Desperate times call for desperate measures.
The thought no doubt flashed through the mind of Penguins coach Mike Sullivan as he scanned the visitors’ locker room at Canadian Tire Centre following Wednesday’s dismal Game Three loss to Ottawa.
He’d just witnessed the Pens’ worst effort since assuming the coaching job 17 months earlier—certainly their worst postseason performance. During an interminable 60 minutes that seemed to drag on forever, his team was soundly outplayed in nearly every facet of that dreadful game.
It didn’t require an advanced degree in rocketry to see the Pens were trending in the wrong direction. Following a smoldering 6-1 start to the playoffs, Sully’s boys had dropped five of eight. They’d lost their mojo, too, scoring only a dozen goals over that dreary span.
Worse yet, key performers Patric Hornqvist, Bryan Rust and Justin Schultz were out. With a lone goal in his past three games, Sidney Crosby—the team’s heart and soul—appeared drained and all-too-mortal. Evgeni Malkin, too. Even the team’s bulwark, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, had collapsed under a hail of pucks against the surprisingly offensive Senators.
Sullivan must’ve felt a little like Captain Smith after Titanic struck the iceberg.
His immediate challenge? How to get his beaten, battle-weary troops to refocus while rediscovering their on-ice identity, in hostile environs to boot.
Sullivan latched on to the one positive from Game Three—the play of Matt Murray. Standing like a lighthouse amid a howling gale, the Thunder Bay native had stopped 19 of 20 shots and looked exceedingly sharp doing it.
Displaying the brass of a riverboat gambler, Sullivan named Murray as his Game Four starter, an announcement that sent shock waves through the hockey world. By lifting the goaltending reins from the ultra-popular Fleury—arguably the team’s MVP and a legitimate Conn Smythe Trophy candidate—he sent a message to his troops, crystal clear.
I’ll do anything to win.
The shakeup didn’t end there. Pulling out all stops, Sullivan made significant adjustments to his line combinations. He inserted feisty rookie Josh Archibald and made sure each forward unit had a puck-hunting banger on wing. Chris Kunitz rejoined Crosby, Scott Wilson moved alongside Malkin and Carter Rowney skated next to Nick Bonino. Archibald partnered with “Team Dad” Matt Cullen.
The moves paid off. Buttressed by Murray—who coolly repelled an early Ottawa thrust—the Pens found their legs. Wilson crashed the Senators’ net in kamikaze fashion midway through opening frame to set the tone. Sens goalie Craig Anderson, who enjoyed kid-glove protection in the first three contests, was in for a rougher night.
In a game of unlikely black-and-gold heroes, Olli Maatta was the first to emerge. Joining the rush in the closing seconds of the period, the baby-faced defenseman took a pass from Crosby, swooped around Zack Smith with an uncharacteristic burst and beat Anderson to the short side.
The goal galvanized the locals, spurring them to greater heights. Leading from in front, Crosby swatted Jake Guentzel’s dish pass home for a power-play goal at 7:41 of the second period. Four minutes later, Brian Dumoulin flicked a long shot-pass off the skate of Sens bruiser Dion Phaneuf and in. It was “Dumo’s” first goal of the playoffs…a timely tally that proved to be the game winner.
Predictably, the Senators pushed back. Clarke MacArthur foiled Murray’s shutout bid late in the second period with a nifty redirect. Ottawa pulled to within one on a double-deflection goal with five minutes to play, setting up a tense finish. A too-many-men-on-the-ice infraction with 37 seconds remaining added to the drama.
Fortunately, the Pens hung tough. They prevailed, 3-2, to even the series at 2 games apiece.
At the end of the game, NBCSN showed a replay of the final moments through a camera set up behind our net. I focused my attention on Murray. I watched as the kid tracked the puck, moving from the left post to the center of his crease, then to the right post with robotic precision. Head up, catching glove poised and cucumber cool. In complete command of his faculties as the final nerve-wracking seconds drained from the clock.
A reassuring sight, indeed.
Puckpourri
The Penguins were forced to play with five defensemen after Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan crushed Chad Ruhwedel with an elbow late in the first period. Ruhwedel sustained a cut on his nose and a concussion.
Ian Cole went after Ryan, touching off a scrum near the Pens’ net. Cole was issued a roughing penalty; Ryan was not penalized.
