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Eastern Notes: Hurricanes, Lehner, Blashill, Toronto Prospects

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With the Carolina Hurricanes waiting for their next opponent after sweeping the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs, the team is finally getting the rest it needs after a very physical playoff stretch that has worn down the roster. After playing 11 games in 23 days, the Hurricanes took the entire weekend off and are expected to pick up activity on Monday, according to News & Observer’s Luke DeCock.

The team hopes the rest could get a few more players back to full strength, although there are few updates on the injured. There is no word on the status of forward Micheal Ferland as his status remains uncertain. However, the team hopes to get Saku Maenalanen back at some point in the Conference Finals after he underwent hand surgery last week. The rest should also help forward Jordan Martinook, who played injured in Games 3 and 4, as well as goaltender Petr Mrazek, who was forced to leave Game 2 and put 35-year-old Curtis McElhinney into a full-time role, which isn’t ideal. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour commented on the need for rest, saying “I think a break is what they need, more almost mentally. They need more of that. Will it affect us in our first game? We’re going to hear about that. Maybe. There might be a little rust there. But we need it.”

  • NHL.com’s Brian Compton writes that New York Islanders’ Vezina Trophy finalist Robin Lehner, who rewarded the Islanders with an amazing season in goal this year after the Islanders took a chance on him, was non-committal after the team was swept in the second round of the playoffs on Friday. The 27-year-old netminder will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year “prove it” deal for $1.5MM and there is a chance he may opt to make it his only year. “It’s a little bit too much emotions right now,” said Lehner, “I really like everyone here. This group is incredible, some of the best people I’ve been around. I’ve been in the league for a while now. We’ll see what God has in store for me.”
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free-Press writes that Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill admitted that he was thrilled when general manager Steve Yzerman gave him a vote of confidence after taking over his new position. “It was great to hear that he has belief in me and my abilities,” said Blashill, who has been committed to developing the young players on the team, many who have thrived under the head coach’s leadership.
  • With major cap implications upcoming in Toronto, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler (subscription required) writes that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, have been thrilled with the play of their young defenseman in the AHL playoffs, including Timothy Liljegren (first-round pick in 2017), Mac Hollowell (fourth-round pick in 2018) and Rasmus Sandin (first-round pick in 2018). Marlies’ coach Sheldon Keefe added, “It has been such a long period of time now where we relied on (Liljegren and Sandin), so we don’t get to the playoffs if those young guys can’t step up and play the minutes they had to play for us at different times when we were depleted.” With changes coming to the team’s defense, it’s good to know that the three prospects could be closing in on being ready for NHL action.

Clark Bishop Recalled, Could Play For Carolina

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Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes made an emergency recall of Clark Bishop from the Charlotte Checkers. Bishop played in both games this weekend for the Checkers, splitting their first-round series 1-1 with the Providence Bruins. Today, the Hurricanes look like they’ll need him on the ice for an even more important playoff game as Andrei Svechnikov, Micheal Ferland and Jordan Martinook continue to deal with injuries. Though nothing is certain at this point, team reporter Michael Smith projects Bishop to jump in on the left side of Greg McKegg on the Hurricanes’ fourth line.

If he does get into the lineup for the team’s elimination game against the Washington Capitals tonight, at least it won’t be completely unfamiliar. Bishop played 20 games with the Hurricanes this season, recording his first NHL goal in early December. Twice he suited up against the Capitals, though the Hurricanes failed to win either game.

With so much riding on this game however, head coach Rod Brind’Amour won’t rule out a return of his three injured forwards until the last moment. All three skated this morning according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, but without getting in a full practice it is unclear who would be ready for game action. If it’s Bishop, he won’t be able to replace the offense that any of them bring to the table. The 23-year old forward scored just six points in 38 games for the Checkers this season.

Carolina Hurricanes Extend Jordan Martinook

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The Carolina Hurricanes have reached a two-year extension with forward Jordan Martinook that will carry an annual average value of $2MM. Martinook was set to become a restricted free agent for the final time this summer, and was arbitration eligible. A two-year extension will buy out a year of unrestricted free agency for the 26-year old forward. GM Don Waddell released a statement explaining the signing:

Jordan has really fit in well with our group and provides veteran leadership both on and off the ice. He skates with a relentless energy that epitomizes the way Coach [Rod] Brind’Amour wants the Hurricanes to play.

