring a trade, Ruhwedel joins Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz, Olli Maatta, Erik Gudbranson, and Jack Johnson on one-way contracts, with Marcus Pettersson and Juuso Riikola in need of a new contracts as restricted free agents. The renewal of Ruhwedal does improve the odds that a defenseman is dealt out of Pittsburgh, though.

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