Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford says he wasn't taking an intentional shot at the Columbus Blue Jackets when he made an assessment about Jack Johnson's usage that didn't sit well with John Tortorella.
“I have nothing but respect for the Columbus Blue Jackets,” Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey. “They’ve got a good city, a good franchise, a great owner, and (president of hockey operations) John Davidson to run the franchise. I feel bad that it either (came) out the way it did or it upset people; that certainly wasn’t my intent. They have a very good franchise there, and it’s very well run.”
After the Penguins made the signing of Johnson to a five-year, $16.25-million deal official on the first day of free agency, Rutherford told reporters the following about the veteran defenseman, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline:
"I don't think he had a bad year. He was a healthy scratch at the end of the season. I know the reason why. It wasn't because of how he was playing."
When asked Thursday to clarify what he meant by the latter remark, Rutherford declined to elaborate.
“I don’t think that’s going to do anybody any good at this point,” he told Mackey. “We feel comfortable with the homework that we did on this player.”
Rutherford's initial comments, along with Johnson telling reporters on July 1 that, “I've been really wanting to be a part of a winning culture and a place where the expectations to win are as high as they can be," clearly irked Tortorella at the time.
The always forthright Blue Jackets head coach issued an expletive-laden response in which he said that for Rutherford "to question our decision-making from three hours away, he must be a fucking magician," later adding that the Penguins GM should "shut the fuck up," and that Johnson's statement was "utter bullshit."
Johnson was scratched in all six of the Blue Jackets' playoff games this spring and he collected only 11 points in 77 regular-season contests in 2017-18.
Police have made an arrest in the investigation of the fatal bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos' team bus and a semi-trailer back in April, the Saskatchewan RCMP confirmed to The Canadian Press on Friday.
The RCMP say charges have been laid and an arrest was made Friday morning.
The Mounties have scheduled a press conference for Friday afternoon, where they will provide further details, including the name of the accused and the charges.
Sixteen people died as a result of the crash, and 13 people were injured.
Strome's new deal, which carries a cap hit of $3.1 million, will pay him $3 million next season and $3.2 million in 2019-20.
Strome managed only 13 goals and 34 points while appearing in all 82 games for Edmonton last season. He was acquired from the New York Islanders in exchange for Jordan Eberle last June.
Looking ahead to the next NHL season, there are already some fantasy-relevant roster situations worth monitoring.
While there are obvious breakout candidates and rookies likely to make an impact, several intriguing players aren't yet cemented as must-draft options, but could rise up fantasy rankings by summer's end.
Here are three players to keep an eye on as the new season approaches:
Thomas Chabot
Chabot would have much more value playing alongside Erik Karlsson, but that's looking less likely by the day. However, the 21-year-old could still be worth a look if his superstar partner is dealt.
Even if the Ottawa Senators get a player like Mikhail Sergachev in a Karlsson trade, Chabot will be in line for a big boost in ice time, and his upside is undeniable.
On the other hand, the Senators won't be good in 2018-19, and how he handles an expanded role without much help around him remains to be seen.
Chabot is at the very least worth adding to your watch list as the Karlsson situation continues to unfold, and his stock could improve as the season approaches.
Elias Lindholm
Lindholm looked like a very solid fantasy option after being traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Calgary Flames on day two of the draft last month, but then the Flames signed veteran sniper James Neal to a five-year deal on Monday.
Without Neal, Lindholm would probably have had the inside track for first-line duties alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. That assignment would've made drafting him a no-brainer. Now, though, it's looking like Lindholm could be relegated to second- or third-line duties.
That would mean lining up with Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund on the second forward unit, or potentially with the likes of Sam Bennett and Derek Ryan on the third. Also, Lindholm's power-play output would take a big dip if he ends up on PP2 instead of PP1.
Flames head coach Bill Peters, who had Lindholm with the Hurricanes, might even opt to balance things out by putting Neal on the second line and his former Carolina forward on the first.
Lindholm's fantasy impact will come down to his usage. The latter isn't entirely clear yet, so he's simply worth watching for the time being.
Jesse Puljujarvi
Puljujarvi's role for next season isn't clear yet and won't be for a while. However, he's worth flagging this summer, and watching when training camp opens in September.
The young Edmonton Oilers winger might start the season on the club's third line, which would severely limit his fantasy value, but he can avoid that fate and boost his production potential by securing a spot on the second unit with Leon Draisaitl.
He could even end up getting some ice time with Connor McDavid, though Ty Rattie will likely receive the top-line assignment first (and rightfully so after Rattie's success in that spot in 2017-18).
Pujujarvi only potted 12 goals in 65 games this past campaign, but 10 of those goals came at even strength, which bodes well for the 20-year-old's future production.
If he ends up getting time on the power play (especially on the first power-play unit that should feature both McDavid and Draisaitl), Pujujarvi would warrant fantasy roster consideration. Even getting into Edmonton's top six would be enough to make him relevant in most leagues.
Jenner's new pact carries a cap hit of $3.75 million per season, and it's worth $15 million in total, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.
The 25-year-old was a restricted free agent who just concluded the second season of the two-year, $5.8-million deal he signed with Columbus in February 2016.
