Rutherford 'more optimistic' regarding NHL's return

Jim Rutherford is not convinced that hockey will return this spring or summer.

Given the uncertainty surrounding just about everything because of the coronavirus pandemic, it would be difficult to be that positive.

Nonetheless, he is more confident about the possibility than he was just a few weeks ago.

"Based on all the information I have, personally, I would be more optimistic now that we're going to be able to play," he said Monday. "But I don't know for sure."

Although the details of any plan to bring the NHL out of the state of suspended animation it has been in since March 12 have not been announced -- and likely have not been finalized -- Rutherford said the Penguins would be prepared to conduct a training camp as soon as the league gives its go-ahead.

"We're ready," he said. "Our staff works on that on a week-to-week basis. We're ready to go. We're just waiting for what the guidelines are."

Of course, there's no way of knowing at the moment just which players would be available to participate in such a camp, which Rutherford said would be planned for the team's practice facility in Cranberry rather than at PPG Paints Arena.

The border between the United States and Canada is closed to all "nonessential" travelers until at least the middle of this month, and players who have returned to Europe during the shutdown -- Rutherford said some of his players have, although he doesn't have the exact number -- might have difficulty returning.

"We have to follow the guidelines," Rutherford said. "When guys were talking about leaving (Western Pennsylvania), that was what I talked (to them) about. You go back to your countries, you quarantine for a couple of weeks and when you come back here, you're going to have to quarantine. Then the question is, are the borders going to be open? For me, that's still up in the air."

The ability of players to return to the area could influence the makeup of the Penguins' roster if the league resumes operations.

So could the decision on whether to cancel the remainder of the American Hockey League season. Should the AHL opt to call off the rest of 2019-20, it seems reasonable to think that NHL rosters might be expanded beyond the normal total of 23, even if it's just in the form of taxi squads, like the "Black Aces" that join NHL clubs during the Stanley Cup playoffs every spring after their minor-league team's season ends.

Rutherford estimated that the Penguins would look to expand their roster by nearly a third under that scenario.

"We'd probably have to carry a total of 30 guys, with the roster we have here (and) with whatever extras we'd add," he said. "If you go on a long run, we've all seen that you need extra guys."

It might be a while before the league settles on the finer points associated with resuming its season, but there are some draft-related issues that could be resolved in the near future.

League officials have endorsed the idea of conducting the draft in June, primarily for business reasons, while Rutherford, like most people involved with player-personnel decisions, has a different perspective.

"My preference is to have it after the season's over," he said.

If the rest of the current season is canceled, the league presumably will figure out how to deal with trades that were made to fortify team's rosters for the stretch drive and playoffs this spring.

The Penguins' acquisition of Jason Zucker from Minnesota doesn't qualify because Zucker's under contract through the 2022-23 season, but the one that brought Patrick Marleau from San Jose for a conditional third-round draft choice in 2021 does.

Marleau will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and had appeared in just eight games with the Penguins when the league shut down. While the terms of the initial trade presumably will stand, it's possible that teams acquiring a player such as Marleau could be awarded a compensatory pick to make up for not having him as long as expected when the trade was completed.

"When you do a 'rental' trade, it's to try to help you win the Stanley Cup," Rutherford said. "To have this situation, where the player only plays a few games, was not the intent (of the deal), so is there a possibility of a compensatory pick? Whatever the deal is with the other team is the deal. That would stand. But is it fair that those teams that made those deals get a compensatory pick somewhere in the draft? That would be my question."