The star center missed the Penguins' first seven games of 2021-22 after undergoing wrist surgery in the offseason.
Crosby was on a minimum six-week return timeline after having the procedure performed Sept. 8. That would've put the 34-year-old on track to return last Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Penguins exercised some extra caution with their captain.
Pittsburgh went 3-2-2 without Crosby while also missing Evgeni Malkin due to offseason knee surgery. Jeff Carter will play Saturday after sitting out the last three games in COVID-19 protocol, according to Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.
The Penguins have been severely shorthanded to begin the campaign, as their No. 1 defenseman, Kris Letang, remains out after missing the last three contests while in the protocol as well.
Crosby ranked 10th in the NHL with 62 points over 55 games last season.
The Bruins own a pedestrian 3-3-0 record, but make no mistake - they remain a very good team.
As usual, Boston has had no problem dictating the run of play at five-on-five. Its share of expected goals sits at 55.66%, behind only the Capitals, Wild, and Penguins. Those three teams own a combined record of 13-4-5; good company to be keeping.
The Bruins deserve better results than they've garnered, especially defensively. They sit 24th in goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five despite ranking first in expected goals against. They aren't giving up much. Sooner or later, they'll be rewarded.
Florida, meanwhile, is an extremely dangerous team. That's especially true with Sergei Bobrovsky looking far more dependable than predicted. But the NHL's leader in goals saved above expected won't start tonight in a very bad spot for the Panthers.
Both teams are playing their third game in four nights, but Boston was idle Friday while Florida played a taxing overtime road game against the Red Wings.
Though they're obviously performing well, the Panthers have taken things to extremes amid their 8-0-0 start. Their expected goal differential at five-on-five is approximately plus-2. Their actual goal differential is plus-11.
Boston is playing better than its record indicates, while Florida isn't as invincible as it seems. We like the Bruins to hand the Panthers their first loss.
The Kings own a 1-5-1 record and are without two of their best defenders in Drew Doughty and Sean Walker. Even so, this line sells them a bit short.
Los Angeles ranks 10th in expected goal share and owns an even goal differential at five-on-five. That's impressive considering its poor record.
The Kings' biggest issue, by and large, has been their play on special teams. The power play has been inconsistent, and only the Coyotes have given up goals at a higher rate while shorthanded.
It just so happens that the Canadiens are a lesser five-on-five team and comparably bad on special teams. Montreal has scored only three goals in 46 power-play minutes - the team is essentially three-for-23 on the season - and struggled on the penalty kill. Conversely, only four teams have spent more time shorthanded, and that inability to stay out of the box has highlighted Montreal's penalty-killing issues.
Put simply, the Kings look like the better five-on-five squad and - despite their own struggles - aren't any worse than their opponents when it comes to special teams.
Cal Petersen is expected to start in goal for Los Angeles, and it seems he's a clear upgrade over Jonathan Quick at this point in the latter's career.
Montreal, meanwhile, will either continue overworking Jake Allen with his eighth start in nine games or turn to Sam Montembeault and his .890 career save percentage.
Whatever the case may be, the Kings are worth backing tonight on home ice.
Bet: Kings -115
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
Joel Quenneville has resigned. Stan Bowman has resigned. Al MacIsaac is out too. The independent report into the Chicago Blackhawks sexual abuse scandal reopened old wounds and forced a group of seven executives and coaches to reckon with 11 years of inaction. But as quickly as the scandal exploded this week, the furor will die down now that small measures of justice have been meted out.
The news cycle moves so fast that Quenneville's resignation Thursday afternoon was already giving way Thursday night to speculation about whether John Tortorella would be hired to take over in Florida.
That's how it always goes. Behavior is exposed, people are outraged, prices are paid, but life continues as people return to their own self-interests. Change is promised, but it never seems to arrive in any demonstrable way.
On Wednesday, Kyle Beach told TSN's Rick Westheadthat he hoped the release of the report from the independent investigation would make a difference.
