CHICAGO -- Nothing surprised me more in covering the Penguins' miserable trip finale here this week -- no, not even that abysmal loss to the Blackhawks -- than hearing from people directly involved that this team is ... at least beginning to think about getting younger.
And I'll repeat that for emphasis: This was a surprise.
Because every conversation I've had with Jim Rutherford from the day he was hired, including an extensive talk he and I had on the topic a few weeks back in Toronto, has pointed powerfully toward now, now, now. And trust me, that still applies. When a roster's carrying Sidney Crosby, there's never a bye year, much less any scale of rebuild. Every winter is now, now, now.
And yet, without naming names, I picked up a vibe at the United Center, even before that loss, that this management, this coaching staff are embracing all the more the concept that the best solution for now, now now ... is to get younger and, yeah, faster.
The latter hasn't been an easy admission for this group. When the Penguins do perform well, they don't look slow. They'll "play on the right side of the puck," to borrow Mike Sullivan's favorite admonition, and force opponents to go through them. But when they do decide to go for a skate, the lack of youth, of speed, even of energy is becoming evident enough that denial's no longer Plan A. They're seeing opponents routinely winning 50/50 puck battles, and they're increasingly accepting that isn't always because of simple desire.
So, what's that mean in the concrete sense?
Candidly, I haven't got a clue yet, though I'll obviously keep pushing to find out more.
For now, what's just as obvious as the lack of youth, of speed, even of energy, is that the Penguins can't just call Wilkes-Barre for help. Not if dealing in the now, now, now. They'd have to trade veterans for kids. Or slower veterans for faster veterans. Or even draft picks for any of that stuff. (Rutherford's stance on moving draft picks remains wholly unchanged. He'd do so in a heartbeat.)
And it doesn't take much of a stretch from there to see that the only assets valuable enough to bring back youth, speed and energy are ... man, I can't even go there.
Just sharing.
MORE PENGUINS
• Rarely, if ever, does the media stay in the same hotel as the team they cover. Two completely different travel budgets at work. Monday night’s game on Long Island was that rare exception. The Marriott located across from the Nassau Coliseum parking lot is the most convenient accommodations you’ll find in the NHL, favored by both visiting teams and beat writers. The Penguins’ recent stay there also came during the start of the team’s fathers' trip. A few hours before the game against the Islanders, the hotel gym was filled with many of the dads getting in a pre-game workout. Watching some of these guys in their 40s and 50s on treadmills and ellipticals, you realize that as much hard work as their sons have put in to reach the game’s highest levels, don’t underestimate the role of good genetics in getting them there. — Chris Bradford at PPG Paints Arena
• Assistant GM Bill Guerin traveled with the team during its recently concluded three-game road trip. Though he played for the Islanders for just parts of two seasons, Guerin is quite fondly remembered on Long Island. Trying to navigate his way from the press box elevator through the narrow concourses following Monday’s game, he was bombarded by autograph seekers. — Bradford
• In Ottawa media circles it’s known as “the Gretzky Seat” inside the Canadian Tire Centre. Saturday, it once again housed Sidney Crosby when the Senators played host to the Penguins’ captain and his teammates. The seat is the last locker stall on the right side of the cramped visitor’s dressing room (the only dressing room where Dana Heinze and staff improvise a stick rack between the showers and bathroom stalls). It was also the locker stall used by Wayne Gretzky for the last road game he played April, 15 1999 at what was then known as the Corel Centre. The seat had been autographed by Gretzky but his signature has since faded or gone missing. Yes, in Canada’s capital Crosby gets the royal treatment. — Bradford
PIRATES
The Pirates will take part in an opener, just as they do every year, when they play the Reds, March 28, in Cincinnati to begin the 2019 season.
However, the Pirates could also have an "opener" throughout next season. They are considering using a relief pitcher to start each time the No. 5 spot in the rotation comes up as a way to replace Ivan Nova, who was traded Tuesday to the White Sox during the Winter Meetings at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
It's a newfangled idea, to be sure. The Rays began doing it last season, and the Athletics, Twins, Rangers and Brewers followed suit late in the year.
Clint Hurdle says he is fine with the idea of having a relief pitcher start a game then be followed by a more traditional starter after an inning or two. The theory is the reliever would face the toughest hitters in the order to begin the game, giving the "follower" an opportunity to pitch the next two times through the order.
Statistics show pitchers begin to lose effectiveness when they face a hitter for a third time in a game.
"We had talked about it at times last year, just because of the recency of it going on, watching how some other clubs attacked it and why they attacked it," Hurdle said earlier this week. "Sometimes it's because of injury, sometimes it was maybe what they felt was a lack of a fifth starter.
"The common-sense part of it is real. I mean it's just rearranging the mentality of the people that are involved and working them through it, that you're going to get a guy that's going to come in and give you X number of outs and maybe it's always been around, the follower, the next guy, whoever it is. It takes the leverage of him having to face the middle of the lineup portion maybe three times."
The Pirates aren't totally committed to the idea. At the moment, free agent signee Jordan Lyles and holdovers Nick Kingham and Steven Brault are expected to compete for the fifth starter's job in spring training.
"We'll see how our internal competition works itself out, see if it makes sense," Hurdle said.
Hurdle said the Pirates have identified some relievers on their roster they feel could be openers, though he was not ready to say who because he had yet to speak to those pitchers. Logical candidates would be Keone Kela, Richard Rodriguez and Kyle Crick.
