Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-say-hendricks-ok-to-play-send- petan-back-to-moose-453071203.html Petan back with Moose By: Mike McIntyre Nic Petan’s bumpy road to becoming an NHL regular has taken another detour as he’s headed down to the Manitoba Moose. Petan, 22, was held pointless in six games with the Winnipeg Jets this season despite opportunities on the power play. He had just six shots on goal and was a minus-two while averaging just under nine minutes of ice time a game. "We got probably four or five guys there that haven’t really distinguished themselves in any real part of their game. The easiest to answer is Nicky’s waiverable and we can keep our players," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said on Wednesday. "Nic will go down and get some bigger minutes and keep his game going." Petan doesn’t have to go through NHL waivers, where another club could claim him. "Sometimes it’s just a little bit of focus. He’s an offensive guy and there wasn’t a lot of offence happening," Maurice said. "I like Nic. I think he’s a real good player. The fact he’s not playing top-six in the NHL at 22 for me is not an issue. He’s a good player and he’s got lots of time ahead of him. He’s got to find a way to take the nine minutes he’s playing, some of that’s power- play time, and get a little more happening for him." For now, Petan has essentially lost his spot to energy forward Brendan Lemieux, who made his NHL debut last week. Lemieux will start on the fourth line but could see some time on the power play in front of the opponent’s net, Maurice said. "Obviously really excited. It was great to be able to enjoy the first game and get through that. But now it’s back to business," Lemieux said. "This is a business. This is pro hockey and it’s about getting wins. So I’m excited about being able to help." "There’s some guys that can get their stick on the puck and get those tips, and he’s got that in his game. He’s also got a real good shot... He’s a big, strong guy in front of the net and he’s not afraid to stand there," Maurice said of Lemieux. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/rutherfords-quest-for-success-453216273.html Rutherford's quest for success Penguins general manager believes his team has a good shot at a three-peat By: Mike Sawatzky PITTSBURGH — Above his office desk at PPG Paints Arena, Jim Rutherford has two reminders of some of the most satisfying years of his professional life. In one photo, an elated Conor Sheary can be seen celebrating the overtime goal that brought the Penguins a Stanley Cup title in the spring of 2016. To its right, another photo depicts Patric Hörnqvist, arms raised, signalling what proved to be the Cup winner in 2017. Rutherford, 68, has spent his life in the game. First as a player — he had a solid 13-year goaltending career in the NHL — and since then he’s spent the better part of 25 years as a general manager in Hartford, Carolina and Pittsburgh. Winning like the Penguins have, with style and a sense of purpose, doesn’t seem to get old. Heck, Rutherford doesn’t shy away from all the talk of a three-peat going around town. "Even when we won the last two years, we talked about winning (again)," Rutherford said Wednesday afternoon. "So, we’re certainly not sittin’ here saying it’s guaranteed we’re going to win. We recognize how many other good teams there are out there that have a chance to win. But we also recognize we have a chance." It’s also getting more difficult. The two-time defending Cup champs usually get the best an opponent can offer — and more. The club’s star players — namely Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang — take more than their fair share of abuse. "It was there before I got here," said Rutherford, who was hired to replace Ray Shero during the summer of 2014. "When you’re a top player, you’ve gotta expect to get it. But as we had more success, teams played us harder and harder. And those guys were getting played harder in all aspects of the game, especially the physical side. I felt there were times where opponents were actually trying to take them out of games and so, it got to the point, and as successful as we were with how we built our other teams, we needed a guy. When we decided to do that, I decided to get the best guy in the league to do it and so we did." That guy — Ryan Reaves — was acquired from the St. Louis Blues to help solve the problem. But in a league where true enforcers are an endangered species, some considered the move counterintuitive. Rutherford makes no apologies; he’s been fine-tuning this formula successfully for years. "There’s more than one way to win," he said. "We’ve won with rolling four lines and having a well-balanced team. Of course, (it helps) having the top players along with a well-balanced team with a lot of speed. I see a lot more teams now that have a lot more speed that are harder to play against. But I don’t think there’s one set way." But success in Pittsburgh begins with Crosby. "It can be done with teams like Winnipeg and Edmonton, they have good players and they have really, really good young players, but part of it is the leadership on the team is not just from the coach, it’s from the players," Rutherford said. "When our captain goes on the ice for practice, it’s like he’s playing at the pace he would play in a playoff game. And you better be ready to practise and get ready to go, and if you practise that way, the game becomes easier to play. "What the coach does is very important, but having that leadership with Sid and his work ethic, Sid really drives our players." Rutherford’s most recent personnel move was to bring Riley Sheahan over from the Detroit Red Wings in a trade. The Pittsburgh GM admitted his pro scouting staff had coveted Sheahan since last season, even though he was struggling to supply offence. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan immediately inserted him into the lineup Tuesday as the club’s third-line centre, apparently solving a problem created by the off-season departures in free agency of Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen. "I don’t want to say it’s the best organization because I’ve never played for another one but Detroit," said Sheahan, whose locker stall is next to Crosby’s. "But from a players’ perspective, with the recent success they’ve had here, it’s hard to beat that... it starts in the locker room. I’ve only been here two and a half days but I already feel that leadership. Even from the younger guys. Everyone’s been so welcoming." Rutherford also seems to have a good sense of timing with coaches. He hired Sullivan midway through the 2015-16 season to replace Dan Bylsma and he also hired and fired current Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice twice. The first time, Maurice was replaced by Peter Laviolette, who led the Carolina Hurricanes to a Cup title in 2006. Maurice and Rutherford are friends to this day. "I’m not sure, outside of family, that there’s anybody in my life more important than Paul Maurice to this day," Rutherford said. "I care for that guy so much, but friendship is friendship, business is business, and when I made the change with Paul, the two times I made the change, I didn’t even see the change as being his fault. It was a matter of a timing thing and it was a matter of something had to be done to change things. But he’s a wonderful guy and I think he’s a terrific coach." That begs the question: can Maurice turn the Jets into a perennial contender? "Well, it depends how some things fall... in order to succeed and to go to the next level, everything has to work for you," Rutherford said. "You have to have the leadership within the team, you have to have exceptional goaltending... you have to have things go right for you, and as good as a coach as he is, if you don’t get that good fortune, there’s nothing you can do about it. "Winnipeg had the issue with goaltending last year. If it solidifies, that’s going to make a huge difference for them. They know all the other parts of their team are very good." The biggest issue for the current Penguins is something Rutherford has no control over. Pittsburgh and the Ottawa Senators both have a league-leading 19 back-to-back series in 2017- 18. The Jets have nine, which is the lowest total in the league. That, coupled with playoff runs extending into June in each of the past two seasons, means fatigue could be a big issue for the Penguins. They’ve already suffered blowout losses to the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning in the second game of a back-to-back series.