MEDIA CLIPS at Penguins December 12, 2019

Columbus Blue Jackets Blue Jackets’ Emil Bemstrom out six to eight weeks with rib injury

By Jacob Myers – The Columbus Dispatch – December 11, 2019

The injury report became a bit busier for the Blue Jackets on Wednesday with another player slated to miss significant time.

Rookie forward Emil Bemstrom will miss six to eight weeks because of a dislocated rib and broken cartilage, the club announced.

Bemstrom was injured Saturday against Florida on a hit by Brian Boyle with 7:17 left in the second period. Bemstrom finished his shift but did not return to the game after that. Bemstrom was in Columbus being evaluated when the team was in Washington on Monday for a game.

He had recently showed some signs of growth on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Sonny Milano. But in general, the 20-year-old Swede has struggled in his first NHL .

After leading the Swedish Hockey League in scoring as a teenager last season, Bemstrom hasn’t made the adjustment to the NHL as quickly as the Jackets had hoped. He has three goals and six assists in 28 games.

With Bemstrom out, Eric Robinson will likely see the most playing time in Bemstrom’s place. The Jackets have no other forwards available on their roster, so they could call one up from the Cleveland Monsters.

Bemstrom joins Zach Werenski, Kole Sherwood, Markus Nutivaara and Brandon Dubinsky (out indefinitely) on the injury report.

Injury updates

Werenski and Sherwood were back on the ice at practice. Nutivaara is missing more time after he was expected to return from an upper-body injury that has kept him out since early November.

The Dispatch was told that Nutivarra is out because of a separate health issue. There’s no timeline for the defenseman’s return.

Coach John Tortorella said after practice that he did not have an update on where Werenski is in his recovery from a shoulder injury.

Bank shot

When Cam Atkinson steps onto the ice before practice to get his legs warmed up, he said he usually takes some pucks and fires them the length of the ice at an empty net. Sometimes he’ll use the boards and try to bank it in, trying out his geometry skills.

The Jackets forward put those to use on an empty-net to seal the win at Washington. With a defender closing in on him in the Jackets zone, Atkinson threw the puck off the board to clear it out of the zone but ended up scoring. "I know the angle," he said. "I didn't realize that (the puck) was going to go that fast. I was just trying to get it out and it just kept going and it looked like it kept speeding up. One of those I'll take."

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 12.12.2019

Blue Jackets' depth on blue line tested

By Brian Hedger – The Columbus Dispatch – December 11, 2019

It was late October and things were sorted out with the pecking order among Blue Jackets defensemen.

Coach John Tortorella had found his top six, which left Dean Kukan and Scott Harrington on the outside of the regular rotation.

Zach Werenski and Seth Jones formed the first pairing, as usual. Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara had become the second pair, who also moved the puck up the ice skillfully. The third duo was a bit of a throwback to the 2017-18 season, with stout rookie Vladislav Gavrikov and even stouter veteran David Savard as the stoppers.

“I think we've settled on the six,” Tortorella said Oct. 26 in Philadelphia before a 7-4 loss to the Flyers. “Right now, we're pretty satisfied with our three pairs, with Kuks and Harry being our depth guys. I don't want to put a number on them, but they're the guys that are out.”

As it turned out, it took only the game that followed to make those comments obsolete.

Murray suffered a broken hand against the Flyers, knocking him out for the next six games and throwing the Jackets' defensive zen out of whack.

Kukan, who also played against the Flyers that night while filling in because of Nutivaara's lower-body injury, wound up staying in the lineup and hasn't left it since. Harrington also played four games during Murray's absence, skating twice while Nutivaara was a healthy scratch.

Then came another blow. Nutivaara was struck in the head by the puck Nov. 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights and hasn't played since — missing 15 games and counting.

Murray returned two games later, but the original pairings were still not possible. Nutivaara was still out, Murray missed another game because of a swollen knee, after getting drilled with a shot in , and next came the biggest blue-line injury, on Nov. 30 at the New York Islanders.

Anders Lee ran into Werenski's left shoulder — the surgically repaired one — and caused a sprain of his AC joint that could him keep out another three weeks.

That prompted rookie Andrew Peeke to be recalled from the Cleveland Monsters a week ago, and he made his NHL debut Thursday against the . The current pairings are Kukan and Jones, Murray and Savard, and rookies Gavrikov and Peeke. Harrington also played a game before Peeke made his debut, so finding consistency among defense partners hasn't been easy for any of them. The Blue Jackets started the season with eight defensemen and have played nine, leaning heavily on their wealth of organizational depth.

“Losing (Werenski's) a big blow to us, but we don't spend much time thinking about it,” Tortorella said. “You go and play, so there's no sense in wasting a lot of thought on it. You get the next guy in that you think is ready to go, (who's) up, and you go play.”

This wasn't the plan, though.

The plan was to let those six who'd forged ahead drive the Blue Jackets' engine from the back, which hasn't been easy with so much turnover.

“I think we've done a pretty good job away from the puck with our back end, with a major injury (Werenski) out of the lineup,” Tortorella said. “It's hurt us offensively for sure, but I think we've done a pretty good job with those injuries in handling it.”

His defensemen agree.

"When you get so many injuries, you've got change line pairings and all that stuff," Savard said. "It can be hard defensively, but I don't think it's a reason to (struggle). Everybody should know their job."

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 12.12.2019

Never let ’em see you wince: David Savard delights in blocking shots

By Aaron Portzline – The Athletic – December 11, 2019

COLUMBUS, Ohio — David Savard is stumped by the question because asking him his earliest memory of blocking shots is like asking him about the first time he wore skates.

“I don’t think I ever had to be told to block a shot,” Savard said. “Ever since I started playing hockey, I guess, I’ve just always been a guy that would get in front of pucks.

“I know I did it in midget (15 years old). For sure, I was doing it then because the goalies were always laughing that I should wear their equipment. That’s when people actually noticed, but I don’t ever remember not doing it.”

This will surprise exactly nobody in the Blue Jackets’ dressing room because nobody has more welts, bumps and bruises by the end of a season than Savard, courtesy of that six-ounce chunk of vulcanized rubber.

It can be difficult to quantify the value of a rugged, stay-at-home defenseman like Savard — points don’t tell the story — but one such number has been coming into focus in recent weeks.

Savard had three blocked shots in the Blue Jackets’ 5-2 win over Washington on Monday, giving him 766 blocked shots in his 519-game NHL career, believed to be a franchise record. The phrase believed to be is key here, because the NHL didn’t start logging blocked shots until 2005-06 when the league returned after an owner’s lockout wiped out an entire season.

(It’s possible, in other words, that former Blue Jackets defenseman Rostislav Klesla would have something to say about this. He’s credited with 544 blocked shots, but that doesn’t count the blocks he would have made in 202 games before 2005.)

The Blue Jackets, per a spokesman, are counting Savard as the franchise record-holder — he passed Jack Johnson on Monday — and it just seems wholly appropriate.

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella often incorporates shot-blocking clips into the film he shows players. He did so the other day after Vladislav Gavrikov blocked three consecutive shots — and almost a fourth — in a painful display against Florida.

“I’ve never mentioned a word to (Savard) about blocking shots,” Tortorella said. “He’s just there. He is that willing. He always has been that way. Him and Jens (Boone Jenner) I don’t have to say a word to.

“There’s more of a want-to with them to block shots than with some other people. If you want to block that shot you find ways to get big. You can turn your body bigger. Other guys get smaller.

“With other guys, it’s ‘The coach told me to block this shot. I really don’t want to do it, but I’m going to try.’ You get small that way. These guys, they want to block it.”

Let’s be perfectly honest here: nobody wants to block a shot. There are far fewer slap shots in today’s NHL than 15-20 years ago. The composite sticks allow players greater velocity with wrist shots, which are far more accurate and quicker to release.

But this much hasn’t changed: “It fucking hurts,” Blue Jackets Nick Foligno said.

“You have to have balls to do it, but then you also have to know how to do it, without getting hurt,” Foligno continued. “You have to know how to put yourself in position to block it with the part of your body where there’s enough padding, and Savvy is really good at that.

“He’s also a thick boy, which helps. He’s taken some in spots where I don’t even know how it hasn’t hurt him.”

Through years of getting pelted and blasted, Savard said he’s learned a few tricks. The pivot of the hips and a certain movement of skates is an indication that a shot is likely coming. A slow pass across the top of the zone to a waiting shooter is the most predictable, but painful, to stop.

“You put yourself in the right position, and you learn what that is the more you do it,” Savard said. “We have padding and stuff.

“There’s always a few that aren’t as, you know, comfortable. But you learn how to position yourself so you don’t get hit in a weird spot or a bad spot where there isn’t protection.”

Ankles and wrists are the worst, Savard said. “Not a lot of protection,” he said. And the face, of course.

“Savvy has some really good blocks where he kind of sells the farm,” said Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray, who’s 1.7 blocks per game is among the highest in franchise history. “He’ll go down on one knee, get right down on the ice in the shooter’s lane when he knows it’s coming. That takes a lot of guts because you never know where it’s hitting you.”

Savard says he doesn’t ever remember missing a game because of an injury suffered from blocking shots. Maybe a shift here or there, but no big deal.

He also declined to say which opponent’s shot — Shea Weber? Brent Burns? Zdeno Chara? — is the hardest or most painful to absorb.

It’s all part of Savard’s personality that Tortorella said he admires the most. Never let ’em see you wince.

“The thing I love about him … he’s just such a big pro,” Tortorella said. “He blocks it and he goes to the bench and gets ready for his next shift.

“There’s not a lot of pain on his face. He’s not moving his leg up and down, even if it hurts. He never shows it. He just gets to the bench and gets ready for his next shift. That’s what I’ve always respected about Savvy.”

