Jim Rutherford made it clear in a recent story on this site that he doesn't expect to extend qualifying offers to all eight of the restricted free agents who finished the season on the Penguins' major-league roster, at least partly because the team has limited salary-cap space.
He didn't specify which of those players will be allowed to walk, and it's possible that some personnel decisions haven't been finalized yet.
What's more, plans currently in place could change if the Penguins are able to acquire a player to fill a specific role for which a returning player might have been ticketed, or because they fail to get someone Rutherford thought he'd be able to add.
One of the most interesting decisions that must be made is on Jared McCann, whose contract that carries a cap hit of $1.25 million is expiring.
On one hand, cutting ties to him might seem like an easy call, given that he failed to score a goal in his final 22 regular-season games and played so poorly early in the qualifying round against Montreal that he was a healthy scratch for Game 3.
That Rutherford pointedly said he wants to improve the Penguins' depth at center behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at a time when McCann has been working in the middle of their third line cannot be an encouraging portent for him, either.
Conversely, McCann is just 24, can be used on the wing or at center, has shown an ability to play a good two-way game and, because of his disappointing showing in 2019-20, shouldn't command a raise that would break the budget.
If the Penguins have concerns about his performance, which would be understandable, it might be worth a modest bump in pay in a short-term deal to give him a chance to prove he merits more years and money.
Accepting such an offer would allow McCann to show that he's willing to bet on himself, that he believes in his ability to be a consistent contributor while filling a significant role here.
• Allan Walsh is one of hockey's most prominent agents, and has earned a reputation for fierce loyalty to his clients, which includes frequent sharing of their feats via his Twitter account. Marc-Andre Fleury has worked with him for about two decades and their relationship has always been close, but Walsh didn't do Fleury any favors over the weekend by posting a photo-illustration showing Fleury with a sword running through him, presumably trying to make the point that Vegas stabbed him in the back by making Robin Lehner its go-to goalie for most of this postseason. That illustration subsequently was deleted at Fleury's behest, but not before it put Fleury in an awkward spot with management and his teammates. Fleury is ultra-competitive and surely wants to play at every opportunity, but as he proved when Matt Murray replaced him as the Penguins' No. 1 goalie during their Stanley Cup run in 2017, not impeding his team's chances of success is his top priority. The Golden Knights seem to have cleared that hurdle, but it was one that shouldn't have been placed in front of them to begin with.
• No Canada-based team has won a Cup since Montreal in 1993, and Vancouver is the only team left with a chance to end that streak this season. The Canucks eliminated the defending champion Blues in Round 1 and have a promising future, but probably are a long shot to pick up the franchise's first title in 2020. Fact is, the victory over the Blues was Vancouver's first in a best-of-seven series since the 2011 Western Conference final.
• Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon is gaining support for recognition as the top player in the NHL (not that most Connor McDavid devotees are going to move into that camp anytime soon), and the playoff record he's putting together certainly doesn't hurt his case. MacKinnon has 17 goals an 28 assists in 34 postseason appearances, the fourth-highest points-per-game average in league history. The two guys at the top of the all-time list -- Wayne Gretzky (1.84) and Mario Lemieux (1.61) -- are no surprise, but the one who sits in the third spot might be. That would be former Penguins center Barry Pederson, who had 22 goals and 30 assists in 34 playoff games, all with Boston, for an average of 1.53.
• Carter Hart looks to be the quality goaltender the Flyers have lacked for decades, and is a big part of the reason Philadelphia has the potential to be a contender for quite a few years. The Flyers didn't exactly make identifying and developing a goalie of his caliber a priority, though: He is one of 16 goaltenders to appear in at least one game with Philadelphia between 2012, when the Flyers had recorded their most recent victory in a playoff series, and Round 1 this month, when they eliminated Montreal.
• It hardly was a shock that Washington fired coach Todd Reirden after being jettisoned from the playoffs in Round 1 for the second year in a row -- that possibility had been floated in this space last week, even before the Islanders ended the Capitals' season -- but Reirden, a Penguins assistant under Dan Bylsma, now joins a crowded list of former head coaches who might contend for any openings that arise before next season. The group includes Kirk Muller, Gerard Gallant, Mike Babcock, John Stevens, Bruce Boudreau, Peter Laviolette, Joe Sacco, former Penguins assistant Mike Yeo (now an assistant in Philadelphia) and one-time Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Todd Richards. A few of those guys could turn up as assistants or associate head coaches on NHL clubs, too, although some coaches are reluctant to have a potential successor join his staff.
• Dallas' Miro Heiskanen doesn't have the highest profile of any NHL defenseman, especially among those who tend to focus on the Eastern Conference, but that might change if he continues to pile up points at his current rate. Heiskanen has three goals and 10 assists in the Stars' first 10 postseason appearances, making him just the eighth defenseman since Paul Coffey got 14 for the Penguins in 1989 to accumulate 13 or more points in the first 10 playoff games. He also needs just two points to match the franchise record for points by a defenseman in a single postseason, 13, set by Craig Hartsburg in 1981, when the team was based in Minnesota. It's worth noting that the production of Heiskanen, 21, isn't entirely a surprise, since he was the third player selected in the 2017 draft.
• It could be an interesting offseason in Calgary, where repercussions of the Flames' Round 1 loss to Dallas figure to be felt for quite a while. There have been calls there for major changes to the roster, with Johnny Gaudreau, whose playoff output consisted of six power-play points and an empty-net goal. Gaudreau, 27, has 19 points in 30 career postseason games and despite being an exciting and reliable point-producer during the regular season, never has performed to expectations in the playoffs. If the Flames opt to trade him, finding a taker won't necessarily be easy, given that Gaudreau has two years remaining on a contract that carries a salary-cap hit of $6.75 million.
• When Montreal won four consecutive Cups in the late 1970s, then-Mayor Jean Drapeau once made it known that the celebratory parade would follow "the usual route." Chances are, however, that whoever oversees the city that ends up with the championship this summer won't be making a similar comment, because the teams still in the tournament have combined to win just five of the past 35 Cups. (Colorado has two and Boston, Tampa Bay and Dallas, one each.) What's more, the Bruins are the only one of those clubs to earn a title since 2006, claiming the Cup in 2011. The Penguins of 2016 and 2017, of course, are the NHL's only repeat champions since Detroit in 1997 and 1998.
• Crosby shares the NHL record for most points by an active player in his first 10 playoff games, putting up five goals and 10 assists during that span. Boston's David Pastrnak, Eric Staal of Carolina and MacKinnon also recorded 15 points during that span. Vancouver's Elias Pettersson didn't quite reach that level this year, but came close with four goals and nine assists before being shut out in the Canucks' 5-0 loss to Vegas in Game 1 of the second round. That was good enough to break the franchise mark of 11 points that had been held by Thomas Gradin.
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