Martinook came over to the Hurricanes last spring in a deal that saw Marcus Kruger go to the Arizona Coyotes, and has been an effective player for them this season. With 10 goals and 13 points in 50 games, he’s chipped in enough offense to remain in the lineup while providing a physical element to the bottom-six. He’s also been arguably the team’s best penalty killer, a role which he’ll likely hold throughout the next two seasons. Carolina looks like they’ll be losing a physical forward in Micheal Ferland if they cannot reach an extension over the next few weeks, making Martinook that much more valuable if Brind’Amour wants to continue playing that style.

Amazingly, the $2MM cap hit makes Martinook the fourth highest paid forward on the Hurricanes next season only behind Jordan Staal, Nino Niederreiter and Teuvo Teravainen. That’s bound to change once the team hands out extensions to some of their other pending restricted free agents, but shows just how different their group could look next season. With captain Justin Williams scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, the team needs to keep leaders like Martinook in the fold. $2MM per season brings very little risk along with it, given that the Hurricanes are not yet a cap ceiling team.

Alex Galchenyuk “Week-To-Week”, Will Miss Opening Night

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Late last week, it was reported that Arizona Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk had been sidelined with an injury. However, the team had not yet evaluated the injury or its severity. Head coach Rick Tocchet was tight-lipped about how it occurred, what type of injury it might be, or how long Galchenyuk could be out for. It seems now that the team has taken the proper time to consider Galchenyuk’s status and the results are not optimal. Arizona announced that Galchenyuk is “week-to-week” with a lower body injury and is expected to miss the team’s opener in Dallas on October 4th.

Missing just one game would be a best case scenario at this point, as there continues to be a lack of details or answers regarding this injury. As the Coyotes biggest off-season acquisition, there was a lot of hype and excitement surrounding the young scoring forward entering this season. Beginning the season without him is less than ideal, but even hinting at a long-term injury would be a tough pill for fans to swallow before the season even begins. “Week-to-week” is a difficult time frame to estimate, especially for a player who has been rather resilient in his career. However, when Galchenyuk did suffer a serious knee injury in 2016-17, he had a tough time getting healthy and would up missing 21 games over two stints on the injured reserve. A similar outlook for this mysterious lower-body ailment would be disastrous for Arizona.

Early indications had Galchenyuk not at center, but at left wing for the Coyotes and certainly in the top-six. Until he returns, his spot will likely return to what it was last season – a revolving door of options including Richard Panik, Brendan Perlini, Mario Kempe, and Lawson Crouse. That lineup is even less appealing than last year, when Max Domi (traded for Galchenyuk), Jordan Martinook (also traded), Tobias Rieder and Anthony Duclair (free agency) were also in the mix. The ’Yotes have to hope that the rest of their forward corps can pick up the slack and could use a hot start from free agent addition Michael Grabner and rookie Dylan Strome. Either way, the team will need Galchenyuk back as soon as possible if they want to take a step forward this season.

Lucas Wallmark Re-Signs With Carolina

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The Carolina Hurricanes have locked up one of their top forward prospects, announcing a two-year deal for restricted free agent Lucas Wallmark. Wallmark’s contract is two-way next season before transitioning to a one-way deal in 2019-20. He is set to make the minimum $650K this year at the NHL level, with $100K guaranteed, and $700K the year after for a cap hit of $675K across both seasons.

Wallmark, 22, impressed with both Carolina and Charlotte last season. In the AHL, the young center registered 55 points in 45 games, leading the Checkers in both points and assists despite far fewer games played than many of his teammates. In fact, Wallmark had the highest points-per-game mark in the league among players with 10+ games played. He even managed to finish 13th in the AHL in assists with every player ahead of him having skated in at least 15 more games. Wallmark didn’t have the same success producing with the Hurricanes, managing only one point in 11 games, but displayed a strong two-way game and puck-handling skills. He plays a complete game that, if he can translate it to the top level, could make him a dangerous and affordable asset for the Hurricanes.

With Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan both departing from Carolina this off-season, the time is now for Wallmark to win a full-time job down the middle for the Hurricanes. Victor Rask and Jordan Martinook are also options for the ’Canes, but are likely better suited for bottom-six roles. A strong camp could earn Wallmark that second-line role behind Jordan Staal. The wild card will be highly-touted 2017 first-round pick Martin Necas and how he looks early on. Armed with two full pro seasons, including 19 NHL games and terrific AHL numbers, Wallmark could have an edge but still needs to outperform Necas and overshadow the Czech pivot’s immense potential if the job comes down to the two of them.

Marcus Kruger Played 2017-18 Season With Hernia

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There is now some added context to the poor performance of recently-acquired Arizona Coyotes forward Marcus Kruger this season. Coyotes GM John Chayka revealed to TSN that Kruger played the entire 2017-18 campaign with a sports hernia. It had previously been reported that Kruger had hernia surgery last month, but the timeline of the injury had been unclear.

In speaking with TSN about the recent trade of Jordan Martinook and a fourth-round pick for Kruger and a third-rounder, Chayka expressed optimism that Kruger could return to form next season, saying “You take (the injury) into consideration… we think that’ll get the jump back in his skate and it’ll be a real useful and helpful piece to our lineup.” Kruger was not very useful or helpful to the Carolina Hurricanes this year, recording just one goal and five assists in 48 games while averaging the least ice time per game of his career. This has led many to be skeptical of Arizona’s acquisition of the veteran center – a skepticism that won’t go away, even with this news, until Kruger produces some results.

A hernia is a serious injury though and definitely impacted Kruger’s play all year. A hernia occurs when tissue pushes through the muscle wall, usually in the abdominal or groin area. The result is pain and discomfort in the area and a weakening of the muscle. In a physical, lower-body driven sport like hockey, pain and the loss of strength in the core area can absolutely attribute to a loss of ability. Montreal Canadiens prospect Jake Evans was recently diagnosed with a hernia and was given a three-month timeline to recover. Instead of undergoing such extensive rehab in-season, Kruger’s decision to play through it kept him available, but severely limited his ability. Now, he just has to hope that the decision hasn’t permanently damaged that ability.

Snapshots: Koskinen, Francouz, Kruger, Martinook

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The excitement of the Edmonton Oilers’ signing of KHL goaltender Mikko Koskinen wore off quickly. As The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis points out, Koskinen’s $2.5MM cap hit on his one-year deal now looks like a major over-payment compared to a more recent deal for an import goalie. When the Colorado Avalanche signed Pavel Francouz yesterday, they got a better goalie for considerably less. Francouz’s deal with the Avs is also for one year, but for just $690K. Yet, Francouz was the best keeper in the KHL this year with a .946 save percentage and 1.80 GAA in 35 appearances for Traktor Chelyabinsk. With no disrespect to Koskinen, who was very good as well, the new Oiler had a .937 save percentage and split time with young Igor Shestyorkin, playing in just 29 games, yet will make more than triple what Francouz does next season. In fairness, Koskinen did have superior GAA this year (1.57) and has a small amount of NHL experience, but that does not totally make up for the $1.81MM difference between the two contracts. To add another layer, Francouz is also a younger and more athletic goalie than Koskinen and likely has a brighter long-term future in the NHL. Admittedly, the Oilers signed Koskinen first, so this could me more of a case of Colorado GM Joe Sakic getting his man for below-market value, but it seems more likely that it goes along with the trend of Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli setting his sights on a player and not considering fair value or alternative options. Past results of these decisions have not worked out well for the Oilers, but we will have to wait for next season to see how the Koskinen signing pans out.

