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Metropolitan Notes: Vrana, Penguins, Islanders, Boqvist

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While the Capitals have had preliminary discussions regarding a contract extension for winger Jakub Vrana, there isn’t any rush to get a deal done, notes Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.  The pending RFA is in the midst of a career season with 21 goals and 22 assists through 71 games, numbers that have him in line for a big raise on his current $863K cap hit on his entry-level contract.  GM Brian MacLellan has indicated in the past that he’s open to signing Vrana to a long-term extension but with a little over $70MM committed to just 14 players for next season, they may have to go with a shorter-term bridge deal to preserve some salary cap flexibility.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • The Penguins got some good news and bad news on the injury front. Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that winger Bryan Rust participated in full practice for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury late last month and that he has been upgraded to day-to-day.  Rust was supposed to be out longer-term than this so his expected availability over the next few days is certainly a positive though he isn’t playing today.  However, head coach Mike Sullivan stated that winger Zach Aston-Reese, who was listed as day-to-day, is now out for the longer term and that he is merely hopeful that the 24-year-old will be able to return this season.
  • The Islanders are set to get some help from the infirmary this weekend. Newsday’s Laura Albanese reports that goalie Robin Lehner is expected to play on Sunday while Johnny Boychuk is also likely to suit up then after missing the past week while being in concussion protocol.
  • While there was some talk that Devils prospect Jesper Boqvist could make the jump to North America with his SHL season now complete, Corey Masisak of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the forward will remain in Sweden in the hopes of landing a spot on their entry into the upcoming World Championships. Boqvist was New Jersey’s second-round pick (36th overall) back in 2017 and finished tied for 14th in SHL scoring with 35 points (13-22-35) in 51 games.

Bryan Rust, Chad Ruhwedel Out “Longer Term”

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have suffered several injuries of late, and two more names can be added to that list. Bryan Rust and Chad Ruhwedel are both out “longer term” according to head coach Mike Sullivan. Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports that Ruhwedel left the arena last night with his right arm in a sling, while Rust was on crutches with his left foot in a walking boot.

Pittsburgh went out and added Erik Gudbranson and Chris Wideman at the trade deadline this week to address other injuries on the blue line, but will feel the loss of Rust up front. The hard working forward had been playing an increased role of late and actually ranks third on the team in even-strength goals with 15. He has added two short-handed tallies for a career high of 17 on the year and is an integral part of the Penguins attack. While they obviously still have plenty of firepower with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Phil Kessel leading the way, Rust provided a level of versatility that is lacking elsewhere on the roster.

Losing two more players will hurt the team and it is no guarantee that the Penguins even make the playoffs at this point. With a quarter of the season remaining the team sits in the final wild card spot but just a single point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets who recently loaded up at the deadline. Philadelphia, Buffalo and Florida are all within ten points and chasing down the Penguins, who themselves are trying to leapfrog the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens in the standings. It will be a fight right to the end in the Eastern Conference, and the Pittsburgh depth will surely be tested now.

Injury Notes: Bruins, Capitals, Penguins, Pageau

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The Boston Bruins should get a boost just in time for the Winter Classic on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks as NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Brad Marchand should be ready to go after practicing today, barring any setbacks. He missed Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury, but it looks like it wasn’t a serious issue. Marchand is having another solid campaign as he has 12 goals and 41 points in 39 games this year.

Rosen also points out that defenseman Charlie McAvoy remains questionable for the big game. The defenseman has missed two games with a lower-body injury and did not practice today. The gifted defenseman has struggled dealing with injuries as he has appeared in just 17 games this year, although he has 11 points.

  • Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post writes that Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen will be out Monday against Nashville and miss his second straight game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. However, the team got better news on Brooks Orpik, who listed as a game-time decision for Monday after missing 27 games with a right-knee injury. The scribe writes that both players practiced Sunday and are both close to returning to the team. The team has also been without Christian Djoos.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins could be without both forward Bryan Rust and defenseman Olli Maatta on Monday as both are listed as day-to-day, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel. Rust didn’t practice today with an undisclosed injury, while Maatta suffered a lower-body injury during Saturday’s game against St. Louis, but finished the game. He didn’t practice today either.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that Ottawa Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is close to a return. While he’s not expected to play Monday, could be back not long after that. The 26-year-old has been out all season after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles muscle. He had a six-month timetable in mid-September and is well ahead of schedule. Pageau had 14 goals and 29 points last season.