Maatta (24:58) led the remaining black-and-gold defensemen in ice time, followed by Dumoulin (23:29) and Trevor Daley (23:03). Cole finished a plus-2 and registered a game-high six hits, tying Wilson for the club lead.
Crosby paced the attack with a goal and an assist. Sid had five shots on goal. Guentzel recorded two assists.
The Pens outshot the Sens, 35-26. Ottawa held the edge in shot attempts (52-50), hits (44-36) and faceoffs (31-28).
Has the D turned a corner?
That was the 4th straight sub 30 shot game.
Or is it that the thundering hits by the hard hitting kids like Rowney and Archibald, not to mention Wilson and Kunitz, account for the reduced shot total?
Or is it a question of Ottawa not being that good offensively to sustain pressure?
Their O is hardly CBJ or Was quality.
Regardless way to Pens!!!
Big Kudos to those unsung heroes in the trenches, banging bodies and taking names. Ottawa’s reluctance to take those hits was noticible.
Oh and Milbury, crawl back under your rock you Neanderthal. Wingels not only should have gotten a penalty but needs a suspension of multiple game length. That wasn’t even a heat of the moment attack. It was premeditated and deliberate. Not saying that the NHL will do the right thing. The league’s blown nonsuspension of Ryan from last games hit on Ruhwedel is what emboldened the goon tactics of Wingle, so I am not expecting anything but a Milburyesque response until a player sues the pants of the refs and the league for their absolute apathy!
Oh and has Rowney made a statement for making the opening day roster next year?
Hey Coach,
Now that is what I meant about a ” cycle” to their game.
This is what i remember last years team doing so well. For the first 3 games of this series and most of the Washington series, the Pens did not have it.
When u can tie up your opposition for 80 to 90 seconds in their own end and get a complete shift change at the same time…your doing it right…Great TEAM effort… and they scored a few on the cycle.
A few observations. Ottawa lost Karlsson, ( something about sore mid section ) haha…remember last game when Kunitz gave him two quick light hooks to the left ribs and he almost went down. He has bruised ribs..That is catching up to him. With out him they are not even close to being a play off contender. Plus their team is tired as we are. It showed tonight.
HNIC put up a graph showing the Boston,New York and Pittsburgh series results with Karlsson 5 on5 shot differentials.Boston and New York were both in the positive 20 to 30 range. But in the Pens series he was a minus 8. So the Pens were the only team that could keep up with him and block his shooting and passing lanes. I can not stress that enough. Our team defense is doing a good job in this series.
My second point is. Rust,Wilson,Archibald,and Rowney, and of course Jake as well. Those 5 newbies play was inspirational. They hit, they skated,they blocked shots and contributed offensively.
They made a real difference tonight. Great job guys.
Talk about value for the dollar…the entire 5 of them would only make about 3.2 million +/- a year combined. Plus 4 of them have 2 way AHL / NHL contracts whereby they make about 20 % of the NHL salary they receive now. So for those 4 guys it is like winning the lottery.
Everybody is a winner.
What about that no look pass from Sidney to Phil and he scores.?
Geno to Sid to Phil…. It does not get any better than that.
( That is a hi-lite reel play for sure.)
7-0….Just what the Doctor ordered.
Cheers 🙂
I think on that one stretch before a goal the Pens wore them down with 2-full line changes.
The Pens also re-introduced the lob pass to break up the trap.
They need to carry this momentum into game 6!
Hey Jim and Rick,
I am writtting this up here because Jim and I had written fairly long treatises below, so I figure I start over again.
I have been thinking about that article about Shero weighing his options over the first pick in light of what you have written, so what I think I might do, subject to change, since I am hoping the season doesn’t end until mid June.
Yes, I deal with Shero. Since the there would be precious little time between the end of the playoffs and the expansion draft then the regular draft and FA I try and get as much of the details hammered out now, so it is just a question of pulling the trigger on the deals. In fact, if I was JR, I probably would have started this process as far back as the trade dead line, if I was getting the big bucks of GMing.
If I had to give up Hornqvist I would. I would be willing to gamble that Sprong and Aston-Reese could step in, however, I would deal MAF for a scorer. I still have a feeling that Colorado may be a good partner if they are still disillusioned of Duchene and if there is any question about Varlamov’s recovery. I then can pick up Zadorov in that deal like I want. Then Package Duchene with Sheary and maybe even Pouliot so that I may not have to exchange picks with them and can keep two picks.
