Pens send a message with deal
Acquiring hulking Reaves means the days of pushing Crosby around are officially over
Sidney Crosby didn’t ask for protection, but somebody did.
Maybe his agent, Pat Brisson, pushed for it.
Maybe owner Mario Lemieux insisted things change.
Maybe the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Penguins demanded it.
Whatever the case, when the Stanley Cup champions acquired hulking winger Ryan Reaves, the son of former CFL star Willard Reaves, on Friday night at the NHL Draft it was a declarative move by the Penguins.
And it didn’t have a lot to do with the seven goals Reaves scored this past season in St. Louis.
On the surface, acquiring Reaves for a first-round draft pick seemed a huge overpay for the back-to -back champs.
“But when you get the best in the league, you have to pay a high price for it,” said general manager Jim Rutherford.
The message was abundantly clear: We’re not going to take it any more. The days of abusing Crosby on the ice are over.
“The more you win, the harder the competition plays against you, the more physical it can get,” said Rutherford. “Ryan is an intimidating figure.”
Pittsburgh won three Stanley Cups without any real enforcer. They have one now.
Just in case.
THIS AND THAT
When Reaves first heard the rumour he was being traded for a first-round pick, his reaction as a fourth liner: “Well obviously that’s a bunch of garbage.” ... Nashville needs some help at centre. Word around is the Preds are kicking tires on the ancient free agent, Joe Thornton? ... The good thing about bad voting: It didn’t cost anybody an NHL Award. Torey Krug somehow got a second place vote for the Norris Trophy. Two voters left Erik Karlsson off their Norris ballot. One voter did not have Sidney Crosby on his list of five for the Hart Trophy. It didn’t affect the races: It’s just plain weird ... A surprise to me: Auston Matthews got 11 Hart Trophy votes. I knew he’d run away with the Calder. I figured a few Lady Byng votes. He was not in my Top 5 for the Hart. I went with Connor McDavid, Crosby, Karlsson, Sergei Bobrovsky and Nikita Kucherov as my Top 5 for most valuable player ... A former NHL player worries about the pressure that awaits first draft pick Nico Hischier and second pick Nolan Patrick coming in the years directly after McDavid and Matthews. “They’re not those kind of players,” he said. “I had hoped Nolan would drop a few spots, to maybe five. He’s going to be a good player. I just don’t want people expecting too much from him.”
HEAR AND THERE
George McPhee had all the power heading into the NHL expansion draft. Now the Vegas GM has a roster with way too many defenceman. “Now we can hold him hostage the way he held us hostage,” said an NHL GM. “The power has shifted.” ... How important is your backup goaltender in today’s NHL? Consider this: most teams will average 14 back-to-back games this coming season. Most teams don’t play their starter back-to-back. That’s 28 points up for grabs without your starter. “A backup goalie can be the difference between being in the playoffs and missing the playoffs,” said a Western Conference GM. The goalie market is flooded. “There’s too many goalies, not enough jobs.” Former starters who may not get a starting job include: Ryan Miller, Steve Mason Cam Ward, Antti Niemi, Semyon Varlamov, Jonathan Bernier, Kari Lehtonen, Eddie Lack, and Brian Elliott ... Stan Bowman promised change. But are the Chicago Blackhawks any better today than they were last week? ... The biggest waste of space: Rating a draft after it has just happened. The truth: Nobody knows which players are going to turn out and which ones aren’t. You want to know who won? Call me in five years ... This is what happens with too many longterm professional athletes. They don’t see the finish line coming. They’re historically dishonest about their diminishing skills. It’s over for Shane Doan. Everyone seems to know that except Doan. The Arizona Coyotes are inept in so many ways but couldn’t figure the right way to say goodbye to their face of the franchise. They could have handled this better. But they had to say so long.
SCENE AND HEARD
Mark Buehrle, who has his jersey retired by the White Sox on Saturday, had two rather basic goals while pitching in the big leagues. 1) win the game; 2) be nice to everybody. The worst thing that ever happened to Marcus Stroman: Buehrle and his sensibilities leaving the Blue Jays clubhouse ... A list of the Top 40 Jays of all-time is being requested online. My Top 10: 1. Roberto Alomar; 2. Dave Stieb; 3. Roy Halladay; 4. Carlos Delgado; 5. Jose Bautista; 6. Joe Carter; 7. Tony Fernandez; 8. Edwin Encarnacion; 9. Josh Donaldson; 10. George Bell. My next 10: 11. Vernon Wells; 12. Tom Henke; 13. Duane Ward; 14. Pat Hentgen; 15. Shawn Green; 16. Jimmy Key; 17. John Olerud; 18. Jim Clancy; 19. Lloyd Moseby; 20. Jesse Barfield. You can pick the next 20. And where exactly do you put Roger Clemens, Paul Molitor or Fred McGriff? ... This week’s prediction: The Blue Jays will finish at 80-82. Stay tuned for next week’s prediction.