Bryan Rust Re-Signs With Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have locked up one of their most versatile forwards, re-signing Bryan Rust to a four-year contract. The deal carries an average annual value of $3.5MM, and will carry Rust to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2022. Rust was scheduled to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but will now be locked into a contract with Pittsburgh until just after his 30th birthday.

Rust, 26, has moved up and down the Penguins lineup for the last few years, often riding shotgun with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. With that, he set a career-high with 38 points this season and saw the ice in every situation. A reliable defensive winger who can play both sides, he’s a useful piece for the Penguins to move around when needed. That said, this deal now brings with it some extra responsibility and expectations.

The Penguins are paying for UFA years in this contract, as Rust had just one year of restricted free agent status left and could have easily taken the team to arbitration for a hefty raise on the $640K cap hit he’s carried the last two seasons. The team is betting that he would have attracted several suitors, and offered him enough to make it worthwhile for him to sign away some of his free agent seasons. They should have a good indication of who would be interested, since they recently made Rust available in trade in at least negotiations over Max Domi. Whether GM Jim Rutherford would be open to trading Rust for other players isn’t clear, but with a cap crunch and improvements needed it would come as no surprise.

Rust’s deal leaves the Penguins with just over $5MM in projected cap space, but still some decisions to be made about roster players. Jamie Oleksiak was given a qualifying offer and is an RFA, but Riley Sheahan and Tom Kuhnhackl are both unrestricted free agents after going unqualified yesterday. The team could retain any number of them, but will have to be careful how much cap space is allocated to each. There is of course the chance that Phil Kessel and his $6.8MM cap hit is dealt in the coming weeks, but otherwise the Penguins look to be cash-strapped as free agency approaches. Rust’s deal does give them some level of cost certainty, but also complicates the cap situation for this summer.

Pittsburgh Made Rust, Sheary, Simon Available In Max Domi Negotiations

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic has some of the best sources inside the Pittsburgh Penguins, and in a piece (subscription required) detailing the potential availability of Phil Kessel this summer—something Yohe confirms is possible, though takes the Arizona Coyotes out of the running for financial reasons—he reports some of the players made available in GM Jim Rutherford’s recent pursuit of Max Domi. The Penguins were willing to talk about Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Dominik Simon, though what the exact offer for Domi was is unclear. The Coyotes would eventually trade Domi to the Montreal Canadiens instead for Alex Galchenyuk.

Rutherford is known as an executive willing to trade, and there has been no denying that he’d like to improve his club. As soon as Domi was rumored to be available many reports linked him to the Penguins, but it was never clear what kind of value the team would put on him. Now it’s clear, as all three of the mentioned players are important pieces to the Pittsburgh attack.

Rust may be the most interesting name, after a 38-point season that saw him become one of the most versatile and effective forwards on the roster.  Contributing on the powerplay and penalty kill while putting up some of the team’s best possession numbers, Rust is a perfect fit for a club that wants to spread offense across three lines. He can play both wings and has bounced between several groups over the last two seasons. He also is 26 and a restricted free agent however, meaning he’s due for a raise and is closing in on UFA status. After earning an average of $640K in each of the last two seasons, he’ll cost the Penguins a lot more this time around. Any multi-year deal is buying out unrestricted free agent years, and should send his cap hit skyrocketing despite his pedestrian goal totals.

Sheary on the other hand is already signed for two more seasons at a $3MM cap hit, but could be replaceable for the team if they can find offense somewhere else. The 25-year old saw his ice time drop to under 14 minutes a night this season and without anything to offer on the penalty kill his role is limited to an offensive presence. That point production dropped significantly from the 2016-17 season, and while Sheary still scored 18 goals this year he recorded just 30 points.

Simon lands somewhere else on the value chart, as he’s both a restricted free agent this summer and hasn’t yet shown he can handle the NHL on a full-time basis. The 23-year old was good this year in his 33-game stint, scoring 12 points and recording solid possession numbers, but with just 38 NHL games under his belt since being drafted in 2015 it’s not clear yet what he can really become.

When presented with the choice of these players or Galchenyuk, it makes sense that Arizona would take Montreal’s offer. We don’t know though how the negotiations took place exactly, and instead can only take from this report that the Penguins would be willing to move each of the three for the right return. While that’s not very surprising given their GM’s propensity for trade, it gives us an idea of what to expect from Pittsburgh in the coming weeks.