"I hope that this entire process can make a systematic change to make sure this never happens again," Beach said. "Because it not only affected me as a young adult and now as a 31-year-old man, but it also affected kids because it was not handled in a correct way."
Dave Sandford / NHL / Getty Images
For decades, though, sports' history of sexual abuse has run like clockwork. Despite dozens of scandals, young athletes' dreams and aspirations can be twisted grotesquely by predators operating not just in the shadows but in plain sight.
The Blackhawks situation makes it obvious that many of these scandals come down to a failure of leadership. Quenneville and Bowman can lose their jobs, but those punishments do nothing to prevent the next scandal.
What would real change look like? We know the Blackhawks had a corporate policy in place in 2010 when Beach made his complaint. The policy meant nothing if the Blackhawks leaders could simply put it aside until it was more convenient. The policy did nothing if the perpetrator could be quietly dismissed without an investigation. Policies alone can't be the answer.
"Posters and buttons and policies and procedures don't change culture," Kennedy told the Canadian Press this week. "Until sport makes this a priority as they do winning, they'll never have the change that I think people expect from them."
Steve Russell / Toronto Star / Getty Images
Over the weekend, I came across an interview with Julie Lalonde, who trains people to overcome the bystander effect. Throughout this week, I kept returning to this idea as an explanation for the inaction by Blackhawks management. The bystander effect most often relates to attacks in progress; the more people who witness an attack, the theory goes, the more likely it is that no one will attempt to intervene out of fear and self-interest.
In fact, people choose not to get involved for myriad reasons. Apart from the bystander effect, Lalonde believes the lack of intervention in difficult situations is "about a lack of empathy. We’re not socialized to have empathy for anyone who is in crisis." There is also research suggesting that poorly executed sexual harassment training makes men more likely to blame victims. It's important to find a way out of this mess.
In 2010, Kyle Beach was not in immediate physical danger when Blackhawks management learned about his complaint, but the report outlines that skating coach Paul Vincent recognized that Beach seemed "distraught" the week after the incident with Aldrich. Vincent says that he reported what he knew about Beach, along with allegations that Aldrich had committed sexual misconduct involving a second player, to team president John McDonough, Bowman, MacIsaac, and mental skills coach James Gary - four of the seven men who would be involved in the bigger meeting several days later.
Still, none of the seven men, who all had some measure of power within the organization, felt it was up to them to go any further. Quenneville was concerned about "upsetting team chemistry" and wanted to "focus on the team and the playoffs," according to other people in the meeting. Bowman abdicated his own responsibility by pointing a finger at McDonough in his statement this week.
Better leaders, even if they didn't act on the information the same day, would have reflected on it and quickly intervened. Better leaders would believe that a player's allegation of (at minimum) sexual misconduct by a coach is a potential cancer that ought to be biopsied. But no one felt the urgency to step forward to protect one of their players and initiate an investigation. They were more than willing to sacrifice Kyle Beach to the altar of the Stanley Cup.
"I just don't get why one guy couldn't just stand up and say, 'You know what, no, this is wrong,'" Tortorella said Thursday during a panel discussion on ESPN.
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images
It's easy for all of us to second-guess and believe we would have acted better. But nothing is going to change unless every person in a position of leadership decides to seek out training to overcome the bystander effect. Leaders' top priorities should include not just meeting business objectives, but keeping their team members safe. Until more leaders accept this responsibility, sports will continue to cycle through abuse scandals.
On Sunday in Canada, Showcase will air the finale of the series "Dr. Death," which dramatizes the case of a narcissistic and unskilled surgeon who botched dozens of spinal surgeries in the Dallas area in the 2010s. (The series is a Peacock+ original and available on that streaming service in the U.S.)
It intersects with the Blackhawks scandal in respect to the way that large organizations deal with removing troublesome employees. Large organizations, almost by definition, are obsessed with liability, doing whatever it takes to avoid having to pay penalties for bad acts perpetrated in their name.
