DENVER — Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford will not mandate any lineup changes to coach Mike Johnston, but indicated Monday that rookie Daniel Sprong will get in the lineup soon.
“I’ve never done that before,” Rutherford said. “Coaches have their own jobs to do. That’s something I’d prefer not to do, and I haven’t done it before.”
He said there is no specific number of games or minutes he wants Sprong to get.
“No, he just has to get in,” he said. “He hasn’t played for a while. It’s going to be difficult for him to get going. There’s going to be a situation where he’s going to get in.”
Sprong was scratched for an eighth consecutive game Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, one of the more perplexing ongoing lineup decisions this season by Johnston.
Sprong is 18 and inexperienced, but his speed, shot and whip-fast release seem worth giving him a chance, considering almost no one on the Penguins is scoring at a consistent pace.
Johnston has yet to share any concrete reasons why Sprong has been a healthy scratch for so long, other than intimating he’s merely the odd-man out because Sergei Plotnikov’s game is coming along and no other wingers are injured.
Morehouse surgery
Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse, 55, will have a heart-valve repair and bypass surgery today, the team announced.
The surgery was recommended by doctors after results from a series of recent tests and exams, according to a short press release.
Travis Williams, the Penguins’ chief operating officer, is expected to oversee team business in his absence.
Morehouse, who has a history of heart health issues, is expected to need six to eight weeks for recovery. He had a heart attack on the team plane in 2009 as it sat on the tarmac in San Jose, Calif., just before taking off on a cross-country flight to Boston. He had a minor procedure after that incident.
Governors meeting
Expansion talk and the 2016-17 salary cap was expected to highlight news coming out of Pebble Beach, Calif., Monday and Tuesday at the league's annual Board of Governors meetings.
By the close of business Monday little news had trickled out.
The league will not hold a vote on expansion but are expected to discuss early projections for next season’s salary cap.
The current cap is $71.4 million, up from $69 million a year ago.
Tip-in
The Penguins will practice at Big Bear Ice Arena today before finishing up their four-game West Coast swing Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche.
Jenn Menendez: jmenendez@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JennMenendez.
First Published: December 7, 2015, 10:30 p.m.
Updated: December 8, 2015, 1:31 a.m.
