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Jim Rutherford

Metropolitan Notes: Sprong, Cizikas, Hakstol, Stephenson

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Having already scored nine goals in his first 18 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, many wonder why Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Daniel Sprong still remains in the AHL when he could be helping out the Penguins at the NHL level.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette writes calling up Sprong is not in the plans for Pittsburgh’s general manager Jim Rutherford. The GM says that the team has historically not called up players before they thought they were ready, instead opting to allow them to develop. Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Brian Dumoulin, Conor Sheary and Tom Kuhnhackl are the recent examples of players who were not rushed to the NHL.

“The important thing is, when you put a young player into this league, is he is as prepared as he can be for all aspects of the game,” Rutherford said. “If he’s not, you risk setting the player way back. That group of five, those guys were ready before they got called up, but we made sure it was at a time where they had their confidence and they could deal with setbacks.”

The team believes that Sprong still has work to do on his play without the puck, according to Rutherford. The team wants to see Sprong improve his defense as well as work on his stick/wall play. Of course, with a four-game winning streak and improved play of late, there may not be much need for him anyway.

  • The New York Islanders announced earlier today they have placed Casey Cizikas on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, retroactive to Nov. 25, which means he could be activated at any time. Cizikas was injured in a game against the Ottawa Senators. The fourth-line and penalty killing center has four goals and four assists in 23 games for the Islanders. So far, the team hasn’t made any corresponding moves.
  • Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi tweeted that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is accompanying the team on their Western Canada trip, which could play an instrumental role on the status of head coach Dave Hakstol. The Flyers have lost 10 straight games. Carchidi adds that if a coaching change is made, a likely choice to take over would be Lehigh Valley Phantoms coach Scott Gordon in the interim.
  • Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washigton Post tweets that after suffering an injury in Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals wing Chandler Stephenson is day-to-day. However, the team recalled Travis Boyd this afternoon from the Hershey Bears of the AHL, which suggests that Stephenson might miss some time. Stephenson, a bottom-line center, has two goals and six points in 18 games this season. Boyd has never played in the NHL before. He has three goals and 17 assists in 23 games for the Bears.

Snapshots: Team USA, Fines, Murray

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With rosters for the upcoming World Junior tournament released in the next few weeks, Bob McKenzie of TSN took a look at the potential names for Team USA. The club is expected to be one of the favorites after taking home the gold medal last season at both the U20 and U18 events. McKenzie figures the top line to be a trio of Casey Mittelstadt–Logan Brown–Kailer Yamamoto, a group that would likely hold their own in the NHL let alone a junior tournament. Brown and Yamamoto both played in the NHL this season, while Mittelstadt is starring at the University of Minnesota.

One player McKenzie doesn’t mention is Sean Dhooghe, the 5’2″ forward that earned the respect of his teammates at San Jose prospect camp this summer. Dhooghe isn’t one to overlook because of his size though, as he has eight points in 17 games as an undrafted freshman for the University of Wisconsin, and led the U18 team in scoring at last year’s tournament. Dhooghe, 18, could also attend next year if he’s not selected this time around, as there is plenty of talent to choose from for this year’s tournament. It will be held in Buffalo starting December 26th.

Penguins Demote Frank Corrado

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Frank Corrado’s stay in Pittsburgh is over and the hunt for a another top-six defenseman continues for the defending Stanley Cup champs. The team announced that they have reassigned the young blue liner to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and appear to be happy to move forward with Matt Hunwick or Chad Ruhwedel as their final starter.

Corrado, 24, was acquired by the Penguins from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline last season in exchange for a package of Eric Fehr, Steve Oleksy, and a fourth-round pick. The former Canuck was unhappy with his play time in Toronto, but things have hardly changed in Pittsburgh. Corrado played in only two games with the team last season, missed out on the entire playoff run, and is now back in the AHL after only three games this season. Corrado suited up for the Pens in their first three games of November, being held scoreless and averaging only eleven minutes of ice time, and had been sitting in the press box ever since.

