In many ways, this season is unlike last season or any of the Penguins’ other recent ones, to hear Jim Rutherford tell it.
Here we are just five days away from the NHL’s trade deadline and the general manager, who long ago earned the nickname of “Trader Jim," says he isn’t necessarily all in.
History suggests Rutherford will make at least one move. It’s what he does. But there’s also ample reason to believe the Penguins won’t be the biggest buyers before 3 p.m. Monday. With just over $493,000 in available cap space, according to capfriendly.com, Rutherford’s hands are a bit tied. But if we know anything about the Penguins' GM during his reign, if there’s a deal to be made, you better believe he’ll make it.
Thing is, he doesn’t feel he absolutely has to do anything this time. That’s certainly a departure from last year when the Penguins made the biggest splash before the deadline when they acquired Derick Brassard from the Senators in a three-way trade that took Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves off the NHL roster. Later, Rutherford would call that trade the most complicated deal he’d ever consummated.
This year?
“I’m staying in the loop, I’m listening,” Rutherford was telling DKPittsburghSports.com this week. “We’ll see if something comes along. I don’t feel the urgency like I did a year ago. We needed to make our center ice stronger a year ago and we’ve certainly done that over the last year.”
Indeed, Rutherford beat the deadline rush by nearly a month when he dealt Brassard and Riley Sheahan and three picks in this summer’s draft to the Florida Panthers Feb. 1 in exchange for Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann. And that’s not to forget Matt Cullen, who has settled in as the fourth-line center after being brought back in free agency last July.
Bjugstad and McCann, who can play both center and wing, have been good fits to date but the Penguins still find themselves in a fight just to make the playoffs. They hold the NHL’s longest playoff appearance streak at 12 seasons but, admittedly, 2018-19 has been a different challenge.
“Over the years, with the cap system and the parity, you’ve got a lot of teams that are good teams,” Rutherford was saying. “There are more teams in the race than there were at this point in time in past seasons.”
That parity has made it a tough market for buyers. Outside of players such as Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarain, it’s not a great market.
And while Rutherford’s Penguins are certainly among those "good teams" to which he alluded, they have also struggled with consistency all season. After starting the season 6-2-2 in October, they then went 4-7-3 in November. The Penguins turned it on in December by going 11-3-1, but followed it up with a 6-5-0 January. They are 5-5-1 this month after Thursday night’s home loss to the Sharks. That inconsistency has certainly frustrated the fan base, and it’s also made it harder on Rutherford to get an accurate assessment of his team.
“There's a few things in our team game we can get stronger at, but they’re fixable,” Rutherford was telling me. “And there’s two or three players that need to get back on their game and play better. But they have just as good a chance of doing that as someone new I might bring in. But we’ll see. We’ll see if someone comes up with an idea that makes sense for us. If not, we’ ll go with what we have.”
• Rutherford declined to name names, but there are a few players that fit the description of needing “to get back on their game and get better.” Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist and Tanner Pearson readily come to mind. So does Matt Murray. Rutherford says he doesn’t have concerns about his goaltender’s ability or his ability to stay healthy, but he does want to see more consistency from his No. 1.
“The fact that he’s had such terrific games at times during the season tells me that it’s there and he’s the guy that won the Cups for us, the two Cups we won,” Rutherford said. “But that being said, we need consistent goaltending down the stretch because there’s not a lot of margin for error right now with this playoff race.”
MORE PENGUINS
• Sometime between now and Monday’s deadline, Rutherford said he hopes to have a decision regarding the short-term future of Teddy Blueger. When he’s played, the 24-year-old has excelled. Blueger has three goals and an assist in nine games. But he’s also been a healthy scratch twice, including Tuesday night’s game in Newark against the Devils, as the Penguins simply have a surplus of healthy forwards available. Rutherford says he must weigh the pros and cons of keeping a young player around the NHL and possibly playing or in the AHL playing regularly.
“We definitely want to keep him playing,” Rutherford said. “We really like what he’s done. Right from camp, he had a real good camp, played well in Wilkes-Barre. He’s proven that he can play here with the Penguins. Whether that’s right now, or in the playoffs or the start of next year … He’s got a good future here.”
Stay tuned on that one.
