One more day until hockey picks back up again and here are some interesting things I was able to track down in the meantime.
The first involves the future expansion draft, specifically Marc-Andre Fleury. There have been mixed reports on whether or not the Penguins would have to automatically protect Fleury in the expansion draft. This latest article suggests the Penguins would indeed have to protect him.
NHL teams receiving information about what expansion draft could look like: https://t.co/udJcfKyhxL @reporterchris pic.twitter.com/acOybYuxVF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 10, 2016
The fact is the Penguins have to trade Marc-Andre Fleury or Matt Murray. Leaving Matt Murray exposed because the Penguins are forced to protect Fleury isn't going to happen. Something will give.
Speaking of goaltending Matt Murray has done a nice job rebounding from losing efforts in net this postseason. He is 5-0 with a .935 save percentage.
Here are some more expansion draft rules
ICYMI All the rules currently available for the NHL's 2017 expansion draft (Las Vegas) https://t.co/tiApfnuzEO
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 11, 2016
Teams cannot reacquire players they trade after Jan. 1, 2017 prior to Jan. 1, 2018. This is to prevent teams from entering arrangements to “hide… players from the expansion draft. There will likely be a lot more guidelines as part of this rule.Teams have to expose at least two forwards and one defenceman who have played either 40 games in the previous season (2016-17) or 70 games in the previous two seasons (2015-17). Teams can only lose a max of one player.
The expansion team must select players that have a total value of between 60 and100 per cent of the 2016-17 salary cap.
The expansion team can’t buy out anyone it picks in the expansion draft until the following off-season (2018).
The expansion team will be given the same draft lottery odds as the team that finishes third last in the league and cannot pick later than sixth in the 2017 NHL entry draft. It’s possible the expansion team could end up with the first overall pick, if it wins the lottery. Teams must protect players that have no-movement clauses active in the 2017-18 season. No-movement clauses active in 2016-17 will have no impact. There will likely be exceptions made for players with no-movement clauses who are out with career-ending injuries (i.e. Ryane Clowe and Nathan Horton). Teams are not expected to be forced to protect those contracts.
the penguins' offense under mike sullivan might be historically good https://t.co/uGS1HuS2UQ
— your nice friend rl (@twolinepass) June 10, 2016
Ryan basically highlights how Mike Sullivan has been getting the most out of the talent that Pittsburgh has while Mike Johnston wasn't as efficient. It is worth noting that the last year Bylsma coached the Penguins also came during a time where he had the worst depth. The HQF/60 denotes the high quality chances the Penguins get per 60 minutes.
Bylsma probably deserves more credit for the job he did than people probably give him. Here is Bylsma's sample size not including his last year with the team (2013-14).
Again, it does show how impressive this Penguins team under Sullivan has been this year. Pittsburgh deserves to be one game away from winning the championship this year.
One of the things Pittsburgh has done well under Sullivan is eliminating the high danger chances that normally lead to goals. Here is a very nice breakdown showing what Pittsburgh has done on this front
TSN: The Pittsburgh Penguins have excelled at taking away the deadliest kind of scoring opportunities -- https://t.co/2DsdPq1YLr
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) June 9, 2016
It appears the multi-screen party that Pittsburgh threw on Thursday night didn't impact the television ratings
Sharks-Penguins Game 5 was NBC’s 2nd most watched SCF game w/o an Original Six team, behind Edmonton/Carolina Game 7 in 2006 (5.288 million)
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) June 10, 2016
Sidney Crosby is playing great hockey, but he is also pointless in his last three games. Patric Hornqvist needs to make the most of his opportunity playing with Crosby. He has two goals and three points in his last ten games. Considering the level that Crosby is playing at that just isn't good enough in my opinion. Throw in the fact that he has one of the highest dump in rates on the team and I look at him as a player who needs to step up in the next two games.
Here is an interesting look at the differences in how the 2009 and 2016 Penguins teams went about their playoff success. The 22 year old versions of Crosby and Malkin were unreal.
Wrote about how the 2009 and 2016 Penguins team compare, & how success can be dangerous.https://t.co/c0QS7nKedE pic.twitter.com/5HAwzjpZZ9
— m g (@kikkerlaika) June 10, 2016
Hockey lost one of its biggest stars on Friday. Mr. Hockey passed away at the age of 88.
This is one of my favourite hockey photos. Rest in peace, Mr. Hockey. pic.twitter.com/B6ek3ENWrb
— Steve Dangle Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) June 10, 2016
Thanks for reading!