The Penguins are supposed to release their 2015-16 schedule today, but a few things can be assumed before the formal announcement.
There won’t be a regular-season game in July. Or August. Or September.
And that is why, despite all the energy general manager Jim Rutherford and his staff have expended lately trying to acquire a top-six winger, Rutherford doesn’t feel compelled to get one before, say, Round 1 of the NHL draft Friday night. Or by the close of business July 1, the first day of free agency. Or by any other manufactured deadline the next few months.
“We will acquire one when there is one we like and we feel fits our team,” Rutherford said. “I don’t see any sense of urgency.
“If the right deal comes along, we’ll move on it. But we certainly don’t feel we have to do it right now if it’s not the player we really like.”
Although some capable goal-scorers — Toronto’s Phil Kessel, St. Louis’ T.J. Oshie and Chicago’s Patrick Sharp, among others — are available in trades, the asking price to date has been steep, if not staggering. If they don’t drop to a level the Penguins deem acceptable, Rutherford seems willing to wait and see how things play out over the summer.
It’s possible that a trade or free-agent signing will lead to someone going on the market who isn’t there now. And, because teams are allowed to exceed the salary-cap ceiling by 10 percent in the offseason, a club could find itself desperate to shed contracts as the start of the regular season nears.
That happened in 2014, when Boston and Chicago all but donated defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy to the New York Islanders to ease their cap crunch.
There’s no assurance such late-summer bargains will be available this year, but it certainly is possible.
“We may very well be waiting until then, or longer,” Rutherford said. “We’ll just see how this plays out.”
It was not immediately clear what impact, if any, the planned signing of Russian free-agent forward Sergei Plotnikov would have on their search for a top-six winger.
Plotnikov, 25, can play either side and, per the EliteProspects.com website, is “a hard-working winger with good game vision who plays an impressive physical game.” It also said Plotkinov “needs to improve his skating,” which could affect his ability to fit on one of the top two lines.
Plotnikov, 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds, impressed Penguins staffers and scouts with his performance at the recent world championships.
He opted out of his contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, for which he had 15 goals, 21 assists in 56 Kontinental Hockey League games last season, so he could pursue work in the NHL.
Plotnikov is expected to sign with the Penguins July 1, the first day NHL teams are allowed to formalize agreements with players whose contracts are up.
They are allowed to begin interviewing impending free agents today, but, even though the Penguins likely will at least dabble in free agency, Rutherford said he doesn’t expect to speak with players he might pursue.
“With the free-agent market the way it is, it’s not a priority,” he said. “The priority is looking at other areas. Certainly, there are some good free agents there who are available, but right now, we’re concentrating on the draft.”
The Penguins are not obliged to speak in advance with any free agents they might go after July 1 or later. How involved they get then will hinge, at least, in part, on what transpires the rest of this month.
“It’ll depend on if there are any moves that we make,” Rutherford said. “That can be a changing thing, day by day.”
Dave Molinari: dmolinari@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.
First Published: June 25, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