If I can’t deal with Colorado, Calgalry also appears to still be a good trading partner for MAF, but I am not sure if they have a scorer that I could then package to NJD for the first Pick.
Then If as you said Jim, Montreal is interested in Bonino, I would sign him with the money that would clear when Kunitz’s contract is up, then see about dealing him to Montreal with Letang for Shea Weber. Letang and Weber’s contracts are roughly equal, a little more for Weber. But now I have money from both MAF and Kunitz clearing off the books and I sign Schultz.
Then I try and sign Kunitz for a Cullenesque contract. I try and talk Cullen into taking a coaching position on the club. I definitely try and resign Donoulin, Sestito, Archibald, and Sundqvist. I would also try and resign Ruhwedel, Gaunce, Hainsey, Porter, and G Wilson for the right price.
I am not sure if I then take Patrick or Hischier. I tend to like the bigger guy but from your scouting report the Pens/Sullivan may prefer Hischier.
If Haglin is playing through injuries, then I let things play out into the start of the season with him. If he isn’t playing hurt, I would then consider trading him to trade up in the draft or leave him exposed in the expansion draft.
Of course I would have to sign an expansion draft eligible G to replace MAF. I probably look for one who could fill in as a back-up if Jarry isn’t ready.
Good job Coach.
Well said.
Hey guys,
You’re way out ahead of me (like a good armchair GM should be) in terms of thinking about this summer and the upcoming draft. Jim, great scouting reports on some of the kids who are available.
A little while back I was curious about the contract status of some of our Pens, so I looked them up on capfriendly.com.
UFA
Forward–Bonino, Cullen, Kunitz, Sestito, Porter, G. Wilson
Defense–Daley, Hainsey, Streit, Ruhwedel, Gaunce, Warsofsky
RFA
Forward–Sheary*, Archibald*, Sundqvist, Dea
Defense–Schultz*, Dumoulin*, Pouliot, Corrado*, Erixon*, Percy*
*=Arbitration Eligible
I think we’ll be okay up front. But our defense is probably going to take a significant hit. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Rick
Hey Rick,
I was just reacting to what I had read on the NHL website. For the most part, since I don’t really have high regard for our D corps, I don’t think that losing many of those players hurts the team much. Daley, Hainsey, and Streit are way long in the tooth, and Streit has added very little to the team, Hainsey has been better than I expected but I am sure we could pick up equal value in the FA market, Daley represents an enigma, he has shown some flashes that I love but has been fragile (probably age related) and has also had some clunker outings. Ruhwedel is the best of the rest of those UFAs but again he is maybe a 5th or 6th D man, again we can pick up a UFA.
The RFAs are the only ones that may matter. Schultz should be a keeper type but I have a feelinghe may already be gone. I was ready to give up on Domoulin over the regular season, but his stock is going up this post-season, in my eyes. As for the rest, yawn, we can find replacements anywhere.
On O; four of the UFAs would be players I would want to try and keep in a perfect world. However, in this imperfect world, Sestito is the only one I worry about. I would not compete with anyone over Bonino. He is a really good Defensive Forward but he has shown to not even be that too much until March. I like what both Cullen and Kunitz bring too, but at their ages I wouldn’t pay more than a million a year.
So again, the RFAs are the ones I worry about; Shear, Archibald and Sundqvist. I have never been that impressed with Dea
Hey Other Rick,
I pretty much have the same take on our guys … right down the line.
I really hope JR can find a way to reinforce us a bit physically over the summer … pretty much knowing that he won’t … 🙁
It just isn’t his style.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Not to change the subject just yet, but I saw the following article on the NHL website;
“Devils waiting to determine how to use No. 1 pick in draft
Centers Nolan Patrick, Nico Hischier expected to be options if they keep selection
by Mike G. Morreale”
So my questions are (and anyone can jump in, not just you Rick);
1. If Shero is weighing options, is he considering trading the Pick?
2. If you were Shero would you deal the pick?
3. If you are JR, do you try and deal?
4. If you are dealing who all would you consider as trade bait?
(Remember NJD had tons of trouble scoring this past year.)
