In Pittsburgh, Rob Rossi wrote there is "no evidence" Penguins co-Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle "know the first thing about running a championship franchise." Their "failures to build a champion before -- or rebuild something resembling even a contender after -- Ray Shero's tenure as GM stand as indisputable proof." Burkle and Lemieux "aren't getting the job done." Rossi: "Not sure they ever did." Burkle "turns bad companies into profitable ones," while Lemieux is a player who "turned a city onto hockey, a French Canadian who made Pittsburgh his home and the Penguins his legacy." But that "doesn't mean they've ever known what to do with the Penguins" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 12/13). SI.com's Allan Muir wrote Penguins GM Jim Rutherford's decision to fire coach Mike Johnston on Saturday was "absolutely" the "right move." But if the Penguins are going to get this season turned around, it "can't be the last move he makes." In fact, Rutherford now has "started the countdown on his own tenure," because "construction, not coaching, is Pittsburgh's real and lingering problem" (SI.com, 12/13).
REACHING FOR THE STARS: SPORTSNET.ca's Damien Cox noted four years after Tom Gaglardi assumed ownership of the bankrupt Stars, they are the "best team in the NHL this season." The Stars are "run and coached by people he hired, and powered mostly by players acquired since he purchased the franchise for a very reasonable" $240M. His "ability to breathe new life in this organization has been a godsend to the NHL." Gaglardi said, “To get a big, vibrant market like Dallas. ... It was the break I was looking for.” He added, “When you buy a sports team, you buy the market, and I just love the market in Dallas. I got to go to a market that’s bigger than any market in Canada" (SPORTSNET.ca, 12/11).
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: In Minneapolis, Michael Russo noted Wild Exec VP & GM Chuck Fletcher "found the expansion presentation and the potential dynamics that could go into an expansion draft interesting" at last week’s NHL BOG meeting. But the "most important thing" he learned was the "projected salary-cap figure for next season." Considering the "volatility of the Canadian dollar right now" (worth less than 73 cents to the U.S. dollar), the NHL’s $74.5M estimation (a little more than a $3M increase on this season) was a "pleasant surprise." Fletcher: "It’s a challenge every year. We’re a cap team. There’s probably 15 teams in the league that have similar challenges to what we have" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 12/14).
MAKING THEIR PITCH: In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch reports NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman last night met with Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk and club officials "during a routine visit" to the Canadian Tire Centre along with Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. Bettman "confirmed part of the discussions surrounded a Heritage Classic" in '17 which "will likely be held at TD Place." Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson "spent some time" with Bettman during the Kings-Senators game to "make a pitch as well." Bettman: "There's a strong desire for the club as there is for many clubs. There's a lot of logistical things that would have to be worked on. It's something we're focused on but no decisions have been made" (OTTAWA SUN, 12/15).
TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF: The GLOBE & MAIL's James Mirtle notes the Maple Leafs have "declined comment" on a report that they will rebrand for next season. The Leafs only said that they "plan on honouring their past in a lot of ways next year -- so what exactly this new logo and jersey will look like isn’t known publicly." Other than a "slight colour change, the Leafs haven’t altered their current logo" since '82. The report stated that the new look will be “'a combination of all past team eras plus a nod to the future,' which is vague enough to mean pretty much anything involving a blue leaf." Incorporating some of that history "makes the most sense." The current look has "become beloved by a generation of fans in the Greater Toronto Area, but the reality is it’s a logo that remains synonymous with nutty former owner Harold Ballard and a whole lot of bad hockey" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/15)
