Snapshots: Rust, Chara, Maple Leafs
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust will miss Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, reports KDKA’s Bob Pompeani. Rust suffered an injury midway through last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Avalanche defenseman Mark Barberio hit Rust in front of the Colorado net and Rust did not return after leaving the ice. In Rust’s stead comes Josh Archibald, fresh off of a recall from the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, as reported by the Tribune-Review’s Jonathan Bombulie. Archibald has 11G and 11A in 48 games so far with WBS. This will be Archibald’s second game ever in the NHL.
- Boston Bruins defenseman—and captain—Zdeno Chara should return tomorrow afternoon against the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Chara missed Thursday’s game with an illness he has been battling for weeks. In 49 games this season Chara has 4G and 11A, but more remarkably still leads all Bruins skaters in average ice-time. Details about the illness are scarce, but Chara spoke to NHL.com and implied that he was generally fatigued and under the weather.
- ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun pointed out that the Toronto Maple Leafs have not yet used any LTIR space, and could get $13.5MM in cap relief should they have to hit the cap ceiling. Stephane Robidas, Joffrey Lupul, and Nathan Horton all remain sidelined indefinitely with various long-term injuries. If they want to bring in a experienced rental to further mentor their young prospects, they have the cap space to do so.
Pittsburgh Notes: Cullen, Rust, Jarry, Guentzel
Penguins center Matt Cullen is the third oldest player in the NHL this season behind Florida’s Jaromir Jagr and Arizona’s Shane Doan. Despite recently turning 40, Cullen isn’t ruling out playing another season beyond this one, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The decision on whether or not to retire won’t be coming any time soon either, noted Cullen:
“Once I decided to come back this year, that was the only thing on my mind. I know some people can do it, but I’m just not a guy who can have all that stuff in his head. I just want to focus on one goal. Then I’ll deal with that later.”
Through 38 games this season, Cullen has seven goals and seven assists which puts him at a 30 point pace, comparable to the 32 he put up last season. It’s also pretty good production for a player who predominantly plays a bottom six role who also continues to bring an above average success rate at the faceoff dot to the table. Cullen admits he’s pleasantly surprised with how he has held up so far:
“I feel really good. I was tired. Of course, everyone’s tired and banged up after the playoffs. I was a little bit. I’ve been really happy with how I feel. My legs feel great. I feel good on the ice. I feel strong. The body feels like it’s holding up really well. I consider myself pretty blessed in that regard. It’s not fun if your body doesn’t feel good.”
With a cap hit and salary of only $1MM, Cullen has been one of the better bargains from this past offseason. If he holds up over the second half of the season and what he hopes is another lengthy postseason run, he should have several suitors for his services in July if he decides to keep playing.
More from Pittsburgh:
- When he first came up to the NHL back in 2014, right winger Bryan Rust was so concerned about turning the puck over that he would frequently just bank the puck off the boards and chase it. Two years later, it’s a big reason for his success, writes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. As analytics suggest dumping the puck in isn’t ideal, Rust’s compromise of banking it ahead and chasing it down has resulted in several scoring chances or drawn penalties. Through 35 games, the 24 year old is having a career season with ten goals and six assists while spending time on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby; it’s safe to say his approach is paying off.
- The Penguins will have a pair of prospects representing them at the AHL All-Star Game as netminder Tristan Jarry and left winger Jake Guentzel were named to the game yesterday. Jarry was just recalled to the big club earlier today while Guentzel leads the AHL in goals with 18 and had quite the NHL debut back in November, scoring on his very first shift while adding a second goal later on in the opening period of that game.
This Week In Hockey Blogging: A Dozen Articles To Read
Here are a handful of articles from various hockey bloggers this week:
Winging It In Motown looks at the ongoing discussion of toughness in the NHL and how it’s unfairly used to criticize players.
Pension Plan Puppets closely scout Auston Matthews.
Lighthouse Hockey likens their Islanders to the Walking Dead and take a deep dive into how the Islanders got to where they are.
The Committed Indian examines how the salary cap has created the parity intended, but in a ho-hum way.
Raw Charge analyzes Tampa Bay’s problem with developing first round draft picks.
Down Goes Brown lists the ten lies that every hockey fan is guilty of reciting.
Blueshirt Banter talked to Ryan McDonagh about the team and the season so far.
Bleedin Blue suggests that the Blues look into why they’re struggling so much on the road.
Copper and Blue discusses everything from Connor McDavid‘s wingers to players in Bakersfield who should see time with the big club down the road.
Pensburgh compares Bryan Rust‘s three-goal performance to a legendary Penguin’s five goal performance.
Hockey Wilderness suggests two players for Chuck Fletcher to acquire.
Finally, Canucks Army offers advice to ownership: new management.
We’re always looking to add to the list. Tweet us some articles you like @prohockeyrumors or let us know through our comments section.
Metropolitan Notes: Alzner, Berube, Rust
Washington defenseman Karl Alzner is one of a slew of Capitals players who aren’t currently under contract for next season. As Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post notes, a potential hold up to re-signing Alzner may be the looming Las Vegas expansion draft next June.
Teams can protect three defensemen under what will be the most common option used by teams (there is also the ability to protect eight skaters regardless of position but it’s unlikely that many teams will go that way). The Capitals already have John Carlson and Matt Niskanen that are likely to be protected which would leave one slot for Alzner and pending RFA Dmitry Orlov. Keeping Alzner unsigned would allow them to safely protect Orlov but GM Brian MacLellan noted it could be a priority to get Alzner signed to an extension before then:
“Depending on the value, it would be, yes. We can protect three defensemen, so there’s going to be a decision to be made here at some point. I mean, we have guys that are pretty good.”
Alternatively, the team could come to an agreement on terms and just wait until after the waiver draft to make the deal official. That way, the team could leave Alzner exposed, allowing them to protect Orlov or another defender. MacLellan doesn’t anticipate going that route, nor does he expect other teams to:
“I think that’d be a risky move. I don’t know that anybody’s going to try that. There’s probably a window, I mean, but I don’t know that you can really wait until then. … I don’t think there’s a guarantee. I don’t think you can come to an agreement and say, ‘We’ll sign you after that,’ you know? I don’t anticipate that would work.”
Alzner has spent his entire career with the Capitals, playing in 509 regular season games. While his point total in that time isn’t particularly strong (16 goals and 88 assists), he has been a reliable shutdown rearguard and would have no shortage of suitors if he were to hit the open market.
Other news from the Metropolitan:
- The Islanders considered placing goalie Jean-Francois Berube on waivers, Newsday’s Arthur Staple reported in a reader mailbag. However, they feared that at least one team (San Jose) would have had interest in claiming him so they have opted to keep three goalies up again at least to start the season. While the Sharks didn’t claim a goalie off the waiver wire, one possible suitor for Berube is no longer on the market for a backup with the Penguins adding Mike Condon from the Canadiens earlier this week. With Jonathan Quick out for the Kings though, it’s possible that they could have some interest in repatriating their former farmhand in Berube.
- Pittsburgh right winger Bryan Rust skated for the first time since the playoffs on Wednesday as he works to return to the lineup from an undisclosed injury, notes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Rust had a quiet regular season with 11 points in 41 games but played an important role for the Penguins in the playoffs, picking up six goals and three assists in just 23 postseason contests. While he is now skating, there remains no timetable for his return to game action.