• Olli Maatta has been out of the lineup with a separated shoulder suffered Feb. 11 in Philadelphia. There has since been no update on his condition or whether the defenseman might be headed to long-term IR. Well, there’s still “no update,” Rutherford said sternly.
• One member of the front office -- not Rutherford -- hinted to me in the past week that the default mode will be to make a move. Not just to make it, but because there's a sentiment that more is needed. That official went no further. -- Dejan Kovacevic at PPG Paints Arena
PIRATES
• Adam Frazier will have a mentor this season as he makes the conversion to second baseman from utility infielder. Special assistant to baseball operations David Eckstein will spend most of the year with the major-league club. Eckstein was a middle infielder in the major leagues for 10 seasons from 2001-10 and was the MVP of the 2006 World Series when he helped the Cardinals beat the Tigers. His brother Rick Eckstein is in his first year as the Pirates' hitting coach. -- John Perrotto in Bradenton, Fla.
• The Pirates don't have a true center-fielder on the roster other than Starling Marte. Thus, Frazier would likely take over in center field if Marte had to miss a game or two. Because it is not optimal to have the starting second baseman playing another position, the Pirates are also considering looking at Pablo Reyes in center field during the exhibition season that begins Saturday. -- Perrotto
• Scouts from other teams will be closely watching Jacob Stallings during exhibition play, which begins Saturday. Stallings, the son of former Pitt basketball coach Kevin Stallings, is out of minor-league options and would have to clear waivers if the Pirates tried to send him down. Considering how many teams are looking for catching depth, there is at least a chance Stallings would get claimed. The Pirates have traditionally carried just two catchers on the 25-man roster, meaning Stallings is likely the odd man out behind Francisco Cervelli and Elias Diaz. -- Perrotto
• Garth Brooks' time in Pirates' camp is ending and he has proven to be anything but a distraction. In fact, the players could take a lesson in fan relations from the country music megastar. Not only has he fulfilled every fan's autograph request but he's done it with a smile, asking where they're from and gladly posing for pictures. -- Perrotto
• Bob Nutting's extensive appearance before reporters in Bradenton this week strongly suggested a new approach for the owner and those around him. The latter group has long felt that Nutting's at his best when he's most visible, most engaged. When he isn't, the cartoonish caricature of him takes over the impressions. Worse, when his speaking sessions are so sparse, each tiny misstep gets plucked apart not just that day but for weeks, even months. Expect to see and hear more from him, beginning with the home opener at PNC Park. -- Kovacevic
STEELERS
• The fact the Steelers didn't want to tie up half or more than half of their available salary cap space in a tag on Le'Veon Bell is telling. The Steelers have additional wiggle room they can create via cuts -- Morgan Burnett, etc. -- but they want to keep their estimated $19.4 million in cap space (per overthecap.com), available to make moves in free agency. The fact the Steelers didn't want to use that space on Bell means the team likely will be active. -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• Kevin Colbert wasn't bluffing when he said he won't allow the Steelers to be low-balled when it comes to offers for Antonio Brown. Some fans might have been upset at how the Steelers have handled the situation since Brown acted out, but it's the way they do business. They don't make a lot of pronouncements. They don't allow themselves to be backed into a corner. And they don't allow players to direct where they're going to wind up. That's why the team isn't allowing Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, to negotiate a deal with another team. Some within the organization believe that would be the best way to make this whole thing go more quickly, but Art Rooney II isn't interested in giving Brown that kind of control of this situation. -- Lolley
• Rooney also made it quite clear when he sat down with Brown that the receiver's behavior since the season ended isn't helping to facilitate a trade. And he reiterated his stance that the Steelers won't release Brown. Look for Brown to tone down the social media rhetoric. There is a belief in the organization that Brown was ramping up his questionable social media behavior to force his way out on his terms. Rooney assured Brown that is not going to happen. -- Lolley
• There seems to be some uncertainty regarding the status of receiver Eli Rogers. According to some reports, his contract will toll for 2018, meaning he will still be with the Steelers in 2019. That is not true. Rogers will be an unrestricted free agent after playing in three games last season. That leaves the Steelers with only JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Ryan Switzer, not including Brown, as veteran receivers on the team's roster for 2019. So you can expect at least one veteran receiver -- and more likely two -- to be added in free agency. -- Lolley
