As he's done in years past, dating back to his days in Carolina, Jim Rutherford struck well before the NHL's trade deadline.
By packaging Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan and draft picks to the Panthers for Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann 25 days ahead of Feb. 25, it gives Bjugstad and McCann a couple of extra weeks to get used to new teammates and new surroundings. More importantly, it buys Rutherford some time to get a better assessment of his team.
The question moving forward -- and the one everyone wants to know -- is whether Rutherford is going to make any further moves.
In talking to team sources this week, the sense is Rutherford has done all the heavy lifting. If he does make any move between now and 3 p.m. on the 25th, it might be a small tweak.
The thinking in the organization is that they will be landing the biggest deadline prize when Justin Schultz returns from long-term injured reserve, which should be soon, and then a rejuvenated Evgeni Malkin.
In addition to being a much-needed right-handed shot, Schultz is expected to go a long way in cleaning up some of the messy breakout passes that have been giving Mike Sullivan conniptions lately. Schultz should also go a long way in jumpstarting Malkin, who has been mired in a season-long slump, a season in which Schultz has played just three games.
In 2017-18, when Malkin finished fourth in league scoring with 98 points, the Russian superstar's ice time at 5v5 was split almost evenly between Kris Letang (357:22) and Schultz (321:22). At 5v5, Malkin and Letang were on the ice together for 17 goals for and 18 against. With Malkin and Schultz on the ice, the Penguins had 23 goals for and just 10 against.
It goes without saying, the Penguins aren't going anywhere unless Malkin is playing somewhere close to his ability. The good news on that front is that before he went down with an upper body injury against the Lightning last week, the organization feels that Bryan Rust could be the long-term solution as Malkin's left winger. The two showed good chemistry before Malkin went down and Rust brings many of the same elements, notably speed, that Carl Hagelin had brought to the line.
If Rust can stabilize that line, it will allow Sullivan to slot Bjugstad as the right wing on Sidney Crosby's line and the rest of the forward line combinations should fall into place. That remains to be seen, of course, but that appears to be the plan.
Also, don't underestimate the return of Zach Aston-Reese. The 24-year-old had been showing all the signs of being a strong, 200-foot player in the NHL before suffering his hand injury. In the 10 games since Aston-Reese went down on Jan. 8, the Penguins have gone just 4-6. The odd-man out in this would seem to be Dominik Simon.
When Schultz does come off long-term IR, that's going to leave the Penguins with a little over $250,000 in cap space, according to capfriendly.com. Obviously, that's not enough to get much done.
Any move Rutherford makes is going to be money-in for money-out. For all the above reasons, that would point to a relatively quiet deadline for the Penguins. Obviously, that is subject to change if the Penguins' current slide continues through March.
But according to the source, Rutherford wasn't blowing smoke when he said on his radio show he didn't want to move the Penguins' first-round pick in this year's draft.
Stay tuned.
MORE PENGUINS
• If you watched DK's video of Sheahan following the Panthers' morning skate Thursday, you'll see the face of a man who bet on himself and lost. As reported earlier, the Penguins tried to sign Sheahan to a multi-year contract extension last summer. That never happened and the sides had to settle on a one-year, $2.1 million contract for this season. Admittedly, Sheahan hasn't had the season he would like as he currently has seven goals and just two assists while going minus-9 with a 48.7 faceoff win percentage. That's no way to earn a pay raise. Sheahan's a great guy and a decent bottom-six center but one has to wonder if he regrets not signing that extension. -- Bradford
• Bjugstad is a University of Minnesota alum who played his final two seasons under assistant coach Mike Guentzel, Jake Guentzel's dad. Bjugstad is two years older than Guentzel but said Jake was around and his talent was evident even as a 16-year-old. In the summers, Bjugstad and Guentzel played in Da Beauty League, a summer league composed of Minnesota NHL players and college stars. The informal league is more about entertainment than competition. For example, the Canucks' Brock Boeser was the leading scorer last summer when he scored 34 points in nine games. -- Bradford
• The Penguins' players are keeping their distance from Rust, at least the ones who want to remain in Pittsburgh. Kidding, of course. Rust could laugh about it but three of his closest friends on the team -- Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl and Sheahan -- have all been traded since the end of last season. Rust and Sheahan go back to their days at Notre Dame. After every practice, Sheahan would fetch Rust's favorite sports drink, purple G2, and leave it at his locker. -- Bradford
