Last night the HBK line attended a fundraiser with none other than HBK himself.
Shawn Michaels not only visited the Penguins last year as their guest for a playoff game, but was intrigued enough to keep watching the Penguins play on TV.
This year the HBK line isn't firing on all cylinders, but it doesn't change the incredible run they had during the 2016 playoffs. They were an offensive juggernaut that created enormous mismatches for their opponents.
Tonight the Vancouver Canucks are in town and it gives an opportunity to think about what if the HBK line was actually the HSK line? I can safely say it would not have gone as well.
Former Penguins center Brandon Sutter will play as a visitor in Pittsburgh for the first time since his days in Carolina. Last year injury cost him most of his season. He is currently in year one of a five year contract extension that pays him 4.375M per year. The only other Canucks locked up for longer term are the 31 year old Louis Eriksson and Roberto Luongo's buyout. Here's what the Canucks have gotten so far in year one of that extension.
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Screenshots taken from Datarink.com
To those that were paying attention to the details none of this comes as a surprise. Sutter remains a replacement level player who comes with a significant cap hit. The biggest difference in 2016-17 is that his once magical on-ice save percentage which hovered in the .930's in Pittsburgh is now at .906. He is still being buried in his own end and now his goaltender isn't playing at an all-world level while he is on the ice. It has yet to be proven that on-ice save percentage is a repeatable skill and eventually Sutter's luck on this front was going to run out. He is out of luck and now his GF% at 5v5 is 40.35%. Woof.
Even if Nick Bonino doesn't turn around his 2016-17 season (which has been bad) and walks away for nothing in the offseason it can only be considered an enormous coup for Jim Rutherford. It was one of his better moves as Penguins General Manager.
Former Brandon Sutter winger Evgeni Malkin is a game-time decision for tonight's matchup. He was close over the weekend so I have to imagine he'll be good to go tonight.
Matt Murray was the first goalie off the ice so he will be in net.
Eric Fehr will be sitting tonight in favor of Carter Rowney. This is the right decision. Fehr has struggled to fit in under Mike Sullivan. While he has shown signs of playing better at the center position he is at best 5th on the depth chart with a healthy roster and his resurgence coincided with him playing with Chris Kunitz and Scott Wilson. Both of which are producing at top six levels this year. I will be very surprised if Fehr is on the roster on March 2nd.
After going pointless in his last two contests Sidney Crosby will have back to back home games against Vancouver and Winnipeg to get point number 1,000 in front of the home crowd.
Elliotte Friedman's latest 30 thoughts column has some Penguins material
6. During Saturday’s Headlines, Nick Kypreos brought up the possibility of Pittsburgh getting Duchene. Prior to that, Rutherford shrugged off the idea the club could not add anyone with term. “I’ll do anything to win,” he said Friday. “If we have to fix our cap situation, we can do it after the season.”
I could see Gabriel Landeskog being a fit here, too. The organization does have Trevor Daley, Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz — all of whom make at least $3.3 million — coming off the books in the next two summers. Nick mentioned Derrick Pouliot as bait for a Colorado trade, but if this does happen, a more likely suspect would be Olli Maatta. Rutherford added it is his “preference to keep Marc-Andre Fleury as insurance for Matt Murray. But I recognize he wants to play.”
I don't doubt that Landeskog would do well in Pittsburgh. I wrote about this exact topic
last month. However, unless the Penguins are "fleecing" Colorado it isn't exactly a priority position for the team. Especially when you consider how Conor Sheary has played and the emergence this next player
7. A couple of weeks ago, we had a quote from AHL Binghamton coach Kurt Kleinendorst indicating how much he liked Pittsburgh prospect Jake Guentzel. Suffice it to say Rutherford likes Guentzel as much as Kleinendorst does. The forward “will be a Penguin for the rest of the season,” unless something weird happens. “All of our guys like playing with him.”
It appears that riding on a bus is going to be a thing of the past for Jake Guentzel. He's more than earned his spot on one of the deepest forward units in the league. Throw in Carl Hagelin, Chris Kunitz, and Scott Wilson into the left wing mix with Sheary and Guentzel and it makes no sense for the Penguins to pay market value for a pricey winger like Landeskog or Duchene.
Lastly, some news about Crosby and Malkin and the Olympics
8. Finally, Rutherford was asked if Pittsburgh, like Washington, has told Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (among others) they will be free to go the Olympics even if the NHL doesn’t go. “No, we haven’t had that conversation. It’s not necessary until we know for sure what is happening.”
I have to imagine Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be given the green light to do whatever they want to do if the NHL doesn't commit to the Olympics.
Thanks for reading!
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