National Post (National Edition)
SULLIVAN’S SEAT never truly got hot
A COACHING CHANGE WASN’T ON RADAR FOR PENGUINS, DESPITE AN AWFUL START
Ayear ago, not a single coach was fired in the NHL. This season, five teams have already handed out pink slips.
Gone are John Stevens (Los Angeles), Joel Quenneville (Chicago), Mike Yeo (St. Louis), Todd Mclellan (Edmonton) and Dave Hakstol (Philadelphia).
Based on how Pittsburgh started the year, no one would have been surprised if Mike Sullivan’s name had been added to that list.
A month ago, the Penguins headed into U.S. Thanksgiving with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. There was talk about whether the team’s window had closed and whether Pittsburgh might miss the playoffs for the first time in eight long years. But according to GM Jim Rutherford, there was never talk of making a coaching change.
“I didn’t even think about it,” Rutherford said. “We have one of the top coaches in the league. I know exactly all that he deals with here and he handles it very well. I respect coaches and I also the people who have made tough decisions. But without commenting on that, I like the continuity.”
Rutherford had three different coaches (Paul Maurice, Peter Laviolette and Kirk Muller) during his 17-year run as GM of Carolina. He’s on his second coach since joining the Penguins in 2014.
Rutherford’s patience is paying off. In their last 14 games heading into Wednesday, the Penguins were 8-4-2 — only three points out of a playoff spot.
“I didn’t like what was going on a month ago, but I kind of had a handle on what the reasons were,” said Rutherford, who’s team has been hurt by injuries to Matt Murray, Justin Schultz and Patric Hornqvist. “We still have a ways to go . ... But I’m confident this team will turn the corner in the second half.”
Don’t know why the Calgary Flames aren’t getting any respect these days.
As of Wednesday morning, they were tied with Toronto, Winnipeg and Nashville for the second-most points in the NHL.
Sure, their schedule has been easy of late. But at the same time, they’ve beaten the Leafs, Jets and Sabres this season, as well as taken two out of three from the Predators. Those wins go into the bank and will mean something come April, especially if James Neal starts finding the back of the net by then.
With Chicago and Los Angeles now on the path to rebuilding, I asked Rutherford if there was any concern Pittsburgh’s window was also closing.
“What people are saying is natural, because when a team has success people are watching to see when that success ends,” he said. “But this team is a ways away from that.”
A big reason for his confidence is that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel are tied for 24th in scoring. It’s hard to be bad when you’re top three are so good.
Injuries have forced Jack Eichel to miss 36 games in the past two seasons, so it’s nice to see what he can do now that he’s healthy. With 46 points in 35 games, the Sabres star is tied for fifth in league scoring.
Still not convinced? He has 94 points in his last 82 games. As a comparison, Toronto’s Auston Matthews has 92 points in his last 82.
For years, the best players in the league were playing south of the border. Not anymore. Half of the top 10 scorers (Connor Mcdavid, Mark Scheifele, Johnny Gaudreau, Mitch Marner and Blake Wheeler) and each of the top three defencemen (Morgan Rielly, Thomas Chabot and Marc Giordano) call Canada home.
Carter Hart was the sixth goalie used by the Flyers this season. He’s also the 14th to play in the past seven years. As a comparison, Boston’s used eight during that same span.
Last I checked, the trade deadline wasn’t until Feb. 25. So why is everyone in a hurry for Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to acquire a defenceman? Two months from now, the team might discover it needs a centre or a goalie even more.
Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, the third wheel on a line with Nathan Mackinnon and Mikko Rantanen, is fourth in scoring with 22 goals. He’s never scored more than 26.
With five goals in 12 games since getting traded to Chicago, Dylan Strome is on his way to proving that the third overall pick in the 2015 is not a draft-day bust. Then again, chances are Strome wouldn’t go in the top 10 — much less the top five — if you were drafting all over again.
That’s not a knock on Strome, but rather an indication of the quality of players that have come out of arguably one of the stronger draft classes in the past 15 years.
Consider that four of the top eight scorers in the NHL (Rantanen, Mcdavid, Eichel and Marner) were selected in 2015. That doesn’t include Chabot (tied for first in scoring among defencemen), Sebastian Aho (34 points), Brock Boeser (12 goals) or Mathew Barzal (27 points).