With Hunwick recently activated from injured reserve, the Penguins have made the unsurprising choice to move forward without Corrado. Hunwick has played in only seven games this season, while Ruhwedel has been forced into 18 already. The pair have a combined three points and an even rating and could work as a serviceable sixth man duo for Pittsburgh this season. However, given the injury-prone nature of Kris Letang and Justin Schultz as well as the team’s shockingly low goals-for and goals-against rankings, “serviceable” may not be enough. GM Jim Rutherford may stick with the veteran options for now, but will surely be looking for an upgrade come the trade deadline. This season, the likes of Corrado won’t be the target.

Morning Notes: Drouin, Spezza, Duchene

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As usual, the Hockey Night In Canada Headlines segment last night was one to watch if you’re interested in rumors and speculation going on around the league. With a panel of Nick Kypreos, Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman, you knew there was going to be a few interesting nuggets of information.

Johnston relayed an interesting situation surrounding Jonathan Drouin and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two sides have finished an arbitration over a performance bonus from last season, that Drouin missed by less than a tenth of a point per game. Because of all the work Steve Yzerman did at the trade deadline last season, the Lightning don’t have any carryover from their entry-level bonuses, meaning the settlement (which will pay Drouin 90% of the bonus) will not affect this year’s cap number.

  • The panel also discussed Jason Spezza and the idea that his name is starting to surface in trade speculation. Spezza is obviously not as big a part of the Dallas Stars as he once was, taken away from the center ice position and moved down in the lineup. The interesting note that Friedman reported is that Spezza has a full no-movement clause during the season, instead of the 10-team no-trade list that had been previously recorded. That clause and the $7.5MM cap hit for this year and next make a move extremely unlikely even if Dallas wanted to part ways.
  • Though the Matt Duchene saga is over, the panel did relay that the Pittsburgh Penguins made a last-ditch effort to acquire the center from the Colorado Avalanche. That would imply that the Penguins are not comfortable with the team they have right now, and few would be surprised by that. Pittsburgh lost again last night and are now 9-7-3 on the year. Though no one is expecting them to miss the playoffs, GM Jim Rutherford is a known horse trader as the deadline approaches, and will likely be involved in another big move this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Center Search Continues

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It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins have been looking for a third-line center to augment their forward group for some time. GM Jim Rutherford has been clear that there were options for him stretching back into the summer, but that he wasn’t ready to make the deal until the right “impact” player surfaced. The Penguins are righting the ship after a rough start to the season, but have been relying heavily on their top-six to provide much of the offense.

Alex GalchenyukNow, in the latest version of “Insider Trading” on TSN, Darren Dreger connects the Penguins with much-maligned forward Alex Galchenyuk of the Montreal Canadiens. Dreger says that Galchenyuk’s name has “surfaced” though there is no clear report of any talks between the two clubs.

While the Montreal Canadiens continue to slump their way to a 1-5-1 record, bereft of any offensive threat, trading a talented forward like Galchenyuk may seem misguided. The problem is that though many have seen his offense in the past, none of it has appeared this season. Galchenyuk has just one goal—on the powerplay at that—and no assists this season through seven games, and has seen his ice time reduced to the lowest it has been in several years. At one point he was on the fourth line in Montreal, and he is clearly no longer a center in the eyes of head coach Claude Julien.

So the question is whether the Penguins believe that Galchenyuk could recover some of that lost offensive magic he showed in the 2015-16 season, when at the age of 21 he scored 30 goals and 56 points. Whether the team believes he is a true center is another story, as is his fit into their salary structure. This summer, Galchenyuk signed a three-year deal worth $4.9MM per season. The Penguins meanwhile have just under $2.2MM in cap space, though the longer they wait the less Galchenyuk would actually cost. Now that the season has started, every day that passes drops the prorated salary down another peg.