  • In digging deeper into another recent transaction, today’s Marcus Kruger–Jordan Martinook trade has some scratching their heads. Given the team is currently operating without a GM, it is truly impressive that the Carolina Hurricanes seemingly came out on top in this deal in all aspects. Not only was Kruger available to the Arizona Coyotes for free earlier this year, but they gave up Martinook to get Kruger, who is much like a younger, better version of Kruger. The two forwards are both known for their two-way ability, but Martinook has 64 points in 239 games over the last three seasons compared to Kruger’s 44 points in 247 games over the past four years combined. At nearly 28 years old, Kruger’s career high in points is 28 with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013-14 and he has never recorded double-digit goals, while the 25-year-old Martinook reached his career best of 25 points just last year, including 11 goals. Martinook has just as many 20+ point seasons as Kruger in only three full NHL seasons exclusively playing for the lowly Coyotes, while Kruger has spent almost his entire career with the dynastic Blackhawks. Defensively, Kruger does have the advantage of being a natural center who does well at the dot most years and is a positive possession player, but Martinook is far more physical and great along the boards, not to mention he has been the Coyotes’ best takeaways man since entering the league. Unlike past deals where the Coyotes took on a bad contract from another team in exchange for draft capital or prospects, Martinook will actually make less in salary than Kruger next season and even with the Hurricanes’ retention of a tenth of Kruger’s deal, the money essentially cancels out. So why make this deal? Arizona GM John Chayka must have a good reason, but on its face the only benefit to the Coyotes is a jump of 20-odd draft slots this June from the top of the fourth round to the middle of the third round.

Carolina Hurricanes Trade Marcus Kruger To Arizona Coyotes

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Though it’s not often you see a trade go down during the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have traded Marcus Kruger and a 2018 third-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Jordan Martinook and a 2018 fourth-round pick. Carolina will also retain 10% of Kruger’s salary in 2018-19.

There are a few things to break down in this trade, not the least of which being that the Hurricanes made the deal despite not having a GM in place. While owner Thomas Dundon continues to search for the next person to lead his hockey club, Don Waddell is operating as interim GM, along with help from his old friend Rick Dudley who was hired recently.

The second is that the Hurricanes won’t really be saving much salary in the swap. Though Kruger carries a $3.08MM cap hit, the actual salary owed to him next season is just $2.3MM. Martinook himself is set to earn $1.8MM, and with the added 10% the two notoriously cheap teams come off spending about the same amount. Instead, from Carolina’s point of view this deal seems to be ridding themselves of a forward that they had no plans on using next season. After all, Kruger had already cleared waivers earlier this season.

That fact is another interesting thing to note in the deal, as Kruger was available to any team earlier this year when the Hurricanes waived and then sent him to the minor leagues. The 27-year old center ended up playing just 48 games for Carolina, scoring six points in the process and generally being ineffective. Some of that might have to do with the hernia that Craig Morgan of AZ Sports reports he recently had surgery on, which had been “nagging him a while.”

If Kruger can return to the 25-point depth center that he once was in Chicago, the Coyotes will have a useful player on their hands that can help the penalty kill and add some experience. If he can’t find that level, they still move their draft pick up a round in exchange for Martinook, who may have not had role with the team next season anyway.

In all, this is a swap of two contracts that didn’t have much of a future in their previous organizations. Perhaps Kruger can find his game again in Arizona alongside former teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson, and maybe Martinook can be a useful depth player. We’ll have to wait to see how the rest of the offseason shakes out to really see what each team had planned.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to break the trade.

Cost Per Point: The Best Value Deals In The NHL

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When working with a salary cap, especially one that has not been increasing as expected in recent year, it is vital for general managers to get the most production out of their players. Teams with players who meet the expected level of production implied by their contracts and teams that lack wasted dollars in bad, expensive deals are often the same teams that thrive in today’s NHL. Forget market size or free agent appeal, the key to a winning franchise nowadays is getting the best bang for your buck on every player on the roster. While no player can be fully quantified by their scoring, cost per point is an easy way to look at which players are producing at the most team-friendly rate and which have been more of a cap space killer than a positive member of the team. Thanks to CapFriendly, that information is readily available to fans and NHL executives alike.

The benchmark for this metric is about $100K/point, as GM’s expect those big-time forwards and offensive defenseman who they award with $6MM, $7MM, and $8MM per year contracts to be putting up 60, 70, or 80 points respectively. For the second year in a row, St. Louis Blues superstar Vladimir Tarasenko was the poster boy for this standard, coming in at exactly $100K/point with 75 points on a $7.5MM deal. Winnipeg’s Bryan Little and New Jersey’s Adam Henrique are two other notable names that hit the mark exactly, while phenoms like Sidney Crosby and Duncan Keith landing close to the $100K/point mark show that it is an accurate expectation.

