Rutta is in the midst of a one-year, $1.35-million contract and was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The 27-year-old has been one of the bright spots in what has been a rather dark season for the Blackhawks. In 43 games, Rutta has six goals and 19 points, good enough for second in scoring among all Blackhawks defenders.
NEWARK, N.J. - Exactly how you count Taylor Hall's point streak is up to you. It can be 19 straight games heading into the New Jersey Devils' clash with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night, or it can be 26 consecutive appearances, as the 26-year-old left-winger missed three games in late January with a right thumb injury.
Whichever way it's added up, there's no debate that Hall is in the middle of not only his greatest run of form, but his best season. With 15 games remaining, he has registered his first 30-goal season, set a new career best with 17 power-play assists, and is nine assists and six points away from matching his career highs set with the Edmonton Oilers in 2013-14. He also has 66 takeaways - 10 away from his most ever.
"It's cool," Hall said. "It seems like everything is bouncing the right way for me lately, especially on the power play. It's great to chip in. It's great to contribute. I'm out there to get points and score goals and play well that way. So, I just want to keep going, but at the end of the day, I just want to be on a team that gets to the playoffs and gets some more wins down the stretch."
Hall's season is more than the streak, because even before it began, it was his surging performance that was instrumental in lifting the Devils from doormats a year ago to playoff contenders. Over the past two months, though, he has been on another level, to the point where it's impossible to take your eyes off of No. 9 in red.
"He's been on a mission, and he's been our best player all year," said Devils center Travis Zajac. "He's brought momentum through over these past 25, 26 games for us, and he's grown as a player and a leader. It's great to see."
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
It's hard to quantify leadership, but it does stand out that Hall's 74 points are the most on the Devils - more than double everyone on the team other than his linemate, No. 1 draft pick Nico Hischier, who has 41. His leap from stardom to being among the game's elite has come with not only the Swiss teenager on his line just about all season, but also 19-year-old winger Jesper Bratt.
Not that Hischier and Bratt aren't talented - they're top-line forwards on a team in playoff position - but rookies always have ups and downs. Hall staying steady, and even getting better as the season has gone on, doesn't fully exemplify leadership, but it shows his commitment to taking on that role.
"I wouldn't say there's one thing that sparked him," Devils coach John Hynes said. "I think that he's a very motivated player. Probably, getting traded was a little bit of a wakeup call for him, and I think that in the environment he's in now, he feels comfortable and he feels supported, whether that's from the general manager, the ownership, the coaching staff. I think he sees the guys in the locker room, that the team is going in the right direction.
"Those things are all motivational for a player, and then you have a young guy - he's only 26 - he's learned a lot of lessons in the National Hockey League. He's a guy that has superstar talent, but what you're seeing now is it's all the things surrounding his talent. It's his attitude, it's his leadership, it's his work ethic, it's his consistency, it's his buy-in.
"Those are the reasons for the success that he's having this year. It's great to see, and that's what it takes to be a superstar. You have to have the talent, but now you're starting to see the maturity of all the things that allow great talent to be that."
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of their greatest career moments. This edition focuses on Rick Tocchet, the current Arizona Coyotes head coach who won the Stanley Cup once as a player and twice as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On what he remembers about his first NHL game:
I'm pretty sure it was against the Washington Capitals, and obviously making the (Philadelphia Flyers' roster in 1984-85) was a thrill, but I think we had a five-on-three and (head coach) Mike Keenan put me on the point on the power play, and that was probably the most scared I've ever been.
I don't remember ever being on the point on the power play (before that), and he stuck me out there on a five-on-three, so that was one memory. Also, I took a penalty in the game, came out of the box, and got a breakaway, (but) didn't score, so those were the two things I remember.
On who influenced him most as a player:
Mark Howe and Brad McCrimmon were really instrumental, just on the way they approached the game and being a professional, and Dave Poulin, who was our captain (with the Flyers). Everybody in that organization (helped me), but those three guys were really good for me, teaching me to become a pro.
On the biggest trash talker he ever encountered:
Claude Lemieux was pretty good at it, (as a) trash talker and an agitator. Dale Hunter a little bit, more as an agitator but still, he'd be chirping. Those two guys were pretty good at it.
On being part of the Stanley Cup-defending Penguins in 1991-92:
(Toward the end of my time) with Philadelphia, they were kind of rebuilding, so when I got traded, it was almost like (joining) an All-Star team, there were so many Hall of Famers on that (Penguins) team, so for me, it rejuvenated me in the sense that, 'Hey, I've got a chance to win the Cup.' This (wasn't) a rebuilding program where you had to stick with it for three years. Winning was now, and that was an incredible feeling to be part of that.
On the dressing room atmosphere of March 2, 1993, when Mario Lemieux returned from his cancer treatments:
That was one of the (career) highlights for me, to experience not only the human being Mario Lemieux coming back and defying (the odds) - he didn't skate that much because of the treatments, and to be able to come back and play at a high level (was remarkable) - but to me, it was the ovation he got in an archrival building in Philadelphia.