• Speaking of Rust, he might be the last NHLer to wear suspenders to hold up his hockey pants. Twenty years ago, it was the rule not the exception. The speedy Rust explained that he likes to wear looser pants with flared leg openings and needs the suspenders to keep them up. -- Bradford
STEELERS
• There has been plenty of back-and-forth within the organization regarding a pending decision about whether or not to use the transition tag on Le'Veon Bell. Kevin Colbert first raised the possibility in training camp, but the team was unsure how it would work considering a player who had been franchise-tagged not once, but twice, had never then been transition-tagged in the third year. At that point, the transition tag price would have been just over $17 million, a 120 percent raise over the $14.5 million Bell was supposed to make in 2018. But when Bell refused to sign his tender, that's when things got sticky. The NFL and the Steelers will contend that because Bell sat out in 2018, the transition tag should be $9.5 million, while Bell's agent and the NFLPA will argue it's closer to $14.5 million -- a 120 percent raise over his 2017 salary. Teams can begin placing tags on players Feb. 19 and have until March 5 to do so. If the Steelers are going to use the tag on Bell, look for them to do so sooner rather than later because there could be some legal issues to deal with involving negotiations between the league, the NFLPA and an arbiter. -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• The end game for the Steelers using a transition tag on Bell won't be bringing him back in 2019, but the team hasn't closed the door on that possibility. That's especially true if the Steelers feel they must part ways with Antonio Brown. Bell will certainly get a free agent deal worth more than $9.5 million next season -- if that's indeed the figure -- but if, for example, the best deal he is offered is a four-year deal worth $50 million as a free agent, the Steelers could choose to match that offer and bring him back. After all, he was still a dynamic playmaker on a team that will be in need of one if it trades Brown. The team figures to be more run-heavy in 2019 if Brown leaves, so adding a player of Bell's talents, even at $12-plus million per season, would be a welcome addition. And Bell could be paired with James Conner much the same way the Saints used both Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. Those two combined for 342 carries, 102 receptions, 2,407 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2018. How would Bell be received back in the Steelers' locker room? Better than you might think. The players know how good he is and what he could mean to the team. That's why they were so upset when he chose not to play in 2018. But if he were back, all would be forgiven. -- Lolley
• Look for the Steelers to announce a contract extension with Ben Roethlisberger before the start of free agency March 13. The team would like to get it completed sooner rather than later so that it knows exactly where it stands heading into free agency. Neither side wants this to drag on into the spring. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• Some fans and media members accuse the Pirates of tanking, which isn’t accurate considering they have not lost as many as 90 games since 2011. However, if the Pirates do decide to tank at some point, they may want to think twice. The Major League Baseball Players Association has proposed that a team with 90 or more losses in consecutive years have its highest selection in the next amateur draft dropped 15 slots and lose $2 million from its international signing bonus pool. A team with 90 or more losses in three straight years would drop 20 slots and lose $3 million from its bonus pool. It is a suggestion Major League Baseball will take into consideration as the sides bargain over pace-of-play rules, among other issues. The Pirates lost at least 90 games for seven straight seasons from 2005-11. – John Perrotto at Highmark Stadium
• One of the reasons the Pirates signed Francisco Liriano to a minor league contract earlier this week is they feel he could be an effective relief pitcher. Even though he was 5-12 with a 4.58 ERA in 27 games, including 26 starts, last season for the Tigers, Liriano did hold left-handed batters to a .170/.255/.261 line in 98 plate appearances. What also intrigued the Pirates is that opponents hit just .221/.316/.319 in 234 plate appearances the first time through the lineup. That leads the Pirates to believe Liriano could still be effective in one- or two-inning stints. – Perrotto
• Michael Feliz went from beginning last season as the primary set-up man to Felipe Vazquez to being demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis in late July. Though Keone Kela will pitch in front of Vazquez this year, Feliz could wind up winning a bullpen job in spring training. He is coming off a fine – albeit brief -- winter ball performance in his native Dominican Republic in which he allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings while striking out five and walking none. – Perrotto