"The ones we've identified is a guy that obviously is a pretty good reliever, that can get through that part of the lineup," Hurdle said. "You're going to take a guy that may be one of your bridge guys. The names of the people that have done it, you go and look at their workloads, their history, their career and then go from there." -- John Perrotto in Las Vegas
• Adam Frazier is in line to be the primary second baseman next season after being utilized as a utility player during his first three years in the major leagues. Hurdle feels the stability should help Frazier's offense. "We believe it could be the best way to leverage the bat," the manager said. "He's been a good hitter. He's been an offensive player. We've got to be smart, but I think that's one way we can find out how good a hitter he'll be." -- Perrotto
• Among the teams who showed interest in Francisco Cervelli this week were the Angels, Mets, Red Sox and Dodgers. The Astros are said to have "at least a little interest" in the veteran catcher. However, one scout warns that anyone trading for Cervelli needs to be wary. "He has made himself into a good catcher, but he's just so fragile and the concussion issue frightens me," the scout said. "You can't let him catch more than 90 games if you want to keep him healthy and effective and $11.5 million (Cervelli's salary in 2019) is a lot for a part-time player." -- Perrotto
• Jeff Banister, who was fired as Rangers' manager in September, is expected to return to the Pirates as a consultant. He spent his entire professional baseball career in the Pirates organization, beginning in 1986 when he was drafted in the 25th round, until joining the Rangers prior to the 2015 season. -- Perrotto
STEELERS
Steelers NLFPA representative Ramon Foster was quite interested when news came out this week the salary cap for 2019 is estimated to go up from $177 million to $187-191 million, an increase of around six percent.
"I think with the growth of the sport, why not?" Foster replied when I asked if the union would seek a bigger split of the revenues during the next contract negotiations, which will take place before the current deal runs out after the 2020-21 season. "The biggest negotiations is going to be, how do we split this up? What's the fairest thing for both sides? For it to jump like this, you have to look at the economics and decide what's the best thing for both of us."
The cap has risen steadily since 2013, when it was $123 million, gaining around $10 million per team to spend on players each year.
The players currently receive just under 50 percent of the revenue earned by each team for salary cap purposes.
That, and benefits for retired players, could be a major point of negotiations in 2020. The league and union hope to avoid a work stoppage as happened in 2011, when the owners locked the players out as a negotiating tactic.
"It's always about the money," Foster said. "We've got to stop treating this as if it's a war. We're two sides that need each other. That's essentially what it is. They have the business model and we have the product as players."
Foster said one thing he is in favor of is creating a roster exemption -- or even two -- for players that would be a way of circumventing the franchise tag rule.
"The major things I've suggested is health insurance for guys post-football and a salary exemption," Foster told me. "I think that has to be a point of emphasis. If you raise (the salary cap) and say, 'We're spending money,' but the quarterback is making $40 million per year, what's the sense?
"It limits everybody else. If you look at this history of it, teams that have great defenses or numerous players, like Seattle when they were the Legion of Boom, they had great players all around because Russell (Wilson) wasn't paid yet. Russ got paid and they broke up the band."
What would roster exemptions solve? Well, for one, you could pay those one or two "franchise" players more money while also not limiting the amount of money you have to spread around to the rest of your roster.
It also would help eliminate players getting upset about franchise tags that limit their movement and poison the well for negotiations by setting the salary point higher than teams might want.
That's what happened between the Steelers and Le'Veon Bell the past two seasons. He was franchise tagged at $12.1 and then $14.5 million, meaning that money was guaranteed. It meant any negotiations also started at that point.
"You would then have a big pool of money for everyone else, i.e. Le'Veon's situation," Foster said. "There's a lot that goes into it." -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• The Steelers were never real serious about signing a kicker to replace Chris Boswell. If they had been, they wouldn't have had Kai Forbath and Matt McCrane have their tryout on Wednesday afternoon at their indoor practice facility at the Rooney Complex. Had the Steelers been serious about replacing Boswell, they would have held the tryout at Heinz Field. And they also would have done it Tuesday so as to give the new kicker more opportunity to work with holder Jordan Berry. But Boswell is certainly on notice there are other options available. -- Lolley
• Not only is the X-ray equipment in Oakland outdated, it's also difficult to get to. It's located on the third story of Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, two stories above field level. And it's on the other side of the stadium from where the locker rooms are located. Adding insult to injury, when the Steelers doctors got Ben Roethlisberger up there last Sunday, the X-ray technician was nowhere to be found. The technician had apparently stepped out for a bite to eat at halftime, meaning the Steelers had to wait for X-rays they couldn't read. -- Lolley
PITT
• While the departure of Peace Ilegomah from the Panthers doesn’t seem like a huge loss at first, it’s going to put a huge strain on remaining centers Kene Chukwuka and Terrell Brown going forward, as the two will be virtually the only ones to eat up minutes at the 5 spot, and they’ll have to do so while staying out of foul trouble. As a result, expect Pitt to go small more often by using Au’Diese Toney as the “center” in title only. Toney is the Panthers’ leading rebounder and should be able to do the job in many cases, but it’s hard to imagine the Panthers having much success with him as the biggest player when teams such as Duke are trotting out Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and 6-foot-11 Marques Bolden along the front line. Chukwuka and Brown are the only ones with size, and they’ll have to play like it. — Matt Grubba
• Qudus Wahab, the 6-foot-10, four-star recruit from Northern Virginia targeted by Pitt, delayed his decision that was expected to come Thursday. The Panthers are battling UConn, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and Georgetown for his services, and Pitt was perceived to be one of the favorites. Conflicting reports around Wahab’s recruitment indicate Pitt didn’t slip so much as other schools made a late push, with the allure of staying close to home at Georgetown and a compelling pitch by Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams causing Wahab to think things through before making an announcement. — Grubba