As the visiting team, (it was) the most fun place to play, because they're good there about getting on the (opposing) team's best player, and for them to give him a standing ovation, it was just ... it actually gives me goosebumps to even think about it.
On the hardest part of playing for six teams in an eight-year span:
Getting acclimated (to a new place). You've got new friends, more people in your life, and the people who were in your life aren't in your life as much any more. So some players have a tough time adjusting ... I'd been traded, so I was kind of used to it.
It's the family that gets affected, (and some) people don't understand ... the pressure of the family, but for me, it wasn't as bad as other players because I dealt with it a little differently. To me, it was a job, and your job is important, but there are other aspects that sometimes players don't understand. There's family, and there are other issues. It's not just about yourself.
On the most underrated player of his era:
Keith Tkachuk, when I was in Phoenix (with the Coyotes), the way he played the game. He played a hard game. I noticed the years I was there (1997-98 to '99-2000) how hard he played and the way he could score. Before (I got there) he had 50 goals, and the way he'd score in the tough areas (was admirable). So ... I just always thought, 'This guy's a really good hockey player.'
On the best hockey story he hasn't shared with many people:
I liked the pranks, and there were a lot of different types of pranks and stuff like that. (One time) we were in Philadelphia, and I'm not going to name names because it's embarrassing, but we told one rookie that when you go over the Walt Whitman Bridge - which has a toll - because you play for the Flyers, you don't have to pay, all you do is yell 'Flyers' at the toll basket, and the gate will go up.
So the player went to the bridge, and there was another player with him who confirmed the story. (The rookie) went up and said, 'Flyers!'. Well, it didn't open up, and he yelled it again, 'Flyers!' So now people are honking their horns, telling them they've got to move.
So one of the managers of the toll company goes, 'What's wrong?' and (the rookie) says, 'I play for the Flyers. I yelled it into the basket.' And the guy goes, 'I don't care who you play for, you've got to put a dollar in!' and (the rookie) started getting into an argument with the guy, so I thought it was a pretty funny joke. But little did he know it was a prank, so that's something people don't know about. That was a good prank.
Rapid Fire
Best player he ever played with: Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux
Best player he ever played against: Gretzky and Lemieux
Best goalie he ever played against: Martin Brodeur
Best coach he ever had: Best bench coach: Scotty Bowman. Best coach for me: Mike Keenan.
Favorite arena and/or city to play in: Madison Square Garden
Fact File
Born: April 9, 1964, Scarborough, Ontario.
Drafted: Sixth round (121st overall), 1983, Philadelphia Flyers
Teams: Philadelphia Flyers (1984-92, 2000-02), Pittsburgh Penguins (1992-94), Los Angeles Kings (1994-96), Boston Bruins (1996-97), Washington Capitals (1997), Phoenix Coyotes (1997-2000).
Awards: Stanley Cup (1992 as a player, 2016 and 2017 as an assistant coach)
The latest milestone was reached on a second-period assist by the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center, with Conor Sheary scoring the goal. The helper was Crosby's third of the game, after he assisted on another Sheary goal, as well as one off the stick of Phil Kessel.
Here's a look at Sheary's two goals that gave Crosby career points 1,099 and 1,100:
Crosby now sits at 404 goals and 696 assists for his career, good for a point-per-game average of 1.29.
Newly minted Carolina Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon didn't wait long to shake things up in Raleigh, as the team announced Wednesday that general manager Ron Francis will move out of his current role to become president of hockey operations.
The new GM will report directly to Dundon, the Hurricanes confirmed. The club didn't specify a timeline for the GM search.
Francis was hired at the end of the 2014 season, and previously served as the team's vice president of hockey operations. Carolina is in the midst of its fourth losing season with Francis at the helm.
Kessel has now played in 900 career regular-season games, making him the only player selected in the 2006 draft to accomplish the feat.
He's also on an impressive 678-game ironman streak, having not missed a contest since Nov. 3, 2009.
The 30-year-old winger is in the midst of a career season, on pace for a sensational 93 points. He's seventh in league scoring, but we already know how he feels about the Art Ross Trophy.
Mark Scheifele appears to have avoided another major injury.
The Winnipeg Jets center is reportedly doubtful to play Thursday against New Jersey, but an upper-body injury suffered Tuesday in New York isn't believed to be serious, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Scheifele missed 16 games with an upper-body injury earlier this season, but head coach Paul Maurice said the latest ailment is not related.
Through 50 games, Scheifele has recorded 21 goals and 30 assists.
An official update is expected prior to Thursday's tilt with the Devils.
Backes caught Nielsen with a late, high hit in the first period of Tuesday's game and was assessed a two-minute penalty for roughing. Nielsen left the game and did not return.
The NHL Department of Player Safety noted that Backes made substantial contact with Nielsen's head, and the puck was clearly no longer in Nielsen's possession when he laid the hit, leading to the three-game penalty.
This is the first suspension of Backes' 848-game NHL career.