Hey Coach,
My feelings have been known for a while now. Since you asked the question I will give you the long answer. Sorry….
1. As much as you and Rick like statistics of the game being played,I enjoy the business side of hockey and the NHL very much.The Cap space. The players contracts and the terms.The CBA.The revenues generated on and off the ice.Which teams make money and which teams lose money. Most importantly which teams can afford to lose money and who can not . Which teams want to sell and who are their owners? Why do they want to sell? What will a team look like next year, 2 years from now and 3-4 years from now. So that is how I approach your question Coach. It is from that prospective.
2. The 2017 current Pens team will NOT be able to be resigned for next year !
We have several young RFA and UFA players getting large pay raises in the off season. For example. Dumo. He has been a steal for us this past 2 years. He is 6’4″, 220 pounds, mobile, and will be a 2 time Cup winner playing 25 minutes plus a game due to injuries. There will be at least 15 teams bidding for his services. He will get a 3 to 3.5 million dollar raise over what we pay him now. Justin Schultz. Even worse. He could get 6 million + quite easily and I know 4 teams that are seriously talking about signing him. Nick Bonino . The Oilers are mentioning as well as Montreal to try in signing him. Not for his offensive play but his defensive play and leadership. He will get 4 million on the market. Maybe more. Trevor Daley ? Connor Sheary ?
MAF and his 5.75 million dollar contract with 3 more years left. ?? There are more players Coach to discuss but for space considerations we can talk later about them. You get my point. If you can not possibly resign these players then you TRADE them before you lose them !!!!
Shero never did a good job of that.
3. Shero needs many pieces to make the playoffs next year. So being the wheeler-dealer he is, he is letting every one know he will deal.
4. What do we have to offer ? Any piece that you can not resign should be on the table !! MAF for starters. Derrick P. because Shero always had a soft spot for him. Nick Bonino. ( Makes sense because we are drafting 1st and that player will be a Center and playing next year in the 3rd spot.) Now the fun part starts. What are your sweeteners ? He needs D men. Send him Daley and resign Dumo. Maybe add Connor Sheary . Again Shero knows him well.
So, in summary. MAF, Bonino,Daley,Pouliot and Sheary… maybe 1 other from WBP for his 1 st pick. If Hagelin does not improve I would add him and take back Sheary. Pick a center man # 1. ( Crosby, Malkin, # 1Pick and Sundquist ).
5. Then I would see what we are going to do with Kris Letang.I would try to move him and keep Schultz. But if I could not, then Schultz goes to Dallas for their # 3 pick or Vancouver? Both are looking for # 1 offensive d men. Dallas needs one now so they would take Schultz over drafting an 18 year old and waiting 2 years for him to fully develop his game. We can wait.
Draft a d man 3 rd. Put him on the 5-6 pairing to start. Hopefully next year he moves to # 2 on the d pairings. Building the future.
In this case, I have Letang, Maatta, Cole, Dumo and # 3 pick on my d corps and pick up a free agent for a 5- 6 d man with size.
6. Resign Kunitz for 1 year for 1 million to play on the 4 th line left wing.
That is just for starters Coach, but we should be going all in for that # 1 Pick.
We need to look 3 years down the road ….You never know what will happen. Nobody ever thought 3 years ago we would be seriously talking of trading MAF or even Letang.
People say 3 years is a long time…not really in hockey.
Dynasties plan for the future. They just do not happen by accident.
cheers
* I want to see what others have to say Coach.Thanks for the question.
Lots of good points Jim. I am still thinking about my answers and like you I am interested in other opinions. I will throw this out there though, I still have my eye on a big D man who likes to hit; Zadarov right now heads my wish list. I may only be looking at a 5 or 6th D-man out of him. As for Schultz, I worry about losing him because I worry about truly recovering from neck surgery (Letang)
So who do you take with the pick Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier? I really haven’t looked too deeply at the draft yet. What’s the skinny on these two?
Nolan Patrick plays a great two way game. He plays in the physical WHL. Of all 3 Canadian junior leagues the Western League plays a more physical style resembling the AHL. He is NHL ready scouts and GM’s say. Similar in style of play as Johnaton Toews of Chicago, only bigger. He is 6’3″ and weighs 205 pounds as of May 1st, 2017.He turns 19 in mid September. He suffered an injury that kept him out of the line up for most of the season so his production fell.In 33 games he scored 46 points with 20 goals.Last year his numbers were crazy. 102 points with 41 goals in 72 games. Led his team to a league Championship and played in the Memorial cup. They say he is healthy and should go 1 or 2. His father was NHLer Steve Patrick so hockey is in his blood line. He would be perfect for us as a number 3 center with the goal of eventually being #2 and then # 1 in 5 or 6 years.
