Penguins/NHL
Off-Day Buzz: Crosby Skates
The Pittsburgh Penguin were off today and not practicing but it wasn’t an off-day for Sidney Crosby.
Recovering from a concussion suffered in Monday’s Game 3, Crosby skated in full gear this morning and it wasn’t just a casual skate.
“I can confirm Sid skated today and is in the process of rehabbing,” head coach Mike Sullivan said during a conference call. “We’ll just leave it at that. He’s day to day and keeping each day as it comes. We rely on our medical staff and they’re good at what they do. He’s in the [rehabilitation] process right now and will continue to be, and it will be a day-to-day situation.”
This doesn’t mean by any means that Crosby is going to return this series but no one with the team is ready to rule it out just yet.
The optimism continues.
There was talk inside team circles just prior to Game 4 that Crosby was doing so well, one source close to the situation said don’t be surprised if he’s cleared for full practice with the team on Friday.
We will see tomorrow if that’s the case.
Things are trending in the direction to match the Penguins initial optimism on Tuesday that Crosby would return in a timely fashion.
— As the Capitals are coming up small in so many critical areas, few see Barry Trotz surviving as Capitals coach, unless the team storms back to win the series or at the very least pushes the series to seven games.
The Daryl Sutter to Washington rumors could hit full steam by Saturday night.
— Jake Guentzel with 8 goals in his first nine playoffs is legendary stuff.
The others who did it per Elias Sports Bureau:
Maurice Richard – 12
Mario Lemieux – 11
Wayne Gretzky – 9
Jake Guentzel – 8
— Quick update on the Sabres GM search. It’s finishing the closing stages and there’s been momentum building towards Jason Botterill in the past couple days.
The NHL is more involved in this hiring process than they normally are and there’s been a push from top league officials for the Sabres to hire Botterill that’s helped him emerge as the believed front-runner. They want the Sabres to get this right and that’s a compliment to Botterill he’s being recommended by those with the league who are advising the Pegula’s in the search.
However, as of this morning, Buffalo was still weighing 2-3 final candidates and no firm decision has been made.
Is Bill Guerin the wildcard in all of this?
Though there is said to be some pushback from those involved because of his inexperience, NHL sources say Guerin made a major impression on the Pegula’s during the interview process.
Calgary to circle around Matt Murray again?
In surveying NHL folks for a feature to be posted next week, the consensus is Marc Andre Fleury’s brilliant play in the playoffs hasn’t changed much regarding the Penguins long-term situation as other decision makers believe the Penguins will and should look at Fleury’s play as an anomaly and that you don’t keep a soon to be 33 year old goaltender over a 22 year old franchise goaltender.
That said, one plugged in source [hide] brought up the Calgary Flames who love Murray and tried to acquire the young goaltender multiple times last season, a couple instances prior to the 2016 trade deadline before Murray even established himself as the No. 1 goaltender and then again at the draft where the Flames are said to have approached the Penguins about being willing to put the No. 6 overall pick in play for Murray.
That’s how much they like him.
What if Calgary puts defenseman Dougie Hamilton in play for Murray, a right handed defenseman the Penguins hold in very high regard and would be great insurance long-term for Kris Letang?
“They may listen,” the source said of the Penguins entertaining inquiries about Murray if Calgary comes calling again this summer. “Nothing would surprise me. Jim’s always willing to take a gamble……They have the Jarry kid coming up and they like [Filip] Gustavsson a lot. They’re well positioned if Jim and his staff decided to change direction.”
The Penguins are not even out of the second round yet and there’s still a long ways to go where things could snow ball for Fleury but what a fascinating lead up it will be to the expansion draft if Fleury leads the Penguins to the Cup.
He’s not waiving his no movement clause to be exposed, that’s for sure. [/hide]
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