Savard acknowledged there are times where he’s been in enormous pain, agony even. But he doesn’t want to give the shooter any satisfaction, or any indication that he might have second thoughts about blocking the next shot.

“I try not to show too much,” Savard said. “There are some that hurt more than others, but I’ve kind of always played that way.

“I”m not going to be the guy that lays on the ice and stays there forever. I’ve never done that. Get up, get going. Maybe it’s just mental with me, but I want to keep going, battle through it.”

Foligno said he’s looked down the bench at Savard after a particularly painful shift and marveled at Savard’s stoic presence. He’s not grimacing or crying; he’s not even rubbing the welt.

“It’s actually really cool,” Foligno said. “Some guys want you to know they’re hurting, and some other times it hurts so bad you don’t care what anybody thinks because it fucking kills.

“He never seems to show it. It’s crazy. You’re like, ‘How did you take that off the back of your leg?’ — because you know there’s no padding there. He’s had some beauties. He just eats ’em. Crucial ones.”

If players are given silver sticks for playing 1,000 games, what should a club’s record-setting shot blocker receive? A bronze ice bag? A silver shin guard?

Savard will likely have to settle for his teammates’ respect. On a Blue Jackets’ blue line with first-round draft picks Seth Jones, Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray, Savard has often flown under the radar.

But not in the dressing room.

“I know love him,” Blue Jackets Joonas Korpisalo said. “He puts his body on the line every night. You can’t ask anything more of a guy.”

When Savard was drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2009 (fourth round, No. 94 overall) he was regarded as an offensive defenseman. But the game changed dramatically a few years later. Defensemen move like forwards now, and the pace of the game makes it difficult for stay-at-home types to survive.

Savard has had to change to survive, too, not just to stay in the NHL, but to find a role with the Blue Jackets. He’s the one constant on the Tortorella’s “shut-down” pair, with Jack Johnson, Ian Cole, Murray, Gavrikov, and others.

“Savvy reinvented himself, knowing the situation we’re in,” Foligno said, “and what selflessness there. He could have said, ‘No, I am this guy.’

“He has a big role, and I think he realizes it’s gotten bigger within this club with the way he plays and the way he’s out there for crucial moments. He’s looked upon by everybody in here as a leader.

“Watching him from when we first came into the NHL to now … what a pro he’s become, and what a difference he’s made in this room.”

Late last season, Savard had a conversation with goaltending coach Manny Legace that should surprise nobody. He asked him if he had any extra goaltending equipment.

Legace, in fact, had a full extra set in his basement. It was the perfect size for Savard.

Maybe his midget teammates were on to something. Savard may follow in the steps of Ohio’s Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, a former NHL defenseman who now plays goaltender in adult leagues in Columbus.

He may be blocking shots long after his NHL days are finished.

“When I can’t skate anymore, maybe I can sit in net and maybe block a few there,” Savard said.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.12.2019

Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins’ Chad Ruhwedel provides steady presence on defense

By Jerry DiPaola – Pittsburgh Tribune Review – December 11, 2019

Thanks in no small part to goaltender Tristan Jarry’s recent efforts, the have allowed only 85 goals in 31 games.

But don’t ignore the defensemen’s contributions.

Only two Eastern Conference teams, the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, have surrendered fewer goals this season, and the Penguins have won three of their past four games.

Maybe, as defenseman Marcus Pettersson suggested, it’s nothing more than simple physics and logic.

“Pass it,” he said of the puck. “Tanger (Kris Letang) and Schultzie (Justin Schultz) are the only two (defensemen) who are good enough to skate it up. That speeds up the game. You know, you can’t travel faster than the puck. That’s physically impossible.”

Passing — when done right — also keeps the puck out of danger.

“We don’t want the puck on our defensemen’s sticks very long in the neutral zone,” Pettersson said. “Feed the forwards, because we have such a skilled forward group.”

Which is the way coach Mike Sullivan wants to see his team play, and few defensemen follow the script closer than Pettersson’s defense partner, Chad Ruhwedel.

When he’s on the ice.

The road to the NHL has not been easy for Ruhwedel.

He grew up in San Diego and had to travel coast to coast to find ice.

“When I was younger, it was a lot harder than it is now,” he said of finding ice time in Southern California. “There are a lot of rinks by my old house, and the only thing is there are a lot of people, too.

“So there’s not a lot of availability. A lot of time it was early in the morning or later at night.”

Ruhwedel’s parents had Chad and his sister skating at a young age. She chose figure skating. Chad picked hockey.

Ruhwedel often traveled north of Los Angeles and even into the Midwest and East Coast to find good competition.

Before he joined the in 2012, he was on teams in Los Angeles, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Lowell, Mass. Finally, he signed with the Penguins in 2016.

This season, he has played in only eight games, but he recorded his only goal of the season and one of his two assists Saturday in a 5-3 victory in Detroit.

If the lack of ice time bothers him, he’s not showing it.

“Still trying to play my game, play it simple and just try to help the team win,” he said. “Just playing within myself, making good, crisp passes, getting out of the D-zone and trying to help the offense when we get the chance.

“(Inactivity) can be (difficult), but you try to not let it affect you, so when you do get in, you play well.”

Sullivan said Ruhwedel “defends with his mobility and his stick, and he’s competitive.”

“Chad’s at his best when he keeps the game simple. He defends hard. He makes outlet passes for us. He gets the puck through from the offensive blue line.”

Pettersson likes it when he’s paired with Ruhwedel.

“You always know where he is,” Pettersson said. “He’s reliable. He plays hard, so it’s kind of easy to read off him and work together with him.” Defensemen often are linked with different partners, but Pettersson said the Penguins system makes it easy to adapt.

“Sometimes, it can be (difficult),” he said, “but we have great structure to lean back on, and I think that helps us. You can always lean back on the structure and the system.

“Everybody plays the same way, so we’re easy to read off each other and we’re predictable.

“If you have a new guy, just focus on quick ups and get the puck up north quick.”

Tribune Review LOADED: 12.12.2019

Penguins get face-off practice assist from Matt Cullen

By Jerry DiPaola – Pittsburgh Tribune Review – December 11, 2019

Matt Cullen was back at practice Wednesday with the Pittsburgh Penguins but with no intention of making a comeback at the age of 43.

At the request of coach Mike Sullivan, Cullen conducted face-off practice, a job he occasionally has performed throughout the season.

“It’s an area of the game where we believe we can get better at,” Sullivan said. “Culley was a really good center iceman in all the years that he played and a smart center icemen as far as some of the strategies he deployed over the years against different opponents.

“He has the ability to share his experience with some of our younger centermen or all of our centermen, for that matter.”

Cullen played 21 seasons in the NHL, the last being last season with the Penguins. He retired with a 53.3% success rate on face-offs.

The Penguins are 20th in the NHL with a 49.2 percentage. leads the team at 55%, even though he has missed 14 of 31 games.

Sullivan said Cullen helps on and off the ice when he visits from his home in Minnesota.

“Watching video with (players),” Sullivan said, “and trying to give them different strategies and some ideas and things to think about and how we can get better in that aspect of the game.”

What if …

Near the end of his chat with reporters, Sullivan was given a hypothetical situation to consider. He was asked to choose between assistant coach , Penguins TV and radio analysts Bob Errey and Phil Bourque or himself if he desperately needed a body to help his injury-riddled team.

All men are in their 50s and played at least 11 years in the NHL (Recchi lasted 22 years), but Sullivan — the youngest of the group at 51 — said in a self-deprecating manner, “I could eliminate one right away.” But he did come up with an answer.

“That’s a tough call,” he said. “I would probably have to go with Recchs because he gets more reps out there in some of our practices. If you guys have noticed, he’s been pretty good. He’s a smart player. All three of those guys are smart players.”

When Sullivan was asked if co-owner , 54, would be someone to consider, Sullivan said, “I’d be crazy not to.”

Not bad

Kris Letang said he likes what he has seen from rookie defenseman John Marino, whose plus-11 rating is tied for second on the team with Jared McCann and Bryan Rust.

“I like a lot of things,” Letang said. “The fact that he moves his feet a lot. He’s involved in both sides of the puck. He brings a physical aspect of the game. He’s showing that he has a lot of confidence in his assets and his game.”

Letang said Marino also is showing admirable composure for a 22-year-old.

“That’s what he’s shown all year, and that’s why he’s in a position that he can play those big minutes and play against a tough opponent,” Letang said. “He’s been good for us.”

Line shifts

Sullivan made slight adjustments to his forward lines at practice after the 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

He flipped Dominik Simon from right wing on the second line to left wing on the fourth line, replacing him with Zach Aston-Reese.

Also, fourth-line center and right winger Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev were promoted to the third line, and Sam Lafferty and Stefan Noesen were dropped down.

Beware the forecheck

The Penguins (17-10-4) meet the Columbus Blue Jackets (12-14-4) for the third time this season Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. Sullivan said his team needs to be ready for the Blue Jackets’ strength: forechecking.

“They tend to dump the puck a lot,” he said. “The strength of their game is in their forecheck. They come at you with a heavy forecheck and lots of pressure.

“We are going to have to be ready for it.”

The Penguins are 1-1 against the Blue Jackets, winning, 7-2, at home and losing, 5-2, in Columbus.

Tribune Review LOADED: 12.12.2019

Tim Benz: Young Jedi Tristan Jarry should rebound after Penguins’ ‘Star Wars’ night loss

By Tim Benz – Pittsburgh Tribune Review – December 11, 2019

AT&T SportsNet’s Penguins reporter Dan Potash got into the mood for “Star Wars” night at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the Pens, the Montreal Canadiens were wielding their sticks like Potash’s lightsaber, slicing the Penguins defense along the way to a 4-1 road win.

