Penguins add Reaves
season, and has picked up more than 100 penalty minutes in three of the last four years. He also has 56 career regular-seasonfights.
Rutherford wanted to add somemuscle this offseason because of the way he felt the Penguins star players were treated over the course of their Stanley Cup defense this season, particularly the treatment Sidney Crosby got in the playoffs.
“Wewon the Cup two years in a row, and teams played us even harder than they usually do,” Rutherford said. “Now, we expect it to come again this year. It was important to get him.
“We recognize that Oskar’s a good young player, but we also recognize that we’re getting a little bit tired of getting beatup game after game.”
Coach Mike Sullivan also noticedmore aggression.
“I felt like one of the tactics teams try to deploy to play against us is they try to be physical, they try to bang us, they try to slow us down,” Sullivansaid.
“That’s one aspect that we noticed a little bit more this year. I think Ryan can help us with a little bit of pushback in thatregard.”
Rutherford and Sullivan both stressed, though, that Reaves is more than just an enforcer.
“I think obviously Ryan is guy that, when he’s in your lineup, people take notice,” Sullivan said. “I think he adds that element to our team. But he’s a good player. He can really skate. I think he’s good on the forecheck, I think he’s a sound two-way player that we know we can put on the ice. I really think he’s going to help our team. We’re thrilled to havehim.”
Reaves’ fighting has actually decreased over the past fewseasons.
He has 11 fights in the last two years after getting into 20 the two seasons before that. He is also coming off the best offensive season of his career, with career highs in goals (7) andpoints (13).
Sullivan, too, specifically praised Reaves’ skating ability, saying it might be an underrated-aspect of his game.
It could be the key to Reaves walking that delicate line between being the physical player the Penguins want, while also fitting into their uptemposystem.
Sullivan is also optimistic thePenguins can help Reaves, 30,develop his game. He’ll be a bottom-six winger for the Penguins, but Sullivan said finding the right combination couldhelp him out.
“We think there’s more to his game and if we can put him with the right people, then we think we can really help him grow his game, as well,”Sullivan said.
Every acquisition comes with a cost, of course, and for thePenguins, that meant parting with Sundqvist, 23, who was the front-runner for one of the vacant bottom-six centerspots next season.
“It’s real tough,” Sullivan said. “This is the reality of the businessthat we’re in.
“Jim has to make some difficult decisions on how he’s going to improve our hockey team, help us continue to our winningtrack.”
Rutherford now faces a few more big decisions in front of him.
With the loss of Sundqvist, the Penguins may have to acquire two NHL centers before nextseason starts.
Nick Bonino is an unrestricted free agent — who Rutherford has expressed interestin resigning — and Matt Cullenis expected to retire.
There’s plenty of time to addressthose issues, though.
The trade also meant the Penguins did not make a firstround draft choice for the third consecutive season. The pick they acquired from St. Louis is No. 51 in the second round, which begins Saturdayat 10 a.m.
The Penguins do not have their original second-round pick, which was traded to Carolina to acquire Ron Hainsey inFebruary.
They also have their thirdrounder, two fifth-round picks, as well as their original sixthand seventh rounders.