Today I have some Pittsburgh related rumors and some thoughts on Stanley Cup Final.
Bob McKenzie offered up some information about both Mike Reilly and Phil Kessel yesterday, both with some tie ins to Pittsburgh.
Reilly is, however, believed to narrowing his interest amongst the eight to 10 clubs (Chicago, Columbus, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay) who interviewed him at the NHL Combine in Buffalo.In fact, the 21-year-old defenceman who played well for Team USA at the World Championship is in the process of having second interviews and/or visits with the teams he's most interested in.
I imagine that Reilly will physically visit some of the locations he is most serious about so keep an eye out for reports of a visit to Pittsburgh.
I have to imagine that this won't hurt the Penguins chances:
Reilly is currently in Los Angeles, training with strength and conditioning coach Andy O'Brien, and rubbing shoulders with Sidney Crosby and Nate MacKinnon, amongst others.
Bob McKenzie also reported on Phil Kessel's no trade list:
Prior to the trade deadline, TSN reported those eight teams were believed to be: Boston; Chicago; Los Angeles; Minnesota; Montreal; New York Rangers; Philadelphia; and Pittsburgh.
Yes Pittsburgh is on that list. No Pittsburgh is not a good fit for a Phil Kessel trade. Kessel is a very good player who makes 8.0M per season. Pittsburgh already has their share of high ticket items and they cannot afford to be taking on huge cap hits while plundering what remains of their futures.
The fact is Pittsburgh is in the market for reclamation projects (salary retained Alex Semin) or a young unproven forward such as a Kerby Rychel. Not saying they will get either of those two players but those are the only kind of deals Pittsburgh has the assets to swing.
Although it is worth pointing out that Brandon Sutter is the wild card in all of this. All it takes is one general manager to overvalue him, does that man exist? We will find out.
The Blackhawks are one win away from their third Cup in six seasons.
Blackhawks are 1 win away from the Cup. Toews and Kane have 1 goal in the series. Amazing what happens when you don't rely on just 2 players
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) June 14, 2015
The Blackhawks have an evaluation process they use with their players and they follow it. This is how you build decent depth and manage to fit everything under the salary cap.
Chicago will have to make some pretty big roster changes this offseason to accommodate some of the raises their core players are receiving. Having a process in place that has proven to be successful will help ease the transition for the Blackhawks. Teams that operate without a process get random results.
There is also luck involved
So all of Chicago's top four D have been playing almost every game, at huge minutes, for 2.5 years. Pretty remarkable.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 13, 2015
#TBLvsCHI marks just second time in #StanleyCup Final history that the opening 5 games have been decided by one goal (also 1951, TOR-MTL).
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 14, 2015
NBC lead play by play man mentioned early in the game last night that neither team has had more than a one goal lead in this series. That continues to be the case.
It feels kind of strange to have five consecutive one goal games in the playoffs without an overtime.
Jersey worn by Mario Lemieux at the 1987 Canada Cup. Now on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame. https://t.co/9PW2FRye4o
— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 14, 2015
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