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Jim Rutherford speaks + Phil Kessel rumors

July 13, 2017, 1:23 PM ET [241 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Today Jim Rutherford did a radio interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. Here are some brief snippets from the conversation




He shouldn't be on the market. The way Carolina's roster is currently constructed they need him. If they were to acquire a player like Duchene that could change, but for now there's no reason for him to be on the market.

Rutherford also stated he believes the team will have about 2 million in cap space to acquire a third line center after arbitration hearings for Conor Sheary and Brian Dumoulin. They currently have ~10.3M in cap space. That places the combined Dumoulin/Sheary hit at about 8M. I think that is the ceiling of what Dumoulin/Sheary will get in arbitration and Pittsburgh will have more than the 2M to work with.

The best option(s) at that ~2M price range? Radek Faksa and Jonathan Marchessault. No guarantee they are actually available.

Matt Cullen is still working out. That doesn't mean he will play another year. It means the door is still open.

Elliotte Friedman had a few Penguins related topics today in his final 30 Thoughts column of the summer.




6. Everyone decided to take a deep breath and go back to their corners when Matt Duchene wasn’t traded July 1. It sounds like everyone is realizing the possibility he could start next season in Colorado. But remember this: Avalanche assistant GM Chris MacFarland was with Scott Howson in Columbus when Howson waited until July 20, 2012, to trade Rick Nash. Sometimes the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, and MacFarland could be following that blueprint. I wouldn’t be surprised if interested parties (Boston, Columbus, Nashville, Pittsburgh, maybe Calgary) try again to see if anything shakes loose.


No guarantee that the Penguins get back into it, but they're listed here.

There was also some Phil Kessel stuff.

9. I do think there is something to the column by Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Penguins will look to trade Phil Kessel. Other potential maneuvering: Dallas GM Jim Nill laying the groundwork to ease a roster/cap jam. And I can see Calgary waiting to see what happens with Micheal Ferland before looking at another forward. Ferland is eligible for arbitration. A third year on any long-term deal for him is the tricky one, as that’s when he is unrestricted.


Trading Phil Kessel in 2017-18 doesn't make much sense to me. He's still very effective. His cap hit is not hampering the teams ability in any way. If Mike Sullivan has that much of a problem with Phil Kessel (allegedly) it sounds more like a Mike Sullivan problem than a Phil Kessel problem.

Trading Phil Kessel for the reasons that certain media members in Pittsburgh have discussed the past few days is stupid (an assistant coach leaving). Thinking about trading Phil Kessel in another year or two has merit based on age regression and where his long term offensive production is heading. I don't expect everybody to understand that you can discuss trading Phil Kessel for logical reasons while not giving merit to the ludicrous reasons some in Pittsburgh's mainstream media have brought up. Nuance is a hell of a thing.

21. Tocchet is tight with his players, getting more out of Kessel than any previous coach.
“I’m going to bring a lot of the thinking and philosophies from Pittsburgh. There wasn’t a lot of fluff there… you cut to the chase. Do you change as a head coach? You can’t be buddies, but can’t be phony. Players will see through that 100 per cent. They won’t play for you.”
“(Tocchet) has presence, he owns the room,” Coyotes GM John Chayka said. “You think the technical side would be his weaker side, but he was very strong. He brought some great examples into the way teams should play.”


The idea that Tocchet is the one coach who has gotten the most out of Phil Kessel as a player is fake news. It doesn't mean there wasn't a positive relationship built. It doesn't mean that he didn't help Kessel on the ice. There's just too much hyperbole surrounding Tocchet's exit which doesn't jive with tangible results. Yes, Kessel saw a bounce back in offensive numbers, but Phil Kessel's best NHL teams have been in Pittsburgh. His quality of teammate has been good at even-strength and excellent at 5v4. Quality of teammate is a hell of a drug. He still didn't put up the same offensive production he did in Toronto or even Boston.



So was it the assistant coach that drove Kessel to success or was it going from a top six role facing tough quality of competition (with Bozak) to a 3rd line HBK role, riding shotgun with Evgeni Malkin, and playing on a power play with Crosby and Malkin that made the difference? The answer of course is that the quality of teammate/competition had the bigger impact and the change to Mark Recchi behind the bench will have a negligible difference on Phil's on-ice contributions. Age will be what pulls Kessel back down to earth in 2017-18 and that might not even happen.

****

Derrick Pouliot and Josh Archibald both signed deals with the Penguins yesterday. They are both one-way deals with Archibald being for two years and Pouliot only one. That does not guarantee where they play, just that they will receive an NHL sized paycheck whether they are with the big club or in the AHL. Josh Archibald is very happy about this development




Both players would need to pass through waivers to be sent to the AHL.

I can see Derrick Pouliot starting the year in Pittsburgh up in the press box. I can see him being placed on waivers and clearing. I can see him placed on waivers and being claimed. The one place I can't see him is in the lineup. I'll believe it when I see it.



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