Pittburgh Columist Ron Cook Blames Phil Kessel
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Idiot columnist Ron Cook blames Phil Kessel for the Pittsburgh Penguins not getting their 3rd consecutive Stanley Cup. What an ass. Cook feels Kessel deserves most of the blame, calling him a difficult player to coach. He felt the banged-up winger should’ve taken some time off to rest during the season instead of keeping his consecutive-games streak going.
Cook believes Kessel “probably will be back with the Penguins next season even though I expect Rutherford to seriously look into trading him.” He claims Rutherford “would have moved him for the right offer after the 2016-17 season but couldn’t find any takers because of Kessel’s sizable contract which runs through 2021-22 with an annual cap hit of $6.8 million.” Hmmm I think a player that scores 90 points with a cap hit of $6.8 million is a great deal for a team and not a hindrance to the salary cap.
Jacob Trouba open to long-term deal with the Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Sun: This time it appears Jacob Trouba will not hold out for a contract or ask to be traded. Trouba wants to stay with the Winnipeg Jets. It is amazing what a winning team can do with a players mind.
Ken Wiebe reports Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba doesn’t sound like someone who’ll seek a trade or preparing for another contract stalemate. He downplayed his previous contract talks, saying he’d like to stick around for the long term and hopes an agreement on his next deal can be reached in the near future.
Minnesota Wild will look to make some roster changes this summer
Twincities.com: With new Minnesota Wild GM Paul Fenton saying he intends to “tweak” the under-achieving Minnesota Wild roster, Brian Murphy wonders what that might involve. He feels Fenton “should have no emotional attachment to Wild players ripe for the trade market such as Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker or even Jared Spurgeon.”
