KHL - Gargarin Cup Final - SKA vs Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Game 1 - Metallurg v SKA 4-5 - Saturday, April 08, 2017

This year’s Gagarin Cup Final promised goals, action and controversy … and game one of the series delivered in style. A high-scoring, hard-fought clash between two evenly-matched rivals eventually ended in SKA’s favor, but only after each team saw a player ejected from the game in a true battle in Magnitogorsk.
Evgeny Dadonov, SKA’s leading scorer when it won the cup in 2015, was the hero with two markers – including the game winner – as the visitor edged a hugely competitive encounter by the odd goal in nine.
The winner came in the 57^th minute thanks to a moment of individual magic. Metallurg sought to clear its lines and played the puck into center ice. Dadonov collected it on his own blue line, and decided to take matters into his own hands. Embarking on a solo rush, he powered through the neutral zone, evaded the attentions of the home D-men waiting on the blue line and advanced to beat Vasily Koshechkin up close. That took SKA to 5-3, the first time either team had enjoyed a two-goal advantage, and not even a late strike from Magnitogorsk’s Tomas Filippi could change the script.
It was the decisive moment in a game full of compelling incident. An evenly-matched opening period hinged – as many expected in this series – on a power play goal. In the 15^th minute, Jan Kovar was called for hooking. It seemed a somewhat careless infringement, given that Magnitka was on the attack at the time, and the consequences were still more severe. SKA, enjoying its first opportunity to flex its formidable muscles on the power play, duly converted the opportunity. D-to-D play on the blue line saw Patrik Hersley feed Anton Belov for a slap shot; Koshechkin had the answer to that one, but could not stop Evgeny Ketov stuffing home the rebound.
Metallurg quickly got a chance to respond in kind when Ilya Kablukov was cited for tripping seconds after SKA took the lead. The visitor’s PK, though, has been the strongest in post-season, and made it hard for the home offense to camp down in the SKA end. Viktor Antipin had the best chance, given space to get off a shot from close range, but he couldn’t find the net.
The second stanza, though, saw Magnitka find its scoring touch. Two goals in 81 seconds at the start of the middle session turned the game around. Evgeny Timkin, whose two goals in Moscow decided the destiny of last year’s final, tied the game on 21:50 when he got his stick to Yaroslav Kosov’s low shot and deflected the puck beyond Igor Shestyorkin. Then, on 23:11, Sergei Mozyakin pounced on a defensive error to put the home team in front for the first time. If there’s any player in this league who shouldn’t be presented with the puck in front of goal, it’s Mozyakin; when Ilya Kovalchuk’s wayward pass offered him the gift, the captain wasted no time in unwrapping it.
But Metallurg soon ran into new problems. Oskar Osala was ejected from the game for a high hit on Nikolai Prokhorkin, and after successfully killing the major penalty, Magnitka’s tiring defense coughed up possession in center ice and Nikita Gusev’s immaculate feed set Dadonov away to tie the game. Then, just Metallurg, SKA produced a quick-fire second goal to regain the lead. Prokhorkin shrugged off the effects of Osala’s hit to wrestle a chance on the slot; the video official found no evidence of goalie interference and the Army Men were back in front.
The game continued to ebb and flow; now it was SKA’s turn to suffer an ejection as Kovalchuk was penalized for a hit to Kovar’s head. Now the home power play did its thing, pulling together a slick combination to give Antipin the chance to tie the scores just before the second intermission.
SKA survived the rest of that penalty at the start of the third, and play became more cagey as both teams recognized the high price of any further errors. But the visitor forged ahead once again on 55 minutes through Hersley. The Swedish defenseman continued his habit of grabbing clutch goals in this post season with a shot so powerful that it went through the goal netting. A check on the video confirmed the goal, and with five to play, SKA was back in front. Dadonov then added his decisive contribution and that late Filippi strike put Magnitka back in contention in the final seconds, but SKA stayed in front to claim the early initiative in this series.
For Metallurg, this is familiar territory: last season the Steelmen began the final series by conceding five goals and suffering defeat. But on that occasion, Magnitka faced a CSKA team tasting the Gagarin Cup Final, and all its attendant pressures, for the first time. 
Game 2 - Metallurg v SKA 5-3 - Monday, April 10, 2017

Vladislav Kaletnik isn’t one of the most feared goalscorers at Metallurg. The 22-year-old is still learning his trade, and his marker in a 5-3 victory over Kunlun Red Star back in February was his first ever playoff goal in the KHL. But his short-handed effort tonight, late in the second period, upstaged the more established marksmen in game two of the Gagarin Cup Final, leading Magnitka to a narrow victory and tying the series at 1-1. It all happened in the 38^th minute. The home team, killing a penalty, saw a chance to counter attack. Oskar Osala led the rush, but failed to really get hold of his shot. Igor Shestyorkin pushed the puck away with his pads, only for Vladislav Kaletnik to race in and put away the rebound, snapping a 1-1 tie and punishing SKA for its failure to convert several earlier chances. Tommi Santala’s empty-net goal put the seal of Metallurg’s win, and sets up Wednesday’s trip to St. Petersburg nicely.
SKA, though, will be wondering how it failed to put the game beyond reach in the first period. The visitor dominated the shot count throughout, and were especially impressive in the opening stanza when it allowed just two attempts on its own net. However, Jan Kovar ensured that one of them counted, opening the scoring with a power play goal in the eighth minute, against the run of play.
SKA responded quickly. In the 12^th minute, Vadim Shipachyov was allowed to lurk unmolested at the back door. Nikita Gusev found him, and the forward delivered a confident finish for the second power play goal of the game. Metallurg, angry at what it felt to be a harsh call against Sergei Mozyakin for the initial penalty, found itself a man down again almost immediately and was left clinging on desperately as the formidable SKA power play cruised through the gears once again. Shipachyov’s long pass picked out Gusev for a shot that flashed into the side netting. Ilya Kovalchuk pinged one off the crossbar with Vasily Koshechkin grasping at thin air. Anton Belov saw his shot hit the inside of the post and sit, tantalizingly, in the crease before Viktor Antipin reacted to sweep it away from danger. Like a prize fighter on the receiving end of a haymaker, Metallurg rocked and reeled – but refused to go down.
The balance of play shifted in the middle session. SKA was still creating the greater number of chances, but the difference was no longer overwhelming. Instead, Magnitka’s offense was beginning to ask some questions of its own. Mozyakin looked increasingly dangerous, Tomas Filippi had a couple of testing chances and, for the first time in the game, the teams were trading blows more or less evenly. A penalty on Evgeny Timkin seemed to give SKA the initiative, but Kaletnik’s goal took the game in the opposite direction.
Now Metallurg began to believe it could win, despite the fearsome fusillade that continued at the other end. Timkin came out of the sin bin and almost scored immediately. Mozyakin’s skill carved out a chance early in the third only for Patrik Hersley to overpower the forward at the last moment. But SKA was equally determined: Kovalchuk tested Koshechkin after a slip from Alexei Bereglazov and steadily the pressure grew as the final stanza wore on. Metallurg was pushed deeper and deeper, the puck rarely made it into SKA territory. Danis Zaripov was reduced to trying his luck from the red line as the intensity of the visiting offense grew with every shift. But a combination of bodies on the line in defense and alert goaltending from Koshechkin kept SKA at bay. The home goalie had 43 saves; the visiting offense clocked an incredible 103