In the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, two hospitals quietly shuffled him out the door without official, public reprimands, allowing him to continue to butcher spinal surgeries in tragic ways. He was not reported to any licensing board and was also given legally truthful yet vague letters of recommendation that allowed him to gain surgical privileges from his next employer.
People were maimed because leadership at a couple of large hospitals took the expedient route to rid their organizations of Dr. Death. It's easier to pass the problem to someone else than to deal with it yourself.
Chase Agnello-Dean / NHL / Getty Images
The Blackhawks are clearly guilty of doing this as well. It's galling that Aldrich has a Stanley Cup ring. It's galling that he got to have the Cup for a personal day of enjoyment. It's galling that Quenneville wrote him a glowing performance review dated at the end of June 2010. It all demonstrates a shallow pool of empathy in the organization. At least Blackhawks ownership has formally requested to remove Aldrich's name from the Cup. But that doesn't make up for the people he went on to harass and abuse, most notably the high school student in Houghton, Michigan.
The Blackhawks failed to follow their own policy and investigate Beach's complaint. Allowing Aldrich to resign without an investigation meant there was no documentary trail that could have warned other organizations before hiring him. The whole episode needs to be an object lesson in the catastrophic consequences of not taking responsibility for the care and safety of the people in your organization and recognizing the duty to make sure there aren't future victims.
The Blackhawks failed so many people in 2010, and that failure spread outside their circle. If anything is going to change, it won't come from policies and punishments after the fact. Change has to come from leaders having empathy and taking responsibility, and it has to come at the moment when it means the most.
After the Florida Panthers won their first game without Joel Quenneville on Friday night, interim head coach Andrew Brunette said he couldn't be more pleased with the effort he saw from his squad.
"Very emotional for our whole group. Really proud of the way they rallied under these difficult circumstances the last few days. Really proud of them," Brunette said postgame, according to Panthers beat writer Jameson Olive. "(Jonathan Huberdeau) made a great play, and (Aleksander Barkov) ... what a goal. A big win for us."
The Panthers dispatched the Detroit Red Wings in overtime thanks to a slick play from Huberdeau and Barkov to improve to 8-0-0 on the season.
Quenneville resigned as the Panthers' head coach Thursday due to his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of sexual assault allegations in 2010, when Quenneville was Chicago's head coach.
"I think we're all so emotionally raw," Brunette said, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "Probably not going to go away right away."
Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar added that it was a "big one" for the undefeated Panthers.
"It’s been a tough 48 hours, it's been heavy on the team," he said. "It was a big win for our dressing room, and the coaching staff really stepped up."
The 3-2 win was Brunette's first victory as an NHL head coach.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas completed an important order of business Friday, locking up defenseman Morgan Rielly to an eight-year contract extension with a $7.5-million average annual value.
Rielly is in the final campaign of a six-year, $30-million contract he signed back in 2016, so he'll see a $2.5-million raise when the new deal kicks in next season. This pact will keep the Leafs' longest-serving member and the 2012 fifth overall pick in Toronto through his age-35 season.
Below, we analyze the contract and what it means for the Leafs and their top-heavy roster construction moving forward.
Is it a good deal?
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
As far as market value goes, it's fair. Rielly will earn less than fellow offensive blue-liners Seth Jones ($9.5M AAV), Darnell Nurse ($9.25M AAV), and Dougie Hamilton ($9M AAV), but more than defensive stalwarts such as Colton Parayko ($6.5M AAV) and Ryan Pulock ($6.15M AAV). All five of these defensemen are around Rielly's age and signed contracts in the last year.
Rielly likely could've earned more on the open market this summer had he decided to test free agency. But staying with the Leafs and getting the eighth year of term proved to be more important to him. Evolving-Hockey projected Rielly to sign an eight-year deal with an $8.21-million AAV if he stayed in Toronto.
Now, just because the contract is fair relative to market value doesn't necessarily mean it's a good deal relative to what the player brings to the team.
Rielly is an excellent offensive play driver. He's an elite skater and uses his legs and vision to push play up ice and join the rush.