Rutherford Eyeing Trade Market To Improve Penguins

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Changes are coming in Pittsburgh this off-season, but GM Jim Rutherford is “not even really thinking about free agency right now”. Speaking with Josh Yohe of the Athletic, Rutherford admits that “we won’t really have the cap space to do anything anyway. We’re going to re-sign some of our restricted free agents. And at that point, we’re around the cap.” The Penguins need to re-sign RFA’s Bryan Rust, Riley Sheahan, Daniel Sprong, Jamie Oleksiak and more and even with the expected increase to the salary cap limit will only have $8-12MM maximum to work with. The team could make a couple additional minor moves here and there on the unrestricted free agent market, but Rutherford is correct that team is strapped for the cap space to make any significant signings this summer, at least as things stand now.

As a result, it is the trade market that Rutherford is more interested in. The team has already stated that they don’t plan to buy out any of their current players, but they could look to move them via trade. Atop that list are likely wingers Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick. In fact, the blue line appears to be the most likely area for a player to be traded away, as the team enters next season with six veterans under contract and Oleksiak and Frank Corrado as restricted free agents. Rutherford stated to Yohe that defenseman Brian Dumoulin is the most untouchable player on the back end due to his invaluable defensive play, and also expressed his fondness for Oleksiak and Olli Maatta as well. Rutherford said that the front office is optimistic that Kris Letang and Hunwick will perform better next year and were happy with the play of Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel as they made up for Letang’s and Hunwick’s shortcomings respectively this season. However, Rutherford added that his comfort with this group doesn’t mean that won’t make a change.

The goal in making any deal is to improve the depth and youth of the Penguins’ forward corps. This explains why the team was connected to Max Domi recently, before he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens last week. The team is seeking versatility and upside up front and are willing to move substantial assets to get it, but Rutherford wasn’t willing to part with the Alex Galchenyuk-level ask from the Arizona Coyotes for Domi. Rutherford knows that even if he does nothing this summer, Pittsburgh will still be a contender, and as such he does not need to overpay in any trade. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not going anywhere and Rutherford has already confirmed that he is not shopping Phil Kessel. It’s safe to assume that young winger Jake Guentzel and new acquisition Derick Brassard are also safe. That is already shaping up to be a solid group yet again and the internal addition of younger players should add energy and potential. However, Rutherford’s preference still is to add depth and even more youth if he can to combat the injuries and fatigue that hurt his aging roster last year. Those are the moves he is looking to make this summer and it seems inevitable that at least one such transaction will be made by the expert executive. They may not be three-peat champions, but the Penguins are going to re-stock and be dangerous again in 2018-19.

Snapshots: O’Connell, Meyer, Vermette, Rust

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A pair of NHL draft picks have committed to Ohio State for the 2018-19 season.  The Buckeyes announced (Twitter links) that defenseman Ryan O’Connell and winger Carson Meyer will be joining them next year.  O’Connell, a seventh-rounder of Toronto last June, had previously committed to join Boston University next year and spent this past season with Penticton of the BCHL.  Meyer’s case is more intriguing.  The Columbus prospect (selected in the sixth round last year) has spent the past two years at Miami-Ohio.  After a strong rookie campaign where he posted 26 points in 34 games, his output dipped to just ten points in 34 contests as he dealt with season-long fatigue issues.  Typically, a player who transfers is forced to sit for a year but it is expected that Meyer will petition the NCAA for a waiver to allow him to play next season.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Ducks pending UFA center Antoine Vermette acknowledged to TVA Sports’ Mario Morrisette that he may have played his final game. While he’s hopeful to land another contract for next season, he wants to be closer to his family and has already ruled out the idea of going overseas.  The soon-to-be 36-year-old had just 16 points in 64 games with Anaheim and got into just a pair of playoff contests where he played just over six minutes per game.  However, he won 60% of his faceoffs which could still help him garner some interest in free agency next month.
  • Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is well-known for being aggressive when it comes to shaping his roster and after they fell in the second round this postseason, many expect changes are coming. One player that could be on the move is winger Bryan Rust, suggests Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  The pending RFA is due a sizable raise after posting 38 points in 69 games but Pittsburgh has good depth on the right side and plans to have Daniel Sprong (also a right winger) in the lineup regularly in 2018-19 which could make Rust expendable.  The 26-year-old is arbitration eligible and is one year away from qualifying for unrestricted free agency.