Through the first period, it appeared that goaltender Tristan Jarry may be en route to a third straight after carrying a 1-0 lead into the locker room for the first intermission.

But his franchise-record scoreless streak was snapped at 177:55. That’s when Tomas Tatar scored a power-play goal 12:24 into the second period that tied the game at 1-1.

Tomas Vokoun previously held the record with a stretch of 173:06 in the 2012-13 season.

The Canadiens went on to score twice more in the second period. Then they added an empty netter to make the final score 4-1.

Despite the loss, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that he still saw the traits that made Jarry so solid during his hot stretch.

“I thought he was good,” Sullivan said of Jarry. “For me, it’s his compete level. His focus. He was tracking the puck. He made some big saves for us in the second period.”

But the Penguins collectively were so bad in those 20 minutes of the middle period that the Canadiens still had a multitude of scoring opportunities despite some of the saves Jarry made.

“They put a lot of pressure on,” Jarry said. “They are a hard team. They get a lot of pucks on (net). They shoot from everywhere. It’s just one of those things where we have to be ready at all times.”

Being ready at all times is something that has been a point of improvement for Jarry this year. Rick Tocchet had high praise for Jarry Friday night after the young goalie blanked his 2-0. The former Penguins assistant coach can see some maturation in Jarry’s game.

“He’s a lot quieter in the net,” Tocchet said. “A couple of years ago, he was still a good goalie. But side to side, he kind of got out of control.

“Now, when he is going side to side, he is really locked in. He’s there for the second shot. The really good goalies make that first stop when they are out of the net. Then they make the second stop. The really good goalies — (Marc-Andre) Fleury, (Matt) Murray, (Darcy) Kuemper — they make that second save. They stop that first shot then they get into that position to make that second save.”

With the defeat, Jarry’s record dropped to 7-5-0. But even after allowing the three goals, his save percentage is .938 and his goals against average is 1.92. Both those marks lead the NHL. It appears he is now reaching the potential that intrigued the Penguins enough to make him the 44th pick in the draft back in 2013. After playing in 26 NHL games back in 2017-18, he suited up just twice for the Penguins last year, spending most of his time in the AHL.

“Something I’ve been working on is managing my rebounds and putting them in a better spot for me to be able to get to. It’s something that, as you keep growing as a player, it helps as you go along,” Jarry said.

So, for a night, maybe Jarry’s deflector shields weren’t as sturdy as the Millennium Falcon’s. Perhaps he wasn’t wearing his Mandalorian beskar iron.

But the good news for the Penguins is that “the force” appears to be strong with this one.

At least for now.

Tribune Review LOADED: 12.12.2019

How the Penguins are still learning lessons from last year's Islanders sweep

By Staff – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – December 11, 2019

Zach Aston-Reese had been in the Penguins locker room at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex for barely a minute Wednesday when a reporter sidled up to him, wanting to know if he had a few minutes to chat about his favorite thing.

“Skittles?” he replied, sliding off his elbow pads and plopping down at his stall.

Told the topic of the day would be “getting pucks deep,” the winger chuckled.

Aston-Reese, a bright dude with a sly sense of humor, is well aware that his NHL peers throw out that clichéd phrase in interviews as if there is standard language in their contracts awarding them a bonus if they do it 1,000 times in a season. He says it from time to time, too, poking fun at himself for it afterward.

On the ice, getting pucks deep can also seem pretty bland, especially in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins have won five Stanley Cups with flair. But of all the tweaks they made this season, that has arguably been as impactful as any.

Last season, the Penguins dumped in the puck on 51.6% of their entries into the offensive zone, according to Sportlogiq, as opposed to carrying it in over the blue line. This season, that rate is up to 54.6%, which is 22nd-most in the NHL.

But that increase, not massive but not insignificant, doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s not just how often the Penguins are dumping in the puck; it’s when.

Penguins puck-carriers have done a much better job of picking their battles at the blue line after trying too often in 2018-19 to stickhandle through a crowd. With a number of ghastly giveaways at the blue line, the Penguins were often exposed in transition. No goalie faced more shots off odd-man rushes per game than , who on average saw 1.76, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

It was ultimately their undoing in the playoffs, when they displayed little patience against the New York Islanders, who killed them on the counterattack. By the final game of that first-round sweep, Mike Sullivan was practically begging the Penguins to stop skating into the wall of Islanders at the blue line.

“That was one thing Coach was pretty pissed about coming into the season, the amount of odd-man rushes we gave up,” Aston-Reese said. “A lot of that is from not getting the puck deep. When we didn’t have a play last year, we would still try to force it instead of playing it behind them and trying to get it back.”

Penguins call on Matt Cullen to help with faceoffs

There are a number of reasons why the Penguins are in the NHL’s top 10 in goals against right now, including stellar puck-stopping from Tristan Jarry and the play of standout rookie defenseman John Marino. Players more often making responsible decisions when entering the offensive zone ranks highly on that list, too.

As a result, they’ve allowed just 38 shots off odd-man rushes in 33 games.

“When our team has had success, and we’ve been pretty consistent with it this year, is when we manage the puck pretty well in those situations,” Sullivan said. “When we don’t have numbers or support or … we just simplify the game and put pucks behind them and force them to go goal line to goal line.”

Not all dump-ins are created equally. Sometimes, they can create offense. Other times, they are a way to, as Jack Johnson put it, “live to fight another day.”

One turnover by Alex Galchenyuk in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens serves as an example of when it makes sense to simply give it up.

It was during the second period, so the Penguins had the long change, and their two defensemen desperately needed a breather. Instead of getting the puck deep to buy them some time, Galchenyuk tried to dangle through a pair of defenders. He quickly lost the puck, forcing Kris Letang to double back to their end.

The Canadiens couldn’t capitalize. But Sullivan, who briefly benched Jake Guentzel last season for doing something similar, surely wasn’t thrilled by that.

Sullivan made it clear Wednesday that, “We’re not telling our players to dump it in all the time.” He recognizes the Penguins have elite offensive talent and isn’t about to ask Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to chip and chase all game. Instead, he encourages his players to make the right reads on the fly.

And if the other team is littering their blue line with bodies, why not lob the puck into open space in the corner, race to retrieve it then resume the attack?

“Establishing a forecheck and creating offense in different ways is an important aspect of us becoming … a team that’s hard to play against,” Sullivan said. The Penguins did that early in last week’s 3-0 win over the St. Louis Blues, another team that is no picnic. After Teddy Blueger won a faceoff in the neutral zone in the first minute of the game, the Penguins went to work on the forecheck.

“It’s pretty similar to how we drew it up last year,” Aston-Reese said when asked what is different about the forecheck. “But now, it’s easier to forecheck [because] you anticipate it being [dumped] in instead of being surprised by it.”

Marcus Pettersson rimmed the puck around the boards, and Brandon Tanev made a beeline to the opposite corner. A ferocious forechecker who craves contact, he checked Carl Gunnarsson as the puck got to the Blues defenseman.

“We kind of knew where the puck was going if we won it,” Blueger said. “Tanev was going to be the first guy in on it. The other guys try to help and support him, kind of read off him because off the forecheck the puck can go anywhere.”

With Gunnarsson pinned to the glass, Blueger grabbed the loose puck and started a cycle. From below the goal line, Tanev banked a pass off the side boards to Pettersson, who fired a shot that Blueger tipped past Jordan Binnington.

The Penguins, who rank seventh in the NHL in goals, have retrieved the puck before the other team gained possession on only 31.2% of their dump-ins, which ranks 29th in the league per Sportlogiq. So there’s room for improvement.

But in some cases, an empty chip-and-chase still beats the alternative.

“I think we learned an important lesson [against the Islanders],” Aston-Reese said. “It’s always defense first. They always had five guys back. They just used our aggressiveness against us. They just waited for us to make a mistake. So we took a little page out of their book. But why not if it’s having success, you know?”

Post Gazette LOADED: 12.12.2019

Penguins call on Matt Cullen to help with faceoffs

By Staff – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – December 11, 2019

A familiar face picked up a stick and skated to center ice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Former Penguins and current player development coach Matt Cullen was in town. And before you ask, no, Pittsburgh’s recent injury issues hadn’t forced the club to lure him out of retirement. Rather, he was there to help the team with one specific nuance of the game: faceoffs.

This year, the Penguins have won 49.2% of their faceoffs, which ranks 20th in the league. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has given Cullen, a career 53.3% faceoff man during his 21-year career, the assignment to work with centers on this aspect of the game — both on the ice and with video. “It’s an area of the game we believe we can get better at,” Sullivan said. “Cullen was a real good center- iceman in all the years that he played and a smart center-iceman in terms of the strategies that he deployed over the years against different opponents. I think he has the opportunity to share his experience.”

This aspect of the game is a bit more critical with Sidney Crosby injured. The Penguins captain had turned himself into one of the game’s best in the circle. Before he left the Nov. 9 game against the Blackhawks, Crosby had won 55.4% of his draws, 15th best in the league.

Evgeni Malkin, a career 44.2% faceoff man, is having the best years of his career in the circle. He’s won 55% of his draws this year. If he can keep it up, it will mark the first time in his career that he’s above 50%.

However, the Penguins’ other three regular centers — Jared McCann (46.3%), Teddy Blueger (47.1%) and Sam Lafferty (47.6%) — are all well below the 50% mark.

“We’re trying to get better at that nuance of the game,” Sullivan said. “It’s an important aspect of the game. We know that’s an area we can improve.”

Kahun changes sides

When the Penguins traded for Dominik Kahun this offseason, they imagined he’d provide the versatility to move up and down the lineup and play on both wings. However, when they thrust that upon him initially — left wing one game, right the other; second line one game, fourth the next — he struggled with all the moving pieces, tallying just two points in the first 11 games.