What scares me Coach is the Flyers are drafting 2nd I think and this kid would really be a problem for us in the future if he was wearing the Orange and Black. I saw him play on TV last year at the Memorial Cup and he played well.
Nico Hischier. He plays for the Halifax Moose heads of the QHL. I have seen this guy play against the eventual league Champions,Saint John Sea Dogs in February and man can he play.Very smart hockey player.Makes others around him better too. He is Swiss born, on loan to Halifax from his Swiss team. He won Rookie of the Year and also the MIKE BOSSY award for the Top rated NHL prospect for 2017 in the QHL. He had 86 points scoring 38 goals in 57 games as a Rookie and getting used to the smaller ice surface, Canadian culture and being away from home for the first time. Not easy to do.
Great speed.Quick hands. Eyes in the back of his head. Great play maker and quick shot. Complete package.
8 months ago you never heard tell of this guy. He just gets better and better every game.His coach said if he played another season in the QHL, like most other kids in the draft did, he could have 140 to 150 points. ( That is McDavid and Crosby levels ). That is the issue. Hischier could have a higher end talent level than Patrick in 2 or 3 years. That is why it is so close. Patrick does have an advantage in size at 6’3″, 205 #.
Hischier is listed 6′ 3/4″ and 183 pounds on my latest information. His birthday is January 4,1999 so Patrick is older than Hischier. He probably will fill out 6’2″- 6’3″ and 200+ pounds when he turns 20. Still very good size.
If Patrick was not injured and missed 40 + games this year he would have put up 110 points + this year his coach said. Plus in the QHL it is easier to score goals because they are an offensive style hockey league where by the WHL is a lot more physical in nature with fewer goals being scored.
So both players are future franchise players as the pundits say. If we were to get Hischier he would look real good playing with Kessel. Both great play makers with good passing abilities and both can score goals.
Hope this helps coach…
There are 5 or 6 others we should talk about some day. ex. The top Russian player, Klin Kostin, Center/ winger fell from 6 th place to 14th due to a serious shoulder injury.Some have him at rated 18 th. He is 6’3″,200# +. Last year in the Word juniors he did really well. Maybe we pick him up at 20th or so.A lot of teams will not draft Russian players if they say they do not want to play for them.Maybe we can move up from 30th to 2oth by moving one of the other parts ?
1st, 3rd and 20th… A dream come true.
Cheers.
Interesting stuff, Hischer sounds more like the player the Pens would go for, they shy away from bigger players in favor of more of a play-maker
Would you be willing to give up Hornqvist for that pick? Shero may want add ons like Pouliot and Sheary but if he needs scorers, I would think he would want a higher profile player than Sheary. Do you think Sprong or Aston-Reese could step up and play a top 6 role next year? Would you risk Hornqvist on that trade if Shero wanted it?
Also, I am not sure he would want MAF. Do you think he has lost faith in Schneider? Might it not be better to deal MAF elsewhere? Maybe getting the higher profile scorer off of another team to trade for that first pick?
Not to mention I wouldn’t want to face MAF that many times a year. I may prefer Murray, but I have to acknowledge MAF is still a good goalie and can be lights out when on his game. I would rather not face him until the finals.
As for another first round pick, since Schultz is an RFA, would you trade his rights for that other first pick? I know NYR is interested in him if they fail to get Shattenkirk, but I wouldn’t want to face Schultz either.
Hey Coach,
All great questions ! Many … We think a like.
1. Sprong – Yes, yes and yes ! If you want to keep Geno and Phil together then he would fit perfectly beside Hischier on the 3rd line.
This year Sprong’s game has matured because now he is the 20 year old playing with 18,19 and a few 20 year old’s in the league. He will go in to the corners and get the puck.He will stand in front of the net and now he has the strength to compete in the dirty areas. ” Mean Streak”.
