The Penguins have made no secret of their desire to see Jim Rutherford enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame and understandably so. Really, it's only a matter of when -- not if -- for the general manager.
But he is not the only guy for whom the organization should be making a concerted push.
When the Class of 2018 was revealed last Tuesday, one name was overlooked by the Hall's 18-member selection committee: Sergei Gonchar.
This, of course, is not to diminish the credentials and accomplishments of Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Willie O'Ree, Jayna Hefford, Alexander Yakushev or Gary Bettman. All are worthy inductees. But so, too, is Gonchar, who was snubbed in his first year on the ballot.
Why Gonchar? Consider:
-- During his 20-year career, he finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting four times.
-- He was the catalyst for the Penguins power play on two Stanley Cup teams, including the 2009 champions, and was critical in that context to the assimilation of Evgeni Malkin to North America
-- His 811 points are 16th all-time among defensemen -- the top 10 are already inducted -- and are more than Hall of Famers Borje Salming (787), Rob Blake (777), Scott Niedermayer (740), Chris Pronger (698) and Mark Howe (677).
-- Between 1994-95 when he entered the league and 2014-15 when he retired, Gonchar was second only to the great Nicklas Lidstrom for points by a defenseman, 985-811. After that, there was no one really even close. Rob Blake was a distant third at 584 points. Obviously, Gonchar's career overlapped those of Lidstrom and Blake, but you get the point.
-- He was a highly underrated defender.
If you subscribe to the theory the Hall belongs only to the most dominant players of their generation at a position, Gonchar clearly qualifies.
• Whenever Rutherford does get inducted, first and foremost on his placard will read the part about winning three -- at least -- Stanley Cup championships for two different organizations. He is the only general manager in the modern era to do so .
Here's hoping they fit a few lines somewhere on there about Rutherford's unique relationships with his players, both past and present. It's pretty remarkable stuff in the cutthroat world of professional sports.
His loyalty to his players is something that stands out immediately when you speak to him. I caught up to him last week at the Lemieux Sports Complex to talk about his trade with Buffalo and, unprompted, he talked about how difficult it was for him to part ways with Conor Sheary. I didn't have the nerve to tell him that 90 percent of the fan base was dancing in the streets.
We were reminded of his loyalty again last Sunday when, on the first day of free agency, he signed a pair of players -- Jack Johnson and Matt Cullen -- he'd drafted or signed before.
Johnson was a can't miss-prospect when Rutherford, then of the Hurricanes, selected the defenseman third overall 13 years ago. But Johnson never played a game for Rutherford in Carolina after he opted to play his sophomore season at the University of Michigan. Though it was a tough situation for a 19-year-old, there were never any hard feelings.
During his introductory press conference, I asked Johnson about his old/new boss.:
This will be Cullen's third stint with Rutherford. The two have a long history dating back to their days in Carolina, including the 2006 Cup championship.
If it were any other GM or any other team, chances are the 41-year-old would have called it a career in Minnesota. But when Rutherford came calling last week, even after re-signing Riley Sheahan to be the presumptive fourth-line center, Cullen said he couldn't pass it up.
"It’s a special place," Cullen said. "We have some great relationships there and a real comfort level with the organization."
• Lost somewhere in the uproar over the "culture of winning" and the reasoning behind Johnson's benching in Columbus, Rutherford said the Penguins "lacked some leadership" last year.
While it's a lot more fun to ascribe ulterior motives to what was said, I'll attempt to translate. It wasn't meant as a knock on any player wearing a letter or anyone else, but rather the admission you can't lose veteran players such as Cullen, Chris Kunitz, Trevor Daley, Nick Bonino and expect the same level of leadership. Nothing more.
• Conversely, when Johnson spoke about the culture of winning in Pittsburgh, I, for one, did not take it as a knock on Columbus. The Penguins have won twice as many Stanley Cups in the last three years as the Blue Jackets have won playoff series in their 17-year history. Those are just facts.
• The Penguins will have 40.6 percent committed to their top four players next season. That is the third-highest percentage behind Chicago ($42.6 million) and Edmonton ($41.3 million). The only difference between the Penguins and the Blackhawks and Oilers is the Penguins, you know, made the playoffs.
• Don't hold your breath waiting for Jimmy Hayes to score 19 goals in 2018-19 as he did three years ago for the Panthers. The Penguins signed the 28-year-old journeyman to a two-way contract Sunday. He provides depth and size (6-5) should Zach Aston-Reese falter badly.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs have gone a half-century since winning their last Stanley Cup. Their reign as the 2019 Cup favorites -- at least according to Las Vegas oddsmakers -- could be a week.
If the Lightning can close out a trade for Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, the balance of power in the Eastern Conference, if not the league, shifts to Tampa Bay.
They might not be the Golden State Warriors, but the Lightning already have a Norris Trophy winner in Viktor Hedman, a Vezina finalist in Andrei Vasilevskiy, and two of the league's top 12 scorers in Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.
Throw in another Norris winner and the best defenseman in the game in Karlsson and that will make the Lightning the runaway favorites.
• After five days of free agency, the Metropolitan Division hierarchy remains the same. It's the Penguins' and Capitals' to lose followed by the Flyers and Devils.
• John Tavares or not, until the Maple Leafs do something with their defense corps, it's hard to see them as legit Cup contenders.
• While it's completely warranted to bash Pirates management, at least they have the common sense to get something, anything, in return for their free agents. A team watching its franchise player walk away for nothing is the most Islanders' thing in the last 30 years. And that's saying something.
Wonder if Barry Trotz regrets taking the Islanders job in the heat of the moment?