But now he’s emerged from that slow start to become one of the most productive offensive players on the team. He’s recorded 15 points in the last 19 games, including eight goals.

After allowing him to settle into that left side, the Penguins are starting to tap into some of his versatility. They lined him up on the right wing for the first time since Nov. 7. The line featured McCann at center and Zach Aston-Reese at left wing.

While there are differences now that he’s playing on his off side, Sullivan doesn’t see it as a disadvantage.

“With the way the game is being played today, when you look at how aggressive teams pinch the walls on the breakouts, I actually think it’s an advantage being on your off side,” Sullivan said. “You get down to that puck on your forehand, a lot of times you have to either go back to your defenseman or lateral across to your center, or you bump to your center underneath because of how aggressively teams are pinching the walls.”

Reshuffled lines

The line featuring Jake Guentzel, Malkin and Bryan Rust remained intact at practice on Wednesday. However, the other three saw some changes.

Aston-Reese skated in what appeared to be a top-six role on the McCann line with Kahun. Alex Galchenyuk moved from Lafferty’s left wing to play on a line with Blueger and right wing Brandon Tanev. Dominik Simon, Lafferty and Stefan Noesen made up the fourth line. Forecheck focus

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Penguins will meet the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh knows well what to expect from a John Tortorella-coached team.

“They tend to dump the puck a lot,” Sullivan said. “I think the strength of their game is in their forecheck. They come at you with a heavy forecheck and lots of pressure. We’re going to have to be ready for it.”

Hypothetically speaking …

At the end of his interview session, Sullivan was asked a hard-hitting question: If the Penguins were desperate for a player, who would the coach suit up: assistant coach Mark Recchi, former Penguin and current broadcaster Bob Errey, former Penguin and current radio man Phil Bourque or himself?

“Well I can eliminate one right away,” Sullivan said when his name was entered to the conversation.

“That’s a tough call. I’d probably have to go with [Recchi] just because he gets more reps out there through our practices. If you guys have noticed, he’s pretty good.”

Post Gazette LOADED: 12.12.2019

Mario Lemieux watched ‘boring’ Canadiens remind his Penguins wins in NHL don’t come easy

By Rob Rossi – The Athletic – December 11, 2019

Tuesday night, Mario Lemieux returned from his holiday in Florida to the hockey house that Sidney Crosby got built for Pittsburgh. And what Lemieux witnessed at PPG Paints Arena could have just as well happened at , Bell Centre or the Montreal Forum.

“That’s the way they play: boring hockey,” Lemieux said during a pause in conversation with Crosby and Pierre Larouche, the Penguins stars who respectively followed and preceded his playing days in Pittsburgh.

“They always have.”

Those weren’t sour grapes being offered by Lemieux. He almost sounded impressed the Canadiens, the historic NHL team from his hometown of Montreal, had borrowed so heavily from their traditional blueprint to take down the Penguins, the salary cap era’s standard-bearing team from his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh.

Suck ’em in, then suck the life out of ’em. It’s the Canadiens’ way when they’re at their best, and they were indeed that in the second period of what became a 4-1 win over the Penguins on Tuesday night. Though, to a player, these Penguins blamed themselves for their first regulation home loss since Marc- Andre Fleury — a French Canadian (uh, anybody else noticing a trend here?) — blanked them in a visit by the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 19.

“It hasn’t happened very much where we beat ourselves,” winger Jake Guentzel said of only the Penguins’ fourth home game without claiming at least a point. “I think tonight was one of those nights where we weren’t playing simple, we weren’t getting behind their (defense), and they took advantage of us.”

With three goals in the second period, the Canadiens completely flipped a game that seemed to be going the way the Penguins had planned. Guentzel’s team-leading 17th goal early in the first period completed a picturesque sequence on which he, fellow winger Bryan Rust and center Evgeni Malkin nearly broke in three-on-none against Canadiens goalie Carey Price.

A route by the Penguins seemed possible, if not likely.

Instead, they were harshly — and perhaps necessarily — reminded that victories are hard to come by in this league, especially when the likes of Crosby, winger Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Brian Dumoulin are out of the lineup because of injuries. Along with those players, forward Nick Bjugstad’s absence stretched the Penguins’ total for man-games lost to 119.

The Canadiens are at only 42.

Considering the 77 man-games lost difference, there probably shouldn’t be as much space as there is between Pittsburgh and Montreal in the Eastern Conference standings. Then again, the Penguins are already involved in a three-team game of leapfrog for the first and second wild-card spots, and now the Canadiens are within four points of making that a four-team contest.

Oh, and the New York Rangers are closing the gap, too.

Point is, all the points matter for coach Mike Sullivan’s squad. So, when facing a Montreal club that had surrendered 44 goals in 11 previous games, the Penguins probably needed to do better than come up empty in the first of three consecutive home games before a weeklong swing through Western Canada.

As for what “better” looks like, well, that’s, uh, simple.

“When you see the game going that way, you just need to simplify,” defenseman Kris Letang said of the second period against the Canadiens, who were +4 in shot attempts during their 3-0 scoring run.

“Maybe it’s going to be a boring game, but I think we have to stick with it. Maybe we tried to do a little too much and we got caught in some areas.”

Sure, some bad bounces went against the Penguins (particularly Letang, who played much of the game on the left side because of Dumoulin’s absence.) Still, a lot of the Canadiens’ best opportunities appeared to be the result of forced passes or lost battles by the Penguins.

The eras of Larouche, Lemieux and Crosby featured Penguins teams that were guilty of trying to do too much or relying too much on skill, but this group has mostly made a habit of winning races to loose pucks and making smart decisions once in possession of them. The Force was not with these Penguins against the Canadiens on Star Wars Night. This was not the performance they were looking for.

“We made some poor decisions. We weren’t strong enough on pucks. And as a result, we didn’t control the period like we’re capable of,” Sullivan said of the second period.

He noted, correctly, that nothing the Canadiens did was revelatory. They forechecked fairly consistently and their defensemen were active on the boards, but the Penguins see a lot of that from most opponents.

What they have given most opponents a look at is a team that brings a tenacious, speed-based attack that comes in waves, even if only one of those waves — the top line of Guentzel-Malkin-Rust — does most of the damage. Either Malkin or Guentzel had played a part in 12 of the Penguins’ previous 22 goals scored, and their combined 22 points had fueled the Penguins’ 4-2-0 mini-march before this defeat.

Unrealistic it is the expectation of 3.83 points per game from Malkin and Guentzel. Should not the Penguins think that 94 percent of shots Tristan Jarry will save, either.

Because there is no Master Yoda. Or Baby Yoda. Or any Yoda.

It’s simply unsustainable for an NHL team to rely on a couple elite offensive players such, as Malkin and Guentzel, or a goalie, such as Jarry, performing way beyond expectations.

Sullivan said Jarry was “good” against the Canadiens. He stopped 22 shots, including 14 in a second period during which the Penguins played as though they had been frozen in carbonite. Not a lot was asked of Jarry in the first and third periods, but he stopped each of the eight shots he faced then, and nothing about his performance against Montreal merits him giving the crease back to Matt Murray when the Penguins face the Columbus Blue Jackets at home Thursday night.

This is not to suggest Murray might not take the crease for that game.

The big picture is keenly on Sullivan’s mind, and getting Murray, who has struggled, back on track is viewed as paramount within the organization. Giving him the start in a game the Penguins figure to approach with a lot more energy — if not urgency — than they did against the Canadiens probably wouldn’t be the worst strategy.

It will be a wait-and-see situation for the Penguins.

That’s what it was for too much of the middle period against the Canadiens. They paid for it.

Had more of them grown up watching the Canadiens’ glorious 1970s teams, as did Lemieux, perhaps these Penguins would have known what awaited them on at PPG Paints Arena.

Lemieux called it “boring hockey.” And as Admiral Ackbar said in some movie, “It’s a trap.”

The Athletic LOADED: 12.12.2019

Minor league report: Penguins drop fourth straight to Americans

By Seth Rorabaugh – Pittsburgh Tribune Review – December 12, 2019

Forward Jan Drozg had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-2 loss to the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. on Wednesday.

Forward Sam Miletic scored the other goal for the Penguins (13-9-3-1) while goaltender Casey DeSmith made 26 saves in the defeat which extended a losing streak for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to four games.

The Penguins’ next game is against the Cleveland Monsters at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Friday, 7 p.m.

Forward Nick Saracino had a goal and an assist for the in a 4-3 win against the Rapid City Rush at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D.

Goaltender Jordan Ruby made 32 saves for the Nailers (10-10-4-0).

The Nailers’ next game is on the road against the Rush on Friday, 9:05 p.m.

Tribune Review LOADED: 12.12.2019

NHL/Websites The Top 10 biggest disappointments of the 2019-20 season so far

By Ian Tulloch – The Athletic – December 11, 2019

Last week, I broke down the Top 10 pleasant surprises of the 2019-20 season. We’re going to look at the other side of the coin today, going through the biggest disappointments of the year.

The tricky part about making this list is expectations. What did we expect from a player coming into the season — and what have they actually accomplished so far? Whenever there’s a big gap between those two answers, it’s going to lead to disappointment from the fan base. It’s important to note that when we’re making that assessment, it comes down to our own subjective opinion of what a player should be able to accomplish.

I tried my best to address players whose expectations were sky-high coming into the season — in my not-so-subtle attempt to minimize any backlash — but there are always going to be disagreements. If you have any thoughts, questions, or concerns with the players I have (or don’t have) in this week’s top ten, be sure to reach out to me in the comments section.

1. Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Flames This is one of the most confusing storylines of the year. Gaudreau has always been an elite offensive player throughout his career, but he’s inexplicably producing like a fourth liner this season.

As an infamous graph enthusiast, I like how this visualizes shows just how much Gaudreau’s production has fallen off a cliff this year. What’s bizarre is that he’s still elite in all the categories we care about. For example, he currently ranks fourth in the NHL when it comes to gaining the zone with possession of the puck and fifth in completed passes to the slot based on Sportlogiq’s data, courtesy of The Point.

Watching him play, he still looks like the dangerous playmaker we’ve come to know and love, but the pucks just haven’t been going in this year. How much of that is a product of terrible luck? Well, Gaudreau is currently shooting 3.2 percent at 5-on-5. That’s obviously going to increase over time. What’s weird is that his teammates have actually been shooting at a somewhat decent percentage when they’re on the ice with him, converting on 7.8 percent of their chances. Again, we should probably expect that to increase considering the quality of passes Gaudreau is feeding them, but it’s super bizarre to see such an elite offensive player struggle to produce.

2. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Florida Panthers

When you’re paying $70 million for a star goaltender across seven years, it’s natural to assume that the back-half of the contract isn’t going to look very good. What’s concerning for Florida is that Year 1 of the deal hasn’t panned. Bobrovsky is currently posting an .893 save percentage, which is well below his .921 career average coming into this season. When we look at some of the more advanced public metrics – such as Goals Saved Above Expected – the numbers paint a similar picture.

This is one of those weird circumstances where the statistics and eye-test don’t quite match up, which typically means we have to do more digging. After diving into some of Stephen Valiquette’s work with Clear Sight Analytics, I learned that Bobrovsky has actually been facing the toughest environment as a goaltender when we account for screens, odd-man rushes, and backdoor passes. This was something Valiquette discussed on episode 44 of the InGoal Magazine Podcast around the 45-minute mark, which I highly encourage you to check out when you have the time.

The data is from a private company, so unfortunately, I’m not able to cite the 10 goaltenders facing the toughest load of quality chances against, but this does help explain why a goaltender with as much talent as Bobrovsky has been struggling. Whenever there’s a gap this sizeable between a goaltender’s skill and the goals he’s giving up, a lot of it can be chalked up to poor defense – which is difficult to account for right now considering the public data doesn’t capture clear sight lines, odd-man rushes, or pre-shot movement.

I’m pretty confident a goalie with the ability to make saves like that is going to figure things out throughout the course of a season, but it starts with the team in front of him reducing high-percentage chances against.

3. Joonas Korpisalo, G, Columbus Blue Jackets

This is the opposite situation from Bobrosvky, which is quite concerning for Blue Jackets fans – or uplifting depending on your perspective. Korpisalo has been facing the easiest shots in the league this year according to Clear Sight, yet he has one of the worst save percentages in the league. That’s a big problem. After accounting for shot quality, Columbus has actually been one of the league’s better teams and tilting the ice in their favor – they just haven’t been able to buy a save.

The other team that really stands out here is the Kings. Jonathan Quick has been brutal over the past two seasons, giving up significantly more goals than we would expect based on the chances Los Angeles is giving up. With Korpisalo, the story is similar in Columbus. The team in front of him has been playing surprisingly great hockey despite they just need an NHL-calibre starting goaltender.

4. Brent Burns, RD,

The Sharks have been getting significantly out-chanced at even strength this season, which is quite troubling when you consider they were one of the best teams in that department last year. A metric like expected goals can help us quantify this, looking at the number of goals a team is “expected” to score and allow based on the quality of shots they’re giving up. The 2018-19 Sharks were third in expected goal differential, while the 2019-20 Sharks rank 28th.

The biggest difference for San Jose this year: Brent Burns. He was dominant at tilting the ice in his team’s favor last season, but he’s been getting shelled at even strength so far in 2019-20. Andrew Berkshire from Sportsnet had an interesting theory about this, hypothesizing that the loss of Joe Pavelski’s other-worldly tipping ability would result in lower quality shots from the Sharks. When we compare San Jose’s offensive heat maps over the past two seasons, that appears to be the case.

You can literally see Burns’ machine-gun approach from the right point, firing everything toward the net with Pavelski and company taking advantage of the rebounds and deflections they create. This season, the Sharks haven’t been able to generate as much volume in the offensive zone – which might have something to do with the fact that Burns is stuck playing in his own end pretty often these days.

Yikes.

Some of this has to do with the fact that Marc-Edouard Vlasic might not be an NHL defenseman anymore, which is a big problem considering the Vlasic-Burns pair is making a combined $15 million per season until 2025.

5. Colton Parayko , RD, St Louis Blues

Parayko’s combination of size, strength and skating ability is unlike anything we have in the NHL. But he and the Blues have been quietly terrible at 5-on-5 for well over two months now.

St. Louis currently rank 27th in expected goal differential and Parayko is a big reason why. Much like Burns in San Jose, any time one of your minute-munching defensemen is getting hemmed in their own zone with consistency, your results at the team-level are going to struggle. Luckily for Blues fans, the team has been getting some stellar goaltending from Jordan Binnington, who ranks third among NHL starters in save percentage above expectation according to Clear Sight’s data.

It’s yet to be seen whether he can keep that up, but even if he can, it would be in the Blues’ best interest to clean things up at 5-on-5. They’re too talented to keep getting out-chanced like this, as is Parayko.

6. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Montreal Canadiens Last season, Kotkaniemi burst onto the scene by absolutely crushing third-line minutes for the Canadiens. He did so well in that role, it led to a discussion in the analytics community about whether or not a third-line centre should receive legitimate Selke consideration. Spoiler: He didn’t.

Performing that well at 5-on-5 is pretty rare for an 18-year-old, which made a lot of us nerds salivate at the thought of what he could do with another year of development under his belt. Fast-forward a few months, and Kotkaniemi has been a huge disappointment in 2019-20. His point production is non- existant, putting up only five points in 22 games. What’s more concerning is the fact that he’s been getting outshot and out-chanced at even strength.

In fact, he has the worst expected goal differential on Montreal this season after adjusting for context. There’s no other way to put it – that’s extremely disappointing, especially from a player who became a fancy stats darling last season.

7. Phil Kessel, RW, Arizona Coyotes

No one likes criticizing Kessel less than me, but someone needs to do it. He’s been terrible at 5-on-5 this season for the Coyotes, producing at a below replacement-level rate. It’s hard to put into words just how disappointing Arizona’s first line has been offensively at even strength, so let’s use a table instead.

What’s great about this list is that there’s a legitimate argument to put any one of them in today’s article. Some of these players make up for their lack of 5-on-5 production with their power play value (e.g. Stastny, Neal) or defensive prowess (e.g. Staal, Backlund)..

With respect to Kessel, it’s clear his linemates haven’t been helping him very much at even strength. He’s still using his speed to counter-attack off the rush, stop on a dime, and use his under-rated playmaking ability to find teammates with cross-ice passes, but the goals just haven’t been there. That’s a big problem for a one-dimensional player who provides below replacement level value defensively. Nobody’s expecting Kessel to provide Selke quality defense, but if he isn’t producing offensively, he’s a huge liability to his team.

8. Jake Gardiner, LD, Carolina Hurricanes

Gardiner is having one heck of a weird season. If you’ve been watching the Hurricanes play, you’ve probably noticed he’s been on the ice for a lot of goals for. In fact, he has the worst goal differential among defensemen this season after adjusting for context. That seems less than ideal for a player getting sheltered usage on the third pair of the best 5-on-5 team in hockey.

My question is: How much of that is simply bad luck? When you add up the team’s shooting percentage (3.6 percent) and save percentage (.893) when he’s on the ice at even strength, you get a PDO of 92.9. Anytime that stat is well below 100, we know it’s bound to regress closer to league average over time. With that being said, how much of Gardiner’s poor goal metrics are the product of poor play?

I reached out to Corey Sznajder, to get my answer. He’s probably watched more hockey over the last three seasons than anyone on the planet thanks to all the manual tracking he’s done, and Sznajder just happens to be a Hurricanes fan. Here are some of his thoughts on Gardiner’s bizarre 2019-20 season. It’s a lot of poorly timed mistakes. Not all of them are his fault, but he’s lost the puck at the blue line a few times and he gets lost in coverage a bit. It’s not all on him because he gets third pair minutes with Trevor van Riemsdyk or Haydn Fleury and they’ve struggled to stay with their man too.

The only thing I’m really frustrated with Jake is the lack of offense. He’s been just okay at exiting with possession and making a lot of clears through center. Which is alright but they need more from him offensively. I can live with the mistakes because the number of pucks going in against him is kind of insane right now.

As someone who’s watched a lot of Gardiner over the last few years, I can understand the frustration with some of his decisions in his own end. With that being said, the positives have always outweighed the negatives in the aggregate with him. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to generate a bit more offensively once his puck-luck regresses, but it’s fair to say that “descriptively” speaking, Gardiner has been terrible this season at impacting goal differential. Whether or not that means we should predict him to be terrible at it in the future is another question.

9. Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, and Alex Radulov, F,

Whenever I get toward the end one of these lists, it’s always difficult because I feel like certain players deserve to be here – so I cheat by including multiple players. As you might’ve seen in the previous graphic, Pavelski and Radulov haven’t produced much of anything at even strength. Benn has been the most “impressive” of the three at 5-on-5, on pace for a whopping 40 points this season.

That simply isn’t good enough for three players being paid a combined $22.75 million. It’s worth noting that Radulov has been effective on the power play, but the Stars need to get more from their…stars. They’ve been relying on fantastic defensive structure and goaltending over the past year, but the offense hasn’t been there. It will be interesting to see if that changes with the coaching change.