Penguins Sign Anthony Angello To Entry-Level Deal

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It may have been a disappointing end to the season for Cornell, a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament upset in their first game, but for one player the year will end on a positive note. Anthony Angello, a junior forward for the Big Red, has signed an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to a team release. The two-year deal will begin next season, but Angello will join the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an amateur tryout to close out the season.

It’s hard to argue against the results that the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs have had with bringing in college talent in recent years. Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust, and Zach Aston-Reese have all been successful college free agents who signed in Pittsburgh, while Brian Dumoulin and Jake Guentzel, draft picks who chose the college route, have been even better. Angello, a 2014 fifth-round pick, will gladly take the career trajectory of any of those players as he transitions to the pro game.

A hulking 6’5″ center who anchored the Cornell squad, Angello was also among the team’s top scorers this season. Angello finished the year tied in points and goals with linemate Trevor Yates, a recent signing of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, due in no small part to his ability in front of the net. Angello’s checking game and two-way intelligence also contributed to an impressive +16 rating. The Penguins don’t have a forward with Angello’s size and skill set anywhere in the pipeline and have to be excited to bring in the big 22-year-old. The Big Red scorer could be donning Pittsburgh black and yellow sooner rather than later.

Injuries Piling Up For Pittsburgh Penguins

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As the Pittsburgh Penguins march towards the playoffs and an attempt at a third straight Stanley Cup Championship, the injury list is beginning to crowd. The team announced today that Bryan Rust is dealing with a concussion, Dominik Simon is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and that Zach Aston-Reese and Matt Murray are “making progress.”

Obviously there are other players on the Penguins whose absence would be more noticeable, but don’t underestimate the impact of losing several depth players at one time. Rust’s importance to the team is sometimes understated, but with 33 points this season and the ability to play in every situation, he’ll be missed over the last few weeks of the season.

Aston-Reese and Simon have taken turns on the top line at times this season, and will force the Penguins to insert Josh Jooris into the lineup should they not be able to make a quick recovery. Riley Sheahan might end up moving to wing to fill out the line with Phil Kessel and Derick Brassard.

Murray of course is a huge wildcard for the Penguins. The young goaltender has won a Stanley Cup in each of his first two postseasons, but has battled injury throughout his short career. This year he has just a .909 save percentage even when healthy, giving way to Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith to try and show that they could be relied upon in a postseason start. The idea of going through the playoffs with two goaltenders with such little experience is probably not what Jim Rutherford was hoping for, but it may be his only option if Murray isn’t able to come back and prove his health. Even if he does return before long, it will be interesting to see if he can ramp up his game once again for the chance to three-peat as Cup champions.

Penguins Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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A disappointing season for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins just took another tough turn. The team announced this afternoon that defensemen Kris Letang and Chad Ruhwedel and forward Bryan Rust have all been placed on injured reserve. There had been indications of possible moves such as these earlier in the day when head coach Mike Sullivan stated that Ruhwedel was “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury and Rust was out long-term with an upper-body injury of his own, as well as confirmed that Letang would remain out of the lineup, but the reality of three starters hitting the shelf on the same day could be jarring for Penguins fans.

In corresponding moves, the team has recalled defenseman Andrey Pedan, forward Garrett Wilson, and goaltender Casey DeSmith after previously calling up rearguard Frank Corrado earlier in the day. Pedan could potentially be making his Penguins debut soon after coming over from the Vancouver Canucks this summer in the Derrick Pouliot trade. Between the 6’5″ Pedan and newly-acquired 6’7″ Jamie Oleksiak, the Penguins certainly have some size on the blue line right now. However, with both Letang and Justin Schultz out of the lineup, it will likely be the more offensively-inclined Corrado looked to for a greater impact. Up front, Wilson seems more likely to be an emergency depth option or occasional fourth-line contributor than any sort of replacement for Rust. The 26-year-old has zero points in 34 NHL games. If scoring becomes a problem with both Rust and Letang now sidelined long-term, it could be time for Daniel Sprong to make his much-awaited return to Pittsburgh.

The most interesting impact of these injury moves could be the effect on the trade status of Letang. The All-Star defender’s availability has been a hot topic recently, but these new health concerns added to the career laundry list for the oft-injured defenseman will surely be a factor in talks.

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