If a deal was to be made soon though, there would need to be salary going the other way. It would be interesting to see what Montreal would be after, as they would be able to find room for a defenseman or forward. In the meantime, Galchenyuk will have to try and get his game going on his own, and hopefully entice a buyer of some sort to come knocking at Montreal’s door.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Walker, Penguins, Kostin

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As NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti writes, Nathan Walker will make history Saturday night when the Australian forward makes his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals. Though born in Wales, Walker was raised in Australian and will be the first player from the country to lace up his skates for an NHL game. It’s not a publicity stunt by any means either, Walker has worked hard and deserves this chance.

A third-round pick in 2014 as a 20-year old, the small but unstoppable Walker has one of the most interesting development stories in the league. From playing in the Czech professional ranks as a teenager before suiting up in the USHL, to playing almost an entire season in the AHL before being drafted, Walker has proved at every level he shouldn’t be overlooked. He’ll likely skate beside Jay Beagle and Devante Smith-Pelly in Saturday’s game, in what could be a very effective energy line for the team.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have been rumored to be after a third-line center for some time, but GM Jim Rutherford doesn’t think that was the problem with their first two games. Rutherford spoke to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and confirmed that they likely still will make a change eventually. “Can we make that position stronger at some point? Yeah. We’re going to,” said Rutherford, who has been linked to players like Riley Sheahan and Jordan Staal in the past. While it doesn’t sound like either of those two options are going to happen at this point, the Penguins are sure to be active all season long as they look for a three-peat in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
  • Yesterday, despite being injured Klim Kostin was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Kostin is working his way back from a lower-body injury suffered in camp, and will likely be asked to start in the AHL before getting another crack at the St. Louis Blues’ lineup. Kostin was impressive all summer after being drafted at the end of the first round, but is still just 18 years old. Of course, the Blues won’t have much say in how he’s deployed in San Antonio, as the AHL squad is actually the affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche for one more season. In 2018-19, St. Louis will be taking control after signing a long-term partnership with the club.

Snapshots: Pittsburgh, Whitney, Ducks

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have been tied to the Detroit Red Wings for some time, with rumors swirling around Riley Sheahan and Andreas Athanasiou as potential trade candidates. Athanasiou remains unsigned, and as Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest “31 Thoughts” for Sportsnet, the Penguins have seemingly moved on.

Pittsburgh has been after a new third-line center for some time, with GM Jim Rutherford last saying they had three targets in mind. One of the rumored names, Jordan Staal, appears to be off the table as Friedman writes that Carolina had “no interest” in moving the two-way forward. Staal obviously has ties to Pittsburgh after beginning his career there, but the Penguins will have to look elsewhere to fill their needs. For now, Greg McKegg has been practicing between Carl Hagelin and Tom Kuhnhackl on the third line, with Carter Rowney centering the fourth.

  • The Department of Player Safety has made another intriguing hire, adding veteran NHLer Ray Whitney to the team. Whitney is a completely different kind of player than George Parros, who now runs the department, and will offer a very different insight into discipline around the league. Whitney scored 1,064 points in 1.330 games in the NHL, and received regular votes for the Lady Byng trophy which rewards sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.
  • Patrick Eaves and Ryan Miller will both start the season on injured reserve according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, making it a crowded list for the Anaheim Ducks. With Ryan Kesler, Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen already there, the team could ill afford any other injuries. Eaves and Miller are both on the back half of their careers at ages 33 and 37 respectively, which obviously brings this kind of injury risk along with it. Signing the pair was meant to give the Ducks some depth at key positions, but now with so many injuries the team will start without any at all. At practice today Nick Ritchie skated with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on the top line, a trio that will be relied heavily upon until some of their other players get back.