However, the exception to the rule is obviously entry-level contracts. It is no secret that drafting and developing well is the best way to improve you team, beginning with affordable scoring from players on their rookie deals. Nowhere is that more apparent than in cost per point, where nine of the top ten and 17 of the top 20 best contracts were rookie deals. To no one surprise, 20-year-old MVP Connor McDavid and his 100 points on a $925K entry-level contract was far and away the best bargain in hockey. McDavid cost the Oilers only $9,250 per point in 2016-17. That will all change soon, as McDavid is set to begin an eight-year, $100MM contract in 2018-19, after which a 100-point campaign will cost Edmonton $125,000/point, closer to the expectations of a standard contract. For now, the Oilers can enjoy one more year of McDavid likely being the best deal in the NHL, as well as the best player. Entry-level deals joining McDavid in the top ten last year (in order) were Viktor Arvidsson, Artemi Panarin, teammate Leon Draisaitl, Conor Sheary, David Pastrnak, Auston Matthews, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Patrik Laine. Not all entry-level deals are created equal, so while Draisaitl and Pastrnak were second and fourth respectively in entry-level scoring, they were also on the ELC maximum deal of $925K and of slightly lesser value to their teams than the likes of Arvidsson ($632K) and Sheary ($667.5K). Panarin had the best contract in the league in 2015-16 and fell only to third with $10,980/point for the Chicago Blackhawks. Now in Columbus and on a two-year, $12MM deal, the Blue Jackets have to hope that they can continue to get 70+ point seasons out of him to maximize the value of that deal.

So, entry-level contracts aside, who was the best contract in hockey last season? Another easy answer, former Blue Jacket gamble Sam Gagner. After a horrendous 2015-16 campaign with the Philadelphia Flyers, Gagner struggled to find a new team last summer, eventually settling on a $650K “show me” deal with Columbus. Right away people tagged that contract, for a six-time 40+ point scorer, as an absolute bargain, even if Gagner simply bounced back to normal production. He did one better, posting a career-high 50 points for the Jackets and coming in at $13K/point, good enough for sixth in the NHL. Gagner has since moved on to the Vancouver Canucks, signing a three-year, $9.45MM contract on July 1st. However, if he is able to continue to produce at 40-50 point levels over that deal, his $3.15MM cap hit will remain a great bargain deal. Behind Gagner, another player on the move this summer, former Florida Panther and current Vegas Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault had the 13th-ranked cost per point last year at $14,706/point. Marchessault had a breakout year, netting 51 points in the first season of a two-year, $1.5MM deal. Rather than take advantage of one more $750K season for a 30-goal scorer, the Panthers allowed Marchessault to be selected in the Expansion Draft and Vegas surely hopes he continues to be one of the best values in hockey in 2017-18. The final contract in the top 20 not belonging to an entry-level player, and the only 35+ veteran contract in the top 50, belongs to Marchessault’s replacement in Florida, Radim Vrbata. Vrbata returned home to Arizona last season after a down year in Vancouver the season prior, and the swift 36-year old proceeded to score 55 points, more than double his previous year’s total. On a one-year deal with a $1MM base salary, that only cost the Coyotes $18,182/point last season. Now at a base salary of $2.5MM in Florida, the Panthers hope that Vrbata isn’t starting to slow down just yet. Other impressive value contracts included Patrick Eaves, whose breakout season in Dallas led to a trade and subsequent extension with the Anaheim Ducks, Derek Ryan, who shocked the hockey world with 29 points for the Carolina Hurricanes in his first full NHL season at age 30, and a quartet of recently re-signed RFAs in Richard Panik, Ryan Dzingel, Ryan Spooner, and Jordan Martinook.

With the good comes the bad, and there were certainly some poor value contracts in the NHL last year. Many of the worst belong to players who were injured or AHL depth players that saw only limited time. With zero points in 13 games with a $1.25MM cap hit, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Erik Condra’s value was not even quantifiable it was so bad, and at the highest salary of any player who went pointless last season. Limited to just 18 games with only four points, another Bolts forward, Ryan Callahan, was one of the worst values due to injury with $1.45MM per point on his $5.8MM cap hit. However, the truly worst contract in the NHL has to belong to a player that player a majority of the season. Sadly for a Detroit fan base that is already feeling pretty down-and-out, that designation belongs to Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who began a six-year, $30MM extension by scoring about a third less points for the third season in a row. With 12 points in 82 games at $5MM, DeKeyser’s $416.7K/point is pretty ugly. The Buffalo Sabres struck out twice on the blue line, with both Dmitry Kulikov (five points in 47 games at $4.33MM) and Josh Gorges (six points in 66 games at $3.9MM) coming in at $866.7K/point and $650K/point respectively, though neither is known as a major point producer. The worst forward contract? Andrew Desjardins may not have been relied upon as a full-time player with much ice time last season with the Chicago Blackhawks, but with only one point in 46 games, $800K/point, it’s not difficult to see why he remains an unsigned free agent.

