NHL Thread Because There Isn't An NHL Thread

The KHL says it was never apprised of any matter pertaining to Andrei Nazarov's recent abuse allegation regarding Artemi Panarin.

The league has "not been aware of or received a complaint in relation to any incident involving Artemi Panarin in December 2011," the KHL said in a statement to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

If a complaint had been made, the league insisted Wednesday it would have investigated, "as we take any allegations of misconduct incredibly seriously."


Panarin is at his home in Connecticut and doesn't intend to fly home to Russia at the moment, reports Kaplan.

The New York Rangers star stepped away from the team indefinitely Monday in the wake of Nazarov's allegation that Panarin got into a physical altercation with an 18-year-old woman on a KHL road trip to Riga, Latvia. The Rangers called the story "fabricated" and "unfounded," while throwing their full support behind the forward.

No evidence has been presented, no victim has come forward, and no court or police records have been found that would corroborate Nazarov's allegation since Panarin took leave, according to Kaplan.

Nazarov, a former NHLer who coached Panarin with KHL club Vityaz at the time, is a known supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Panarin has shown solidarity with opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was sentenced to more than three years in prison earlier this month after being poisoned over the summer.

The Rangers believe Nazarov's claims are in retaliation for Panarin's Instagram post in January, according to Kaplan. Panarin captioned the post "freedom for Navalny" in Russian.

Several of Panarin's former teammates with Vityaz questioned the allegation and defended him Tuesday.
 
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jason Zucker will be out "longer term" after suffering a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals, head coach Mike Sullivan announced Thursday.

Zucker needed to be helped off the ice by trainers after catching his skate on Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen's foot in the third period.


The Penguins acquired Zucker from the Minnesota Wild ahead of the trade deadline last season. The 29-year-old winger has contributed four goals and seven points while logging 16:30 of average ice time through 17 games in 2020-21.


Pittsburgh is set to take on the Capitals for the sixth time this season on Thursday.
 
😮

A month after surprisingly resigning as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jim Rutherford has his eyes set on a potential return to hockey.

"I still got the bug," Rutherford told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

"I can tell you that I feel good, I have a lot of energy, I love the game. I’ve watched as many games as I can every night to stay in the loop. I have an emotional connection to the Penguins for obvious reasons, but I still have the bug to be with a team and try to contribute and make it better."


The 72-year-old still hasn't elaborated on why he left his position with Pittsburgh, simply citing personal reasons. Shortly after his resignation, the club hired Ron Hextall as general manager and brought in Brian Burke as president of hockey operations.

Rutherford had been general manager of the Penguins since 2014, helping lead the club to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2016 and 2017.

While a return to Pittsburgh doesn't seem to be in the books, Rutherford added he won't necessarily be actively looking for a front-office position and instead will wait to see if an opportunity comes his way.

"I’ve done this long enough, and I have a lot of friends in the game and a lot of respect for everybody, and I’m not looking to take somebody’s job," Rutherford said. "So I’m not going to be making phone calls and saying that I’m looking for a job that somebody already has.

"It’s a place where most people would like to get to in their life. You can work if you want, but you don’t have to. I don’t have any more things to accomplish in the league, but I do think I have a lot to offer to a team in the right situation."

Rutherford won the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award in 2016 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. He also previously spent 20 years as general manager of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.
 
Hollywood said:
😮

A month after surprisingly resigning as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jim Rutherford has his eyes set on a potential return to hockey.

"I still got the bug," Rutherford told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

"I can tell you that I feel good, I have a lot of energy, I love the game. I’ve watched as many games as I can every night to stay in the loop. I have an emotional connection to the Penguins for obvious reasons, but I still have the bug to be with a team and try to contribute and make it better."


The 72-year-old still hasn't elaborated on why he left his position with Pittsburgh, simply citing personal reasons. Shortly after his resignation, the club hired Ron Hextall as general manager and brought in Brian Burke as president of hockey operations.

Rutherford had been general manager of the Penguins since 2014, helping lead the club to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2016 and 2017.

While a return to Pittsburgh doesn't seem to be in the books, Rutherford added he won't necessarily be actively looking for a front-office position and instead will wait to see if an opportunity comes his way.

"I’ve done this long enough, and I have a lot of friends in the game and a lot of respect for everybody, and I’m not looking to take somebody’s job," Rutherford said. "So I’m not going to be making phone calls and saying that I’m looking for a job that somebody already has.

"It’s a place where most people would like to get to in their life. You can work if you want, but you don’t have to. I don’t have any more things to accomplish in the league, but I do think I have a lot to offer to a team in the right situation."

Rutherford won the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award in 2016 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. He also previously spent 20 years as general manager of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.
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What a quitter.
 
I’m ok with JR quitting. He’s not a rebuilding type of GM and the Pens really needed to start doing that the last 2 seasons.
 
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark will miss at least one month with an undisclosed injury, head coach Ralph Krueger confirmed on Saturday, according to the Times Herald's Bill Hoppe.

Ullmark exited in the first period of Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils and didn't come back. The 27-year-old owns a 2.44 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage over 12 games this season.

Meanwhile, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will return against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday after his grueling bout with COVID-19 earlier this month.


The Finnish blue-liner recently opened up about his struggles with significant drops in oxygen levels, intense chest pain, and fatigue. The 26-year-old hasn't played since Jan. 31.

Sabres captain Jack Eichel remains day-to-day and will miss his second straight game, but he could return Sunday. Winger Jeff Skinner, who's been a healthy scratch during the team's previous three contests, will also return to the lineup Saturday.
 
Hollywood said:
I am as well but I'm still curious to know what really transpired there 🤔
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From what I’ve read from another board, it seems like the front office was wanting to make some changes with personal that I think either would have limited his “power” or maybe he just didn’t agree with. Something along those lines.
Anyway, his moves before the b2b were necessary but not so much after. Hopefully Hextall and Sonic can right the ship for the future.
 
Ilya Samsonov is returning to the Washington Capitals' crease Sunday afternoon exactly six weeks since his last NHL appearance.

The goaltender will start against the New Jersey Devils, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette confirmed.

Samsonov last played Jan. 17 in his second start of 2021. He entered this season as the Capitals' No. 1 netminder but landed on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list on Jan. 20 and reportedly tested positive.


The league placed the 24-year-old on its list along with Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dmitry Orlov, and the team later admitted the players had violated protocol by interacting in a hotel room. The NHL fined the Capitals $100,000.

Ovechkin and Orlov returned in late January and early February, respectively. Samsonov initially rejoined the Capitals for practice along with Kuznetsov on Feb. 8, and while the forward resumed playing for Washington on Feb. 14, the team assigned Samsonov to its AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for a conditioning stint on that date.

Samsonov played four games for the Bears, going 2-1-1 with an .869 save percentage. He earned a victory while stopping 25 of 28 shots Friday against the Binghamton Devils.

The Capitals rode rookie Vitek Vanecek heavily in Samsonov's absence. The 25-year-old started 16 of Washington's 17 games from Jan. 19 through Saturday. He's gone 9-4-3 with a .909 save percentage and 0.8 goals saved above average in 17 contests this season.
 
Hollywood said:
Something has to give because the CBJ aren't winning many hockey games of late not to mention they're having a hard putting the puck in the back of net 🏒🥅
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Yep there’s just no fight or energy in this team right now...can’t have a 5 game losing streak in a shortened season
 
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