On the flip side, he's a poor defender. Partially due to his aggressive offensive nature, the Leafs give up tons of scoring chances when he's on the ice.
Evolving-Hockey.com
Rielly clearly does more good than bad for his team. But he'll be tied for the 21st highest-paid defenseman in the league next season, and it's fair to wonder if someone who struggles as much in their own end as Rielly is worth No. 1 D-man type of money.
Additionally, as is the case with most players signed into their mid-30s, the deal doesn't project to age well.
Morgan Rielly is an excellent offensive defenceman and puck-mover, who gives *a lot* back the other way. He’s worth the price for the first few years, but as expected the term is the biggest problem as he likely doesn’t age well into his 30’s. pic.twitter.com/T9BYI4yIbC
However, the Leafs are trying to contend while Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are under contract and in their primes. Plus, it would've been awfully difficult to stomach letting Rielly walk for nothing as an unrestricted free agent after Toronto lost Zach Hyman this past summer. More importantly, it would've left a gaping hole on the team's blue line and in its leadership group. This was a deal the Leafs had to make.
How does it affect Campbell's future?
Joe Sargent / National Hockey League / Getty
While getting Rielly signed was rightly Toronto's priority, it's easy to overlook that goaltender Jack Campbell is set to become a UFA at season's end. Getting him signed could now prove to be difficult.
Campbell has been sensational since joining the Leafs in February 2020, posting a .920 save percentage in 35 regular-season games and a .934 save percentage in seven playoff contests. He's also been a total bargain at $1.65 million per season.
Toronto signed Petr Mrazek to a three-year deal with a $3.8-million AAV in the offseason to replace the departing Frederik Andersen and help form a reliable tandem with Campbell. If Campbell outplays Mrazek this season, a $4-million AAV seems like Campbell's floor. And he'd be well within his right to ask for $5 million or more.
That could be problematic considering the Leafs now project to have just $5.38 million in cap space next season with a roster of only 15 players.
Campbell seems to love playing in Toronto, and he's become beloved by both his teammates and the fans. Even if the Leafs don't re-sign him, they'll have to pay a similar rate for a goalie to split time with the oft-injured Mrazek. It feels more than likely Campbell is re-signed, but Rielly's extension doesn't make it any easier.
One way to create cap space for Campbell would be trading away forwards Alexander Kerfoot ($3.5M AAV) and Nick Ritchie ($2.5M AAV), whose contracts expire after next season. Kerfoot has underperformed relative to his cap hit since joining Toronto, and Ritchie, who was signed this past summer, hasn't made a strong first impression. Neither deal should be too troublesome to get rid of.
Does a 'Core 4' forward have to go?
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Even if the Leafs deal Kerfoot and Ritchie, it'll be difficult to upgrade the roster. In the following projection, we re-signed UFAs Campbell and Jason Spezza while giving modest raises to restricted free agents Pierre Engvall, Ondrej Kase, and Rasmus Sandin. All three RFA deals could prove to be higher than what we projected.
CapFriendly.com
With the salary cap projected to increase by $1 million to $82.5 million next season, this roster gives the Leafs $2.17 million in cap space. And it's clear they'd need at least two more forwards, ideally one who can play in the top six and one with the versatility to play center if needed.
This again begs the question as to whether Toronto's top-heavy roster construction can work. With Rielly's deal in the fold, the Leafs will be paying five players $48 million - 58% of the salary cap.
If they were to trade a member of the "Core 4," Marner would be the most logical candidate. Matthews isn't going anywhere, Tavares has a no-movement clause, and Nylander's contract is too team-friendly.
While it's too early to dive into what a Marner trade would look like, getting a cheaper, lesser winger to take his spot in the top six, as well as an additional asset or two, would make sense. It'd allow the Leafs to add some much-needed depth.