Jenner has become more of a depth piece for the Blue Jackets in recent years, contributing only 13 goals and 32 points in 75 games in 2017-18. His goal-scoring declined in both seasons after he poured in 30 for the Blue Jackets in 2015-16.
He does provide value in other areas, though:
The Columbus Blue Jackets extend Boone Jenner, a gritty forward who was among the league leaders last season winning offensive zone battles and using his body to change possession. pic.twitter.com/yrqCkNQIEl
The Leafs are the sudden championship favorites, according to odds released by OddsShark. (Before St. Louis Blues fans get the pitchforks out, these were posted Sunday afternoon, before the Ryan O'Reilly trade.)
There was no bigger story than John Tavares' homecoming on Sunday, but there were plenty of other intriguing moves on the first day of NHL free agency.
Predictably, many clubs paid hefty prices for less-than-stellar players, while others addressed immediate needs while paying market value.
Here's a look at who made out like bandits and whose moves left something to be desired:
Winners
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs were the clear victors on day one, and not just because they won the Tavares sweepstakes.
They also got the superstar center on a hometown discount, for a reasonable seven years and $77 million.
Toronto's transformation into a perennial playoff contender undoubtedly played a part in Tavares' decision. Besides winning the 2016 draft lottery for Auston Matthews, team president Brendan Shanahan and new general manager Kyle Dubas (along with former GM Lou Lamoriello and former assistant GM Mark Hunter) deserve a ton of credit for fully rebuilding the club and putting it in a position to add a player of Tavares' caliber.
The next stage of the "Shanaplan" came to fruition Sunday, and now the future looks exponentially brighter for the Blue and White.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights entered their first-ever free-agent period with a boatload of cap space, and while they weren't in the mix for the biggest fish, they did catch an excellent consolation prize.
Stastny gives this past season's Stanley Cup runner-up a skilled two-way pivot to anchor the Golden Knights' second line, and they still have plenty of cap space ($18.75 million, according to CapFriendly) left over to re-sign top-line center William Karlsson.
Tough guys
Sunday was a great day for offensively gifted players, but it was also kind to fighters and pests.
The Golden Knights gave Ryan Reaves a two-year contract reportedly worth $5.55 million in total, perhaps rewarding the grinder for his goal that eliminated the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference Final.
Oh, and also for this:
GM George McPhee talks to the media about free agency:
When asked about Ryan Reaves.... 👇
“he keeps the flies off the honey.” 🐝🥊
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) July 1, 2018
Elsewhere, the Islanders handed Leo Komarov four years and $12 million after losing Tavares, and the Dallas Stars gave Roman Polak a one-year, $1.3-million deal.
Jack Johnson
The Pittsburgh Penguins might deserve to be in the "losers" category for giving marginal defenseman Jack Johnson a five-year pact worth $3.25 million per season, but it's a big win for the veteran whose financial troubles have been well documented.
Johnson was essentially a borderline third-pairing blue-liner toward the end of his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but regardless of what you think of him as a player, it's nice to see him get some job security. Hopefully he's allowed to keep a good chunk of his new payday.
Losers
New York Islanders
There were no bigger losers on the first day of free agency than the New York Islanders. After weeks of taking part in the Tavares sweepstakes, the team watched hopelessly as its franchise forward left the only NHL organization he's ever known for his hometown team.
New York re-signed defenseman Thomas Hickey to a four-year, $10-million agreement and reunited Komarov with Lou Lamoriello, but neither of those moves will do much to ease the pain of Tavares leaving.
Poor Barry Trotz.
Winnipeg Jets
It was widely believed that the Jets dumped Steve Mason's $4.1 million on the Montreal Canadiens, along with young forward Joel Armia and two draft picks for defenseman Simon Bourque, to create space to re-sign Stastny.
However, the prized free-agent center opted to leave Winnipeg for Las Vegas once free agency opened.
Ouch.
The only one-way move the Jets made as of about 7 p.m. on Sunday was bringing in backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit on a one-year, $650,000 contract. It's not exactly how they were hoping to begin the frenzy.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are supposedly a rebuilding team, but you wouldn't know it based on their free-agent activity.
Vancouver finalized a couple of puzzling signings Sunday, handing out dual four-year, $12-million deals to Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel, in addition to giving forward Tim Schaller $3.8 million over two years and re-signing Sven Baertschi for $10 million over three years.
Both Beagle and Roussel have shown they can provide value as depth players in limited roles, but general manager Jim Benning went against the grain by adding them to a team that in all likelihood is still far from being competitive.
St. Louis Blues
Bringing back left wing David Perron for four years and $16 million wasn't a terrible move for the Blues, but giving Tyler Bozak $5 million per season for the next three years was a head-scratcher.
The Blues also bid farewell to stellar goaltender Carter Hutton, and while that was a foregone conclusion, they were only able to replace him with Chad Johnson, the journeyman who posted a pedestrian .891 save percentage last season.
Cullen played for the Penguins in 2015-16 and 2016-17, helping them win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, before signing with the Minnesota Wild, with whom he chipped in 11 goals in 79 games this past season.