2. I have only seen Aston-Reese play once. Read a few things as well. So I do not know if he can jump directly to the NHL or not. My opinion would be leave him in the AHL for a season and play him 20-22 minutes a game in all situations to see what he can do. Honestly Coach I have not seen him play enough to answer that question properly. As a fan I hope he can.
3.MAF … This is the elephant in the room. Everybody loves the guy. He just saved our Butts. With out him we do not leave Ohio !!
Against Washington as well ! Makes me sick to talk about it… But we have to. So hear me well.
In 2017 there are only TEN GAMES LEFT TO PLAY Maximum… Probably more like 8 games..
Then it is over….done…gone forever !!!
We can not go back. The moment the Cup gets put back in the storage case after the on ice victory party….. The new 2017-18 season starts.
So either Murray goes or MAF goes. We can not keep 9 million dollars worth of Goalies when we have so many urgent needs on the team. This is not about emotions.It is strictly $$$$. If the Cap was 90 million and not 74 apx. I would love to keep them both. So one goes. One guy is 32 and the other is 22. One makes 3.2 million and the other 5.75 million. One has better numbers for the past 2 years and is the better goalie now in May 2017. Does not matter what he did in the past. So MAF has a history with Shero. It only makes sense to include him in the package.
4. Hornqvist. Love the guy. But for 4.25 million can we do better ? That is the real question. He is still a small man by NHL standards and we ask him to play in a big mans position in front of the opposing net. Imagine if Patric was 6’3″,230 pounds …How much more effective he would be. First thing is Dion P. would be flat on his rear and it would take 2 Ottawa players to contain him. Plus people would stop taking cheap shots at Sid and Jake.
Because we do not have that skill set on our team or in our organization, we never see the advantages. Plus he is 30 year old next year.
So yes I would put Hornqvist in the deal if requested.
5. I do not see us keeping Justin Schultz.
I could be wrong but I think he will receive as much money or more than Shattenkirk does.
That is going to be a big number and as long as we have Letang we can not afford him.
I would send him, and others if necessary to get as high a draft pick as possible.
6. Good news for us is there are more talented forwards than d men in the top 12 players in this years draft pundits say. The various rating agencies keep changing their predictions this time of year because of either players being eliminated in various play offs or them playing in international competition that is just getting over now and the agencies have more info to work with. One d man was rated 4th most of the season is now 11th. One d man went from 7th to 3rd/4th. One came out of the blue and now is rated top 10. So you have 3 d men and 8 forwards and 1 goalie in the top 12. So that leaves us 2 d- men to choose from in the 7 to 11 positions and gives us more options to trade Schultz to.
Got to go and watch the game Coach…
We can continue this later….
Lets go Pens
Hey Rick,
I have read several places saying Ottawa came out flat, what? The Sens through the kitchen sink at the Pens but Murray et al weathered the storm. I know I said I would have started MAF, but I have also said I think Murray is better and his calm demeanor helped the team weather that storm. He makes the spectacular look routine. Barry Melrose alluded to that suggesting that the O came out of hibernation because they now had the confidence to press.
Maybe, can’t discount it anyway, but I can’t help but wonder if Crosby is finally shaken off (or is close to) Ovie’s cheap shot and that may be contributing to some of the re-emergence as well.
However, what is up with the officiating? When will the officials be taken to task for their incompetence. How many concussions have the Pens endured and what only 1 game suspension has been handed down. AS much as I complained about the NBC commentators, even Roenick said the officials blew the call on Ryan and he should have gotten a high stick at least. But the NHL player protection, 0-tolerance is right out the window with their monkeys in stripes.
Speaking of the commentators, I almost had a heart attack after the game when I heard Jones and Roenick compliment the Pens. I may not retract my statements but I may have to re-evaluate my opinion in the future.
Kudos to Cole who had to do the refs job and punish Ryan for his blatant attack on Ruhwedel, since they were obviously unwilling to earn their pay-checks last game.
And how about Guentzel, that kid is amazing? If he keeps this up an the Pens repeat, does his name get thrown into the Conn Smythe mix. Not saying he should win it, but wow, the rookie is doing it. He even played his off wing so the veteran could play a position he was more used to (Kunitz).
I would love to gush more on Murray’s play, but I let it go.
Next D man up Pens, but remember there are cross-hairs on your back and the NHL is absolutely 100% fine with other teams injuring you.