Ultimately, the team's success this season will decide the fate of the "Core 4." If Toronto finally breaks through and wins at least one playoff round, Dubas may decide to keep the gang together and continue adding bargain pieces. Anything less, and it likely won't be Dubas calling the shots. At that point, it'll be abundantly clear this top-heavy roster construction doesn't work in a hard-cap league.
In his most recent on-ice outburst, the 28-year-old shot the puck at Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper and then swung his stick at center Nazem Kadri at the end of the second period.
Both Binnington and Kadri were assessed 10-minute misconducts, with forward Robert Bortuzzo serving the time for the Blues goaltender.
"(The stick-swinging was) kind of the heat of the moment," Binnington said Friday, according to Sportsnet. "I might have taken it a bit too far. I don't want to condone the stick-swinging.
"Having a guy sit in the box for 10 minutes isn't being a good teammate. I definitely don't want kids out there swinging their sticks. It's an emotional situation, emotions were high and it was a competitive game, and these are big games against a big team."
The incident began with 29 seconds left in the middle frame after Colorado blue-liner Cale Makar appeared to score a goal. However, it didn't count since the net was out of position. Blues defenseman Jake Walman then went after Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor along the boards and a scrum ensued.
Jordan Binnington shot the puck at Darcy Kuemper then swung his stick at Nazem Kadri. 😳 pic.twitter.com/mL8LZhwooO
"I don't condone it. It doesn't need to happen. Getting in the scrum was enough, I didn't need to do the stuff after. But stuff happens out there and you learn, and you keep moving forward," Binnington said.
He added: "No, I'm not crazy."
Kadri addressed the incident after the game on Thursday.
"I don't know why I got a 10-minute penalty there," he said, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "We exchanged some words, I got a stick swung at my face ... I'm getting misconducts for just talking now."
The Avalanche won 4-3. The rivals don't meet again until April 26 in Colorado.
The NHL won't discipline Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff for his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of an alleged sexual assault in 2010, the league announced Friday.
Cheveldayoff, an assistant GM with Chicago during the 2009-10 season, met with commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday. The league concluded that Cheveldayoff wasn't responsible for how the Blackhawks handled the matter related to former video coach Brad Aldrich.
"While on some level, it would be easiest to paint everyone with any association to this terrible matter with the same broad brush, I believe that fundamental fairness requires a more in-depth analysis of the role of each person," Bettman said.
"Kevin Cheveldayoff was not a member of the Blackhawks senior leadership team in 2010, and I cannot, therefore, assign to him responsibility for the club's actions, or inactions. He provided a full account of his degree of involvement in the matter, which was limited exclusively to his attendance at a single meeting, and I found him to be extremely forthcoming and credible in our discussion."
An independent investigation found Cheveldayoff was involved in a May 2010 meeting in which team executives were made aware Aldrich behaved in a sexually inappropriate way toward a player, later revealed to be Kyle Beach.
Cheveldayoff released the following statement Friday.
"First and most importantly, I want to express my support of and empathy for Kyle Beach and all he has had to endure since 2010. He was incredibly brave coming forward to tell his story. We can all use his courage as an inspiration to do a better job of making hockey a safer space for anyone who wants to play them game.
"Further, I want to express my gratitude to the National Hockey League for the opportunity to meet with commissioner Gary Bettman, in person, and directly share my role in and recollection of events while I was assistant GM of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010."
According to the report, former Blackhawks CEO John McDonough, then-general manager Stan Bowman, and then-head coach Joel Quenneville were present at the meeting. Bowman and Quenneville, who went on to coach the Florida Panthers in 2019, resigned from their positions this week.
The Blackhawks didn't report the allegations against Aldrich to human resources until after they had won the Stanley Cup the following month, per the investigation.
Cheveldayoff took over as Jets general manager in 2011.
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed defenseman Morgan Rielly to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7.5 million, the team announced Friday.
Rielly was scheduled for unrestricted free agency at season's end.
The 27-year-old has spent his entire career with the Leafs since being taken with the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft. He's accrued 309 points in 580 games with Toronto.
Rielly is also the longest-serving member of the club.
