The Vancouver Canucks need to rebuild around a collection of skilled performers and they hired a boss Thursday who has done that successfully.
The Canucks hired Jim Rutherford who did that with the Penguins and helped them win back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017. The situations were different because the Penguins’ core players were veterans and Vancouver’s core players are young.
But Rutherford, who also won a Stanley Cup in Carolina, changed half of the roster in Pittsburgh and may have to do that in Vancouver.
Rutherford will carry the title of president and will hire a general manager, but he will have a say in the final roster decisions.
2. Thirteen players have registered 20 or more assists at this point in the season. Eight of those players (61.5%) are from the top four teams in the overall NHL standings. Defense wins championships. But quality offense still helps you pile up wins.
3. Saw the Nashville Predators play live this week and they are impressively hard to play against. They don’t measure up to top contenders in terms of skill, but are a hard-working physical, gritty bunch.
4. The Florida Panthers (,760), New York Rangers (.740), Minnesota Wild (.740), Washington Capitals (.731), Carolina Hurricanes (.729), Tampa Bay Lightning (.720) and Toronto Maple Leafs (.704) all have winning percentages above .700. Last season, only four teams finished above .700.
5. With Jim Rutherford now in Vancouver, cue up the Penguins-Canucks trade rumors. Certainly could see the Penguins making a pitch for Brock Boeser.
6. The Bruins may slow-play their hand when it comes to trading Jake DeBrusk. It’s critical that they explore all of their options. They are a quality team, but Patrice Bergeron is 36. Brad Marchand is 33. Taylor Hall is 30 and Charlie Coyle 29. The Bruins have to make sure they land another younger forward with potential.
7. The best part of the Penguins’ sale is Mario Lemieux remaining to advise the hockey operations. We can’t be sure what that will mean. But it is certainly preferable to having Lemieux out of the mix. Lemieux knows the fan base and history. You certainly want a local guy their to make sure you connect with the city.
8. As disastrous as the Islanders have been, they are only 18th in goals-against average. They are still ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche in that department. Those are three teams still expected to contend. The problem: the Islanders’ goals-per-average (2.05) ranks 31st. They are ahead of only the Arizona Coyotes.
9.The NHL is not scared off by age. Rutherford is 72. New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is 79 and Nashville’s David Poile is 71. Commissioner Gary Bettman will turn 70 during the playoffs. NHL Players Association head Donald Fehr in 73.
10. The St. Louis Blues will start their fourth string goalie Charlie Lindgren tonight against Detroit because of COVID and salary cap issues. Starter Jordan Binnington is on the COVID list and backup Ville Husson is injured. The Blues don’t have the cap space to call up No. 3 goalie Joel Hofer. Some GMs would like to see special consideration for the salary cap, or the creation of a tax squad, to deal with COVID issues. But wouldn’t GMs figure out a way to use that to their competitive advantage?
11. Expect Buffalo defenseman Colin Miller to be one of the players teams will be chasing near the trade deadline. He’s 29, reasonably priced ($3.8 million) for the salary cap and has more than 400 games of NHL experience. Shouldn’t cost teams too much.
12. Jesperi Kotkaniemi has six goals and eight points in 24 games. Think the Hurricanes were expecting more for $6.1 million.
13. We can debate which team has the best all-around defense, but Tampa Bay’s left side with Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Mikhail Sergachev is the league’s best left side.
14. It seems odd the expansion Seattle Kraken don’t truly have many potential trade candidates for the deadline. Mark Giordano is the only obvious candidate. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. The problem is the vast majority of Seattle players have term on their contracts
15. San Jose’s Kevin Lebanc is a player whose name is always mentioned in trade rumors. He has three goals in 19 games this season.
16. One NHL trade board I saw had Detroit’s Nick Leddy listed and another did not. I think he isn’t available for trade, at least not right now. The Red Wings seem to be thinking about seeing what this team can do. There have been encouraging signs. They are inconsistent, but youngsters Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond have given them flair and confidence.
17. What do the Stars do with Joe Pavelski? He is playing impressively, leading the Stars in scoring. He has four multiple-point games in his last five outings. He’s also 37 and going to be an unrestricted free agent. Do you try to sign him on a two-year deal? Do you trade him? Much of that depends on where the Stars are at as the trade deadline approaches.
18. A Gordie Howe hockey card is for sale on EBay for $34,999.99. Do you remember how we used to treat our trading cards? My cards were well-loved.
19. Believe the Red Wings would trade Tyler Bertuzzi in the right deal. Told the Red Wings want a proven young-ish defense to grow with Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson (who could be with the team next season)
20. Now that we are cracking down on cross-checks to the back, I notice so many. I’m guessing I didn’t pay attention to them last season because that’s just how defensemen played.
21. How safe is Devils coach Lindy Ruff? Management expected more from this team.
22. Glad to have Bruce Boudreau back in the NHL. Vancouver players will like him because it’s like playing for their grandfather. He’s a character and the NHL needs more characters.
23. Thought Rick Tocchet would end up in Philadelphia, but he still might if this team doesn’t turn around. If the Flyers miss the playoffs we could have a new general manager naming a permanent coach.
24. The best team against the spread thus far this season is Anaheim at 23-4. The Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets are second and third at 17-9 and 16-8, respectively.
25. It’s hard to believe that Bobby Orr’s rookie season was 55 years ago. He is probably the most exciting player ever to play the game. I was 10 when Orr started going coast-to-coast for the Boston Bruins in 1966-67. He was a Superman on skates, flying by opponents like they were standing still. He will be 74 next March.
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