Penguins Release Jay McClement From PTO

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The Pittsburgh Penguins’ search for center depth has taken another turn. The team announced late tonight, no more than two hours after the end of their preseason finale loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, that they have released veteran forward Jay McClement from his tryout with the team. Pittsburgh is down to 24 players remaining in camp, including 14 forwards – with exactly four listed as centers.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champs have been looking for a third-line center all summer and some saw McClement as a possible solution, while others saw McClement at least centering the fourth line and pushing Carter Rowney or some other option up to the third line. Instead, McClement is gone and questions remain. McClement, a veteran of over 900 NHL games, not only has a long history of being a solid bottom six option, but also performed well in the preseason with the Penguins. The decision to cut him becomes even more of a surprise in the context of the post-game report from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Jonathan Bombulie, who spoke with both McClement and coach Mike Sullivan, the former believing he had put forth his best effort and had no regret and the latter calling that effort “solid” and admiring McClement’s “wealth of experience”. McClement admitted that he would be anxious waiting for the decision over the next few days, but instead GM Jim Rutherford made the call in a matter of hours.

With McClement gone, the winner of the “last-PTO-standing” battle seems to be Greg McKegg. Unless Rutherford has a trick up his sleeve, the 25-year-old AHL veteran appears to be the top option for the Penguins’ third line center spot, at least to start the season. McKegg has performed well in the preseason and is fresh off of his best NHL season, in which he scored a career-best seven points in a career-high 46 games between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Whether or not McKegg lasts on the third line or even lasts the season in Pittsburgh remains to be seen, but as of now there doesn’t appear to be any other in-house option for the Penguins following McClement’s release.

Snapshots: Sheahan, Robinson, Aaltonen

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In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, the venerable hockey insider touches on several different trade topics we’ve heard about over the last few weeks. The most interesting is perhaps one brewing between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings surrounding Riley Sheahan. Friedman seems to think the deal could be contingent on whether Detroit comes to terms with restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou, who is currently still holding out of training camp without a contract.

The Red Wings wouldn’t want to lose Athanasiou and Sheahan both, but if they wait much longer Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford might move on to one of his other two options. The Red Wings need to take advantage of trades when they can, even if moving Sheahan would weaken their center depth considerably.

  • Larry Robinson has been hired by the St. Louis Blues as a Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations. Robinson is a legendary hockey player and mind who has found success everywhere in the game. From a player, winning six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens to a coach, raising three more championships with the New Jersey Devils. Most recently, he has been an associate coach and director of player development with the San Jose Sharks, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their history.
  • Jonas Siegal of The Athletic penned an interesting piece on Toronto Maple Leafs’ new acquisition Miro Aaltonen, outlining his battle for a roster spot this season. Aaltonen was a free agent after the Anaheim Ducks—the team who originally drafted him—chose not to sign him in 2015, and apparently decided between the Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights on where to start his North American career. It’s interesting that he chose Toronto, as he likely could have made the Vegas roster out of camp but will have a tough battle for the Maple Leafs. Part of that likely has to do with him signing way back in March, before Vegas even had a roster at all.

Jim Rutherford Focused On Three Center Candidates

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Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford met with the media today at the start of training camp, and was quite forthcoming about his potential pursuit of a third-line center. Many have speculated that the Penguins would need to look outside the organization, with Rutherford himself saying they were looking for an “impact” player for the role. Today, he said that they were looking at three players for the role, though he obviously can’t name names.

We have our focus on three guys. I think one or two may become available before the season starts.

Pittsburgh has been rumored to be interested in various players over the summer, including Riley Sheahan (DET), Tyler Bozak (TOR), Matt Duchene (COL), and Jordan Staal (CAR) among others, but it’s unclear where Rutherford’s focus lies. It’s hard to see Pittsburgh going out to get one of the top names on the market, but the team does actually have a bit of cap space and some prospect capital that could get a deal done. Whether Rutherford wants to spend it now, or closer to the deadline when he normally does his shopping, is still to be seen.

As we said in our live chat yesterday, the Penguins are likely waiting for someone to shake loose so they can snatch them at a reduced price. A team like Detroit, who will need to make a roster move before the season starts if everyone gets through training camp healthy, could be an example. Regardless of where they’re looking it’s clear that the Penguins aren’t satisfied with the depth they have at the position right now. As camp begins, some combination of Carter Rowney, Zach Aston-Reese, Scott Wilson or even Jake Guentzel would likely be put into the role.

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