Does the defensive structure stay in place? Will Dallas’ best players begin to produce again? Are we finally going to see more Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov? For the sake of Stars fans, I certainly hope so.

10. The 2019-20 New Jersey Devils

Take your pick: Between PK Subban, Taylor Hall, Jack Hughes and Nikita Gusev, the Devils didn’t get anywhere close to the kind of value they were expecting to get from their high-end talent. Subban looks like a shell of his former self after suffering a major injury last season, Hughes isn’t an impact player yet at 18, Gusev has no desire to play defense, and neither of the team’s goaltenders can make a save. Here’s hoping Hall gets traded at some point in the next few days so everyone can just move on.

Honorable Mentions

John Klingberg, RD, Dallas Stars: I was thinking of including Klingberg in the section with Dallas’ three forwards, but it felt like a bit of overkill. Much like those players, he’s also struggled to produce offensively this season, but personally, I’m more concerned about his play-driving ability. For the first time in his career, Klingberg is getting significantly outshot, out-chanced and outscored at even strength.

Tyson Barrie, RD, : The Leafs had high hopes for Barrie in 2019-20. Two months into the season, he was an absolute disaster. Under Mike Babcock, Barrie was one of the worst offensive defensemen in the league by any metric. The good news is he looks more like his old self now that Sheldon Keefe has taken over behind the bench, but if we’re evaluating his season as a whole, it’s fair to say he hasn’t met expectations.

Kaapo Kakko and Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers: I received a lot of criticism for mentioning Kakko’s disappointing 5-on-5 play on my podcast a few weeks ago, but it’s something we need to address. He’s produced fewer points per 60 than Kessel while getting completely shelled at 5-on-5, which has been the case for a lot of Rangers this season, most notably Trouba. A lot of Trouba’s own woes have to do with the fact that he’s playing with a below replacement level partner in Libor Hajek, but it’s still disappointing to see two of the more talented players in the league spend the majority of their shifts stuck in the defensive zone.

James van Riemsdyk, LW, : When you’re paid to be a power-play specialist and you only have one point with the man advantage after 30 games, it’s a tad concerning. Van Riemsdyk has looked much better at even strength than he did last season, but his scoring rate is on pace to be the lowest of his career. We’ll see if a shooting percentage bump can help get him closer to the 25-goal scorer we know he can be.

Alex Wennberg, C, Columbus Blue Jackets: The good news is he’s already reached his goal total from last year. The bad news is that number is two. Wennberg also has seven assists in 28 games, which isn’t exactly ideal from a forward who’s supposed to be a key contributor in Columbus’ top six.

Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators: Both goaltenders have really struggled this year. What’s interesting is that Rinne is leading the league in goal support, while Saros is getting the fourth- least goal support among goaltenders with at least 10 starts. What a weird team.

Jonathan Bernier and Jimmy Howard, G, : According to Clear Sight’s data, these are the second and third-worst goaltenders in the league this season after Quick, which matches the eye- test. The good news for Detroit is terrible goaltending is the perfect recipe for a tank season.

Casey Mittelstadt, C, Buffalo Sabres: Remember when he took the hockey world by storm at the 2018 world juniors? For a player with so much dynamic skill when you watch him play, Mittelstadt has always left fans wanting more. After a year of decent production in college, the Sabres called him up assuming he could fill a top six role. We’ve never seen him score at a high level relative to his peers at 5-on-5, and frankly, it’s reaching the point where I wonder if he ever will.

The Athletic LOADED: 12.12.2019

31 Thoughts: Jim Montgomery firing hockey's latest bombshell

By Elliotte Friedman – Sportsnet.ca – December 11, 2019

At Monday’s Board of Governors media conference, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly were asked if anyone else was under investigation for anything similar to what cost Bill Peters his job in Calgary.

They said no. Bettman and Daly are lawyers. Good ones. If the question had stopped at, “Is anyone else under investigation?” the answer might have been different. They knew Monday night what the rest of us found out on Tuesday, that Jim Montgomery was finished as head coach of the Dallas Stars.

GM Jim Nill announced Montgomery’s dismissal hours after discovering “a material act of unprofessionalism.” According to multiple sources, Dallas fired Montgomery for cause, terminating the final two-and-a-half-years on his contract. (What remains to be seen is if Montgomery mounts a legal challenge.) Calgary needed more than three days to do a proper investigation, and Peters wasn’t officially fired. Marc Crawford’s been on leave for over a week. The Stars’ situation was different because the offending behaviour happened on their watch, not in a previous locale. They were certain of their corroboration and/or documentation, and they were certain of it quick.

The team and league bent over backwards to say that Montgomery’s punishment wasn’t for the racial or physical abuse being targeted for elimination. The word is this is a “personal behaviour issue,” with information being kept tight to protect the person who revealed the impropriety and out of respect to the rest of Montgomery’s family. (I don’t believe last week’s eyebrow-raising Dallas radio interview circulating through social media had anything to do with the decision.)

Montgomery’s coaching acumen was never in question. Dallas went to a second-round Game 7 double- overtime against the eventual champion St. Louis Blues in his first season, and righted itself into a legit Cup contender after an awful 1-7-1 start this year. If there was a concern, it’s how much fun he liked to have away from the rink. You have to be so careful walking that line.

We’re in a cycle of bombshells ripping through the sport. Bettman looked at the cameras Monday night and said, “We don’t like surprises.” That message may have been delivered to the media, but it was directed at the NHL — anyone in a position to cover up anything. He read the same notes to the assembled Governors that he read publicly. He did not specify the penalties for failure to report, but the expectation is they will be severe.

There was a time when success could cover-up these things. Last season, Peters’ Flames finished second in the NHL. Montgomery’s .579 points percentage was 13th among active coaches and 54th all-time (per hockey-reference).

His firing was a message that while the spotlight may be on certain issues, any behavioural missteps are potentially fatal.

31 THOUGHTS

1. Nobody desires a job under these circumstances, but, quietly, Rick Bowness wanted one more chance to run an NHL bench. An in-demand assistant, Bowness was 123-289-48 as a head coach in some ugly situations — including expansion Ottawa. His last try was as an interim in Phoenix during 2003-04, winning his last game on April 4, 2004 when Krys Kolanos scored in overtime to beat Chicago. Bob Murray went with Randy Carlyle in Anaheim in 2016, but both Bowness and Travis Green interviewed very well.

2. At last year’s December Board of Governors’ meeting, Bettman predicted an $83 million cap, only to see it end up at $81.5 million. Because that number wasn’t finalized until late June, the squeeze tortured teams and players. This time, he was more guarded, refusing to give an estimate. Instead, he recognized that the final number will come as part of a negotiation with the players, who have the right to “inflate” the ceiling by up to five per cent.

While some clubs will be careful because of what happened a year ago, others have the impression it could be $84-$85 million. Why? Because of lockout/strike fears, many players structured their contracts with lower cash payouts in 2020-21. That means lower escrow, which allows the possibility the NHLPA would be willing to raise the ceiling by more than, say, the 1.15 per cent of 2018-19.

3. With the World Cup shelved for 2021, do not be surprised if that All-Star Game is a three-on-three mini-World Cup or Ryder Cup format.

4. Geoff Ward could retire undefeated, now 6-0 running the bench. While Calgary gave its interim boss a salary raise for the remainder of the season, they have yet to commit to him for the rest of the year. First, after a tumultuous month, the organization just wanted to breathe and see how the players responded. Second, the Flames did not want to be unfair to him by saying, “Hey, it’s yours” in case circumstances changed at a later date. I believe the metaphor being used is, “They’re dating, but not engaged.” Results speak, however, and, right now, Ward’s are excellent. He’s come a long way since assisting Don McKee at the University of Waterloo in 1989.

5. I’m not sure anyone knew what to expect when Peters was told in Buffalo that he could not be with the team. But everyone noticed an immediate difference, a more relaxed vibe. Winning creates the most happiness. Second is your players getting their cookies. Sean Monahan, who looked lost, has points in all six of those games, and goals in each of the past four. Johnny Gaudreau, looking so much more engaged, has four points. Dillon Dube, Milan Lucic, Zac Rinaldo and Derek Ryan had 16 points before Ward’s ascension and 19 since. A little belief goes a long way.

6. You know who is looking for a scorer? The New York Islanders. But I’m not expecting Lou Lamoriello to tell me how he feels about Taylor Hall.

7. There are reports out of Russia that CSKA Moscow is trying to extend Islanders goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin. Tough to say if this is legit or a negotiating tactic, but he will be 25 in August. If the extension is at least three years, he becomes an unrestricted free agent in North America.

8. Remember that Ilya Kovalchuk is due his final bonus payment from the Kings on Dec. 15. After that, we’ll see if he and the Kings can work out some kind of termination agreement.

9. During last week’s Hockey Night in Canada pre-game, St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong gave a good interview, including an insightful answer to Kelly Hrudey’s question about leading scorer David Perron.

“His shot’s improved, he now can score from distance, he changed the flex on his stick,” Armstrong said. “I think he’s very content in who he is and what he is as a player now. He’s found some very good synergy with (Ryan) O’Reilly, which certainly helps.”

The talk about Perron’s stick piqued my curiosity, so here’s some more intel. The winger used a shorter stick for better control, stick-handling and puck protection — but it was always stiff. He’s got a great mind for the game, and noticed how some of the superb young shooters (Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews, etc.) could really fire it with softer sticks. As much as Perron worked on his game, he couldn’t duplicate that even when trying a similar stick to what they used. In Vegas, Perron sat next to another terrific shooter, Jonathan Marchessault, who had a 75 flex. Ultimately, he decided during training camp to commit to practising with one of Marchessault’s sticks for a week. Perron noticed immediate improvement and stayed with it. (Apparently, the joke is that Marchessault wants one per cent of Perron’s salary as compensation.) Perron also gives a lot of credit to O’Reilly, and to Craig Berube, who has shown great confidence in him.