While statistics and analytics in hockey are normally geared toward displaying on-ice production, it is always interesting to look at the game from a business perspective. It is important for teams and fans alike to understand not just the absolute of how a player is producing, but the relative value of that production based on how much money that player is being paid. In a salary cap league, there is nothing more important that production value, and as the game grows the focus will only further tighten on scoring as a function of dollars and the cost per point metric.

Pittsburgh’s Alternative Third-Line Center Options

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While many teams across the NHL still have holes to fill before the puck drops on the 2017-18 season, no vacancy has received more attention than the third-line center slot for the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. In fact, we’ve already written about it once before. However, the scenario has changed over the last few weeks, as the new contracts for RFAs Brian Dumoulin and Conor Sheary have left the Pens with just over $3MM in salary cap space. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette recently spoke with GM Jim Rutherford, who essentially stated that he does not plan to move out significant salary in a deal to acquire a new bottom-six center. What that means is that the Penguins are left with a much smaller margin to work with to acquire Nick Bonino’s replacement.

So who will it be? Who it won’t be is easier to say. The pipe dreams of Colorado’s Matt Duchene or Carolina’s Jordan Staal are now all but over, as are more reasonable targets like Toronto’s Tyler Bozak or Dallas’ Radek Faksa now seem out of reach as well. The Vegas Golden Knights have not shown any indication that they are interested in moving forwards, so strike their group of suitable centers off the list as well. With each passing day, it seems a Matt Cullen return grows less and less likely as well.

What the Penguins are left with are a group of guys who fit their needs well: young, two-way centers on affordable contracts. The most common name bandied about is Detroit Red Wings forward Riley Sheahan. Sheahan struggled mightily in 2016-17 and is relatively expensive compared to some other available names at $2.075MM this season. However, Detroit desperately needs to shed salary and may have reached the end of the line with Sheahan. It could be a good match, with Sheahan very likely bouncing back on a far more talented Penguins team. Pittsburgh’s top target may be Arizona’s Jordan Martinook, who just resigned with the team, but is part of a Coyotes forward corps that is crowded with young talent. Martinook is an underrated two-way player and would fit in nicely with the Pens, but Arizona may not be keen to move him in a deal that Rutherford stated would not included salary players. The Coyotes have had their fill of picks and prospects and might be on the lookout for only veteran contributors at this point. The Penguins could turn to the Los Angeles Kings, who have great depth at center including Nick Shore and Nic Dowd. Both would fit the need nicely in Pittsburgh and come in at under $1MM. The 25-year-old Shore would be especially nice, as the team can retain RFA rights over him beyond 2017-18, but Dowd may be easier to acquire from a Kings squad that is not any closer to returning to the playoffs. One final option, staying out west, could be San Jose Sharks center Chris Tierney. It is rumored that the two sides are on rocky grounds, with Tierney signing just a one-year extension this summer, and could be looking for a trade. Tierney has proven to be a solid defensive force in the San Jose bottom six and could play the same role in Pittsburgh. The Sharks have done nothing this off-season and could see replacing Tierney with a Penguins forward prospect as at least some kind of roster shakeup.

Obviously, the available names are not of the sexy variety. The Penguins have been spoiled with center depth through their Stanley Cup years and fans are surely hoping they can find another Staal or Bonino. However, with little cap space to play with and a reluctance to change the current roster any further, this is what Rutherford is left with. Any of these guys could be a valuable piece on another strong Penguins team, as each plays a solid two-way game, but none are gonna be the big-name acquisition that many expected. Pittsburgh will be back in the Cup race again next year even if they do nothing at all and stick someone from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at third-line center, so maybe the better question is not who will play there, but why does everyone care so much?

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