Snapshots: Penguins, Toronto, AHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins still have their sights set on a Stanley Cup if the season ever resumes, but there are tough decisions coming at some point with regards to their goaltending situation. The writing staff at PHR gave our takes on what the team should do moving forward with Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry, but Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) asked Penguins GM Jim Rutherford directly.

Well, I’ll say this: If we are going to keep both of them, we’d have to move a few things around on our team. There is a way to do things and to make that work, yes. There are some very, very tough decisions ahead.

Jarry and Murray are both scheduled for restricted free agency when the season ends and with a stagnant salary cap there won’t be a ton of money lying around. With Jarry outperforming Murray all season long but not having the track record of his Stanley Cup-winning partner, a 2020 playoff run might be the deciding factor. Rutherford isn’t committing either way, but he hasn’t been shy about moving on from key players in the past.

• Ontario’s premier Doug Ford has discussed the idea of Toronto being a host city for the rest of the NHL season with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Edmonton and Vancouver had previously been discussed as possible host cities in Canada, although Justin Holl of the Toronto Maple Leafs had some interesting thoughts on returning to his team’s country. The Minnesota native told reporters on a conference call today that “the general consensus amongst American players is that we’ll wait until we have a concrete plan before we go back. Because you never know if you go back there and then you’re sitting around for another month or two.”
• The AHL has a conference call set for Friday afternoon according to Patrick Williams of NHL.com, which could be when the league announces that they have canceled the rest of the season. The minor league generates a huge amount of their revenue from ticket sales, something that won’t be gathered if fans aren’t allowed to attend the event. As Williams points out, if the AHL does cancel the playoffs, it would be the first time since 1937 that the Calder Cup has not been awarded.