Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Rumor Mill: Jim Rutherford May Not Be Done
By Mike Necciai
The Pittsburgh Penguins were one of, if not the most active organization this summer. The Pens stacked up talent on offense with names like Phil Kessel, Eric Fehr and Nick Bonino while also revamping their medical staff. Oh, and then there’s that nice new practice facility too.
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However, despite all of the changes that already occurred with this organization and lineup, they may not be done re-tooling. At least, according to what Jim Rutherford said last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be pretty active once teams reconvene for training camp.
It’s no surprise that August was fairly quiet in terms of roster moves in the NHL. While there’s no such thing as a “vacation” for professional hockey players and staff in this day and age, August is the closest thing to it. We’re only a few weeks away from teams returning to business though, and things can heat up once they do.
Consider the following statement from Rutherford earlier in the week.
Jim Rutherford a bit cryptic on cap flexibility: "Maybe we’ll get flexibility as we go along here if a certain trade opens up or something."
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) August 25, 2015
Asked GMJR if he was pursuing a trade: "Not really actively pursuing it. There’s not a lot going on right now. (cont'd) ...
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) August 25, 2015
GMJR (cont'd): "You can’t even find a lot of guys if you call them now. It’s really when we get into camp, and teams see what they have."
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) August 25, 2015
There’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins would like to offload a contract in order to free up some cap heading into the upcoming season. Rob Scuderi would be the most likely candidate to move if Rutherford can find a suitor but that will prove to be a tough task. Another name that jumps out for me is Ben Lovejoy.
I fully believe the Pens are content to give their current defensive corps a shot this season and see where it takes them. We all know how different a team can look in April when compared to how they start in October. So, there’s a lot of time and a lot of options out there to address needs if this young group struggles.
That being said, Lovejoy is a name that many teams would gladly take with his very cap-friendly salary to play a depth role in their organization. Moving him wouldn’t free up the necessary cap to pull off another big move or free agent acquisition but it would give the Pens some flexibility to work with in the case of injury that doesn’t require long-term injured reserve.
There’s no indication of anything imminent but there’s still a good chance we see some movement before the season actually opens in October. Keep it here and give me a follow on Twitter at @Michael29Angelo and we’ll keep you updated on all of the recent rumors and happenings around the league. It feels great to say that hockey is almost here.