10. Armstrong, asked if there was any progress on the Alex Pietrangelo front: “We keep those things in- house, and I know it’s a long time until June 30, 2020.”

11. Living in Toronto, you could feel the mild panic in the city after last Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to Colorado. After that game, the Maple Leafs were one point out of the playoffs, but their high number of games played made the math towards a playoff berth unappealing. They weren’t scoring, but you could sense the organization believed that, of all problems they could have, a lack of offence would sort itself out. The other thing they liked was their schedule. When we broke it down last Saturday, 28 of their 51 remaining games were against non-playoff teams, and only six back-to-backs are left. They were done with Colorado and St. Louis. They have one game remaining against Boston and Washington. Even with important wins over the Blues and Vancouver, every game is a playoff game for them here on in.

12. I’m not convinced Toronto’s going to alter its backup situation. They just don’t seem enamoured with what’s out there. Tristan Jarry’s gone from potential trade target to Pittsburgh record-holder, with a shutout streak of 177:15 ended by the Canadiens. Until a long-term decision is made with Matt Murray, will the Penguins move either Jarry or Casey DeSmith? There’s a lot of love for Alexandar Georgiev — and deservedly so, he looks terrific — who is three games from becoming waiver-eligible. The Rangers have Igor Shesterkin lighting up AHL Hartford in his first North American season, but 37- year-old future Hall-of-Famer Henrik Lundqvist is signed for only one more year. Is Georgiev/Shesterkin the future?

13. Not that they want to, but when things were going poorly for the Maple Leafs, another GM said Toronto learned it could trade Kasperi Kapanen very easily. “But they don’t want to,” he added.

14. Brendan Shanahan, asked what he would say if another club wanted to talk to Mike Babcock: “I think that’s sort of a hypothetical I wouldn’t want to get into, quite honestly. Much was made of the incident with Mike a few years ago with Mitch Marner, for instance, and I know our general manager at the time (Lou Lamoriello) had called me and let me know about it right away and had addressed it right away with Mike. Mike apologized to Mitch and there was communication with (Lamoriello) and the agent and the family. It wasn’t something that was appropriate or acceptable to us. Since then, my general manager — whether it was Lou or Kyle — had never come to us with a situation like that. Is it a highly charged atmosphere, is it an atmosphere where players and coaches, where we can all sometimes want to go back and do things a little bit better? Absolutely. But I think that this is a good starting point. I think some of the league’s plans and some of the education that we should all have available to us can certainly be a help.”

The Maple Leafs feel strongly that Babcock should not be grouped with the other recent incidents. We’ll see how he’s willing to evolve, but, unless he declines to coach again, there’s going to be interest. 15. Even before Jim Rutherford told The Athletic’s Josh Yohe that Alex Galchenyuk may not fit in Pittsburgh’s top 12 forwards, the Penguins were testing the market on the winger. Buffalo has considered it. There were rumblings about Ottawa, but a few sources pooh-poohed that.

16. Prior to Dec. 1, I think Carolina was most interested in Julius Honka. Dallas’s contract situation (48 of the maximum 50), was a major factor, as the Stars wanted draft picks or unsigned prospects, in return. Honka is ineligible to play in the NHL this season. We’ll see what the summer brings, because he needs a fresh start.

17. The NHL looked at this Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin trick-shot feature and got an idea. Could something like this be done in the All-Star skills competition? They recently tested it in St. Louis for January’s event, and it could happen. (If you’re worried about pucks flying into the crowd, the league is working on a mechanism to drop the netting over the fans to protect them. This would put the All-Stars in the crowd during competition, with the possibility of alumni (Brett Hull?) trying, too. George Parros was one of the testers, and was insulted when I asked if he hit any targets. “Didn’t you know I won the accuracy competition several times with the Ducks?” he glared. “It was no problem when everyone was stationary. It’s when people moved around that caused me trouble.”

18. If you ask anyone who played with Alain Nasreddine to say something about him, there are two consistent replies. First, people love him. He was a very, very popular teammate. Second, he drove one hideous station wagon while playing in the AHL. “Who told you that?” he said last week, while laughing at the memory. “I totalled my (previous) car and needed to buy something quick. It was a 1997 yellow Chevrolet Caprice, for $500. You remember those?” Oh yes. “It was priceless. The back seat faced the rear of the car, the door opened sideways like a truck.” He pauses and laughs some more.

In March 2004, he was traded to Pittsburgh from the Islanders and reported to Wilkes Barre-Scranton. “I show up on my first day, and we’re going on a road trip. The guys are waiting on the bus and see me pulling in with that wagon. They are looking at me like, ‘What have we traded for here?’ Those guys would try to see how many of them could fit in it.” I heard eight. “I think it was nine. We tried for 10, but think we could only do nine.” Later, Nasreddine says he sold it to Daniel Carcillo and Stephen Dixon.

19. Nasreddine played 74 NHL games. He scored his only goal while a Penguin, in his hometown of Montreal on Dec. 16, 2006. It came at 19:59 of the first period. “I got so much grief for the celebration,” he said. “I never, ever left the blue line, but because there were only five seconds left in the period, that was time to take a chance. There were so many good stories about that night. First, because of the time, you’re not sure it counts, so you’re waiting for confirmation. To have my family there to see it, that was special.”

One family member who couldn’t be in attendance was brother Samy, who played professionally for more than 20 years, everywhere from Peoria to Soenderjyske in Denmark. At the time, Samy was playing for the Coventry Blaze of the British Elite League. “He stayed up late and called some of my friends who were watching the game. When I scored, they all went berserk. They told him what happened, and he said, ‘Yeah right, settle down.’ He didn’t believe it. Teammates were all over me, saying this is proof Sidney Crosby is such a great player, because he could help you score a goal. It was unreal. Usually when we lost a game, I took it pretty hard. This night, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.” 20. In 2003-04, Mike Kitchen replaced Joel Quenneville as head coach in St. Louis. They are partners-in- crime, and Kitchen asked for his buddy’s blessing before accepting the job. “You have to take it,” Quenneville told him. Nasreddine, in his 10th consecutive season alongside John Hynes from Wilkes- Barre to New Jersey, said he “felt like Kitchen” when told about Hynes’ firing. “John made it easy for me, though. There are mixed emotions. Both families have known each other for 10 years. Our kids grew up together. But he made it clear he wants to see me succeed. My wife (Josiane) is great for me. She’s a real go-getter, and once we got the blessing from John, she was saying, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do this.’ That was huge for me.”

21. I asked Nasreddine if it was hard to coach a team where trade rumours swirled over the group, there are few untouchables and anything could happen at any time. “I don’t have time to think about that,” he answered. “It’s out of my control. What I have to be aware of is how Taylor Hall is feeling, where we’re at and how I can help the team. You can’t look into the future. There’s enough to be better than we are now.” How? “What are we? What do we want to be? The way we were built, the vision, is a speed team. We’re not Los Angeles or St. Louis. We have to get back to using that speed, and not be afraid to make mistakes.”

22. Not sure what’s in Hynes’ future, but it wouldn’t be a shocker if there was a Nashville tie-in. Hynes and Predators’ assistant GM Jeff Kealty were teammates at NCAA Boston University from 1994-95 to 1996-97.

23. Arizona entered Tuesday night’s games with a team save percentage of .929. The last team to exceed that in a full season was the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, at .930 (Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask). Ottawa’s Craig Anderson, Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner soared to .933, but that was the 48-game, lockout-shortened 2012-13 year.

Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game.

24. At the Board of Governors, the NHL made Kim Davis available. Hired two years ago as Executive Vice- President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs, Davis kept a low profile as she learned the league. There were several requests to interview her because of the events of the past few weeks, and she informally sat down with reporters who were there. Whatever “it” is, Davis has that.

The conversation was really informative. “We have been spending time developing a three-to-five-year strategic plan around culture and inclusion, long before the recent incidents,” she said. “This has just accelerated both our timeline and our resolve. You know I’ve been in this culture work for a long time, not only as part of a large organization (JP Morgan), where I spent over 20 years. But also, four years as a consultant who advises CEOs on these issues and really created the practice at Teneo, which is the firm that I was with. And from that work I know that there’s often some kind of defining moment in an organization that causes that organization to accelerate its efforts, but also to become a rallying call. And so I see that as a positive.”

25. Davis was asked point-blank if hockey has a racism problem. “I believe society has a racism problem,” she answered. “To categorize this as a hockey problem minimizes our ability to use this moment in our sport to understand that we are a microcosm of society. I think that we have all kinds of problems in our society. Are there cases and incidents of racism? Of course there are. But to say that the culture of hockey is racist, I think is inappropriate and I don’t think it is accurate.

“You can have the best training programs going on in the world, but if you don’t have peoples’ attention, then we aren’t going to change the culture. A big part of this is helping people to understand and recognize both conscious and unconscious bias. And there’s a difference between the two. I think most people operate in the space of unconscious bias. Often when they are able to recognize and understand the environments that they operate in, the networks that they have access to, and that they contribute to your inability to understand how to operate with people across a lot of dimensions, people become very open to understanding how they have to change. But, if you don’t create the conditions for that, you can spend all the money in the world, have the best training in the world and it doesn’t penetrate. That’s why, 30 years later, we’re still having this conversation in industry about diversity and inclusion.”

At the Board level, hockey is overwhelmingly homogenous. “I would say to you that, four years ago that room probably looked different than it does today,” Davis answered. “Not as, not as good. Now that’s not an excuse for how the room looks but I think that kind of change at an ownership level is going to be something that we’re going to have to see over time. I think the bigger and more important opportunity exists in front office and coaching and all of those areas where we can now set the tone and begin to build pipelines of talent that over the next 10 years, will influence locker rooms and will influence front offices and will influence the kind of talent that we have across the league. And that is a key part of the plan that we’re putting together.”

She mentioned Seattle as a leader and added that “I’ve been having some hugely interesting conversations with a number of owners who really get that it’s going to take them using their platforms to create these elite pathways for kids of colour. And I think you’re going to see in the next couple of years, a number of these programs, tested in different markets. So I’m encouraged by that.”

26. Finally, what is Kim Davis’s vision? What does she wish to accomplish? “Imagine that the work that we’re doing today is going to set the tone for the way the sport looks 20 years from now. Culture change is not something that you’re going to see in six months, and nine months, maybe not even in two years. We are already seeing examples of culture change in terms of people feeling like now they have a voice and a view, and they’re coming out. We can’t underestimate the power of that, as an example, as one of the steps for this creation of an environment where people feel welcome. So we have to measure this in terms of all of the little things that lead up to the Big Bang. I think that’s our vision for this is, that this becomes part of the DNA of how we operate. And it’s not just a flavour of the month.”

She mentioned “a generational history of individuals who have gone through a certain kind of treatment feeling like, ‘Well I endured it so the next generation has to endure it.’ And until you break that cycle, that continues.” Sure looks like we are getting to that point, if we aren’t there already.

27. When Tony McKegney was a young boy learning to play hockey, his adoptive father gave him some great advice: “Always have the puck on your stick when you skate by yourself.” Willie O’Ree broke the NHL’s colour barrier in 1958. Sixteen years later, Mike Marson became an original Washington Capital. But McKegney became the first black player to establish himself. He scored 320 goals in 912 NHL games for Buffalo, Quebec (twice), Minnesota, the Rangers, St. Louis, Detroit and Chicago from 1978-91. As the Akim Aliu/Bill Peters story unfolded over the past few weeks, McKegney, recovering from a knee replacement, spent a lot of time thinking about his life in the sport. He sent a statement to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and to NHL.com’s William Douglas (his Twitter account is @ColorOfHockey). Reached on Monday, McKegney talked for 45 minutes about his time on the ice. It was a real education for me.

“The first time I ever played against another black player was Grant Fuhr, in the NHL,” he said. “Think about that. For 17 years, I was the only black player every day. I was good, I had the puck a lot, and I could take over games.” McKegney said that the Donald Brashears, the Georges Laraques and the Peter Worrells had it tougher than he did, because they fought. That made the vitriol worse for them than him. But it didn’t mean he got away unscathed. “Every game I played outside of Sarnia (where he grew up) and Kingston (his junior home), I thought my middle name was ‘(expletive).’”

I asked him what he would say to a young person of colour about playing hockey. “Oh, I would say yes. I’d say to persevere. I’d point to Jarome Iginla, to Grant Fuhr, to Willie O’Ree. Hall of Famers. You have to persevere.” Like Kim Davis, he worries about the cost. “The financials are such a burden to so many people.” There were a couple moments that really stood out to him for kindness. The first was at the 1978 OHA All-Star Game in Windsor. “NHL President John Ziegler was there, and, at the banquet, he talked to me and to Wayne Gretzky. Everyone knew Wayne was going to the WHA, and I was talking to them also. He said, ‘We are really looking forward to having you two in the NHL.’”

Yes, Ziegler was trying to defend his turf, but it meant a lot to McKegney. In his statement, he wrote that, “It is my contention that (Bettman and Daly) have done an excellent job in continuing the work initially done by John Ziegler welcoming black players to the NHL as he did to me as a junior-aged player.”

28. The other incident involved Mark Howe. McKegney thinks it was 1985. He was playing in Philadelphia. “There was a guy there who would have signs — ‘Pick up a basketball’ — things like that. One game, he yelled the word at me.” Reached on Tuesday, Howe said he remembered exactly what happened. “There was a fight going on down near the corner,” Howe said. “Tony and I grabbed each other, and watched the fight. The ‘N word’ came out clear as day, pointed. Tony was extremely upset, and rightfully so.”

McKegney continued: “I remember Mark putting his arm around me, trying to calm me down, saying ‘Don’t worry about that.’” It is clear that, to McKegney, a Flyer in Philadelphia putting an arm around him in that moment was an important thing. “Tony wanted to go after the fan,” Howe added. “I grabbed him harder, trying to keep him away. I didn’t want him to get sued. I remember talking to him the whole time. I don’t think I did anything any different than other guys I played with would have done. Brad Marsh, Ronnie Sutter, Lindsay Carson, Brian Propp, Brad McCrimmon, Dave Brown. You try to win, but you also try to be a decent human being.” Howe paused. “That’s how bad it was. We both remember it so vividly.” Out of the worst should come our best.

29. This is the Sabres’ 50th anniversary season. McKegney finished our interview by telling a hilarious story about how he’d call some ex-teammates to say, “Oh man, too bad. I talked to the voters, and you came in 51st.” 30. Flying to California early Sunday morning for the Board of Governors’ meeting, I met a Mr. King (I’m really sorry, I was sleepy, I don’t remember his first name). His son, Michael, attends Trinity College School in Port Hope, ON, and made the junior varsity hockey team there. He won a recent contest and, as a result, got to meet Mitch Marner. Michael is similar to Marner in size, and told the Maple Leaf that to stand out and show he wouldn’t be intimidated, he was playing much more physical than normal. “(Marner) told him not to do that,” Mr. King said. “Stick to your identity, what you do well.” Good advice I thought I’d share. Oh, and on the flight home, I sat in front of Robert Orr. No, not that one. This one’s middle name is Bruce.

31. I didn’t think the Peloton ad was that bad.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 12.12.2019

Bettman: NHL ‘will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind'

Frank Seravalli – TSN.ca – December 11, 2019

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Breaking his silence since Akim Aliu revealed the ugly underbelly of hockey culture two weeks ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sent a clear message to the hockey world on Monday night.

“Our message is unequivocal: We will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind,” Bettman said. “The world is changing for the better. This is an opportunity, and a moment, for positive change and this evolution should be expedited – for the benefit of everyone associated with the game we love.”

Bettman relayed the NHL’s four-point plan of action following his meeting here with the league’s executive committee and Board of Governors.

Ryan Rishaug, Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Frank Seravalli take a closer look at the four-point plan that Gary Bettman laid out on Monday for how the NHL is going to deal with the issues of the day.

The NHL plans to establish an anonymous hotline for players and team personnel to report inappropriate conduct; coaches and management will participate in mandatory annual training on inclusion and harassment; inappropriate conduct will result in discipline from teams, the league or both; and the NHL put all 32 franchises “on notice” that failure to report inappropriate conduct in the future will result in “severe discipline.”

Bettman’s words represented a positive step forward for the NHL, but now comes the more difficult and critical part: the follow through.

That’s what Aliu said in his response to Bettman’s plan.

“I am encouraged the commissioner embraced many of the changes we proposed at the meeting,” Aliu wrote on Twitter. “Now the hard work begins of focusing on specifics and implementing policy that will make this sport more diverse, safer, and accountable. “We have to ensure that future generations of hockey players do not face the barriers and racism that I have throughout my career. Together we can do something truly great and transformative for hockey.”

Bettman’s prepared statement stopped short of spelling out many specifics. The range of punishment remains unclear for both inappropriate conduct and failure to report such inappropriate conduct. Everything will be evaluated on a “case by case basis,” as it has been in the past.

Bettman called the Flames’ response to the Bill Peters situation “timely, professional and appropriate.” The investigation remains ongoing into assistant coach Marc Crawford, which Bettman said will remain in the hands of the Blackhawks’ organization.

Bettman also said he needed to “sort out” the “confusion” that surfaced in conflicting statements from Ron Francis and Carolina minority owner Peter Karmanos about who knew what and when regarding Peters’ tenure with the Hurricanes.

So while there is some clarity on where the NHL is heading with this four-point plan, there was very little clarity on incidents that happened in the past, where the line on inappropriate conduct should be drawn, and how far back falls within the statute of limitations. It is seemingly within the “grey area” that Bettman mentioned.

The NHL also stopped short of instituting a formal policy or code of conduct, remaining the only major North American professional sport without one. (The NFL, NBA and MLB conduct policies are all clearly defined.)

“There are lines that cannot be crossed – clearly physical abuse and racial and homophobic language cross the line,” Bettman said. “And while we acknowledge that there may be other actions that could cross the line or fall in a grey area, we hope the program we create, and its attendant consciousness- raising will help better define what is and what is not acceptable conduct and will make for a better playing and coaching environment.”

Bettman said the NHL will consult with the Players’ Association and the Coaches’ Association in the creation of these programs. Since the mandatory annual training will only be required for head coaches, assistant coaches, minor league coaches, GMs and assistant GMs, the NHL will determine with the NHLPA whether another customized program should be presented to the players.

The NHLPA confirmed they have been in contact with the NHL and “look forward to discussing these important matters with the league.”

“We will focus the programming on training and initiatives to ensure respectful locker rooms, training facilities, games and all other hockey-related activities,” Bettman said, “and teach to ensure bystander intervention techniques, anti-harassment, anti-hazing, non-retaliation and anti-bullying best practices.”

To aid in that, Bettman said NHL executive vice-president for social impact Kim Davis will form a “multidisciplinary council” to suggest initiatives, monitor progress and coordinate efforts with all levels of hockey.

It’s probably also safe to say that fearless former players like Aliu and others that had the courage to hold coaches and executives to account will continue to hold the NHL’s feet to the fire as the real work now begins. TSN.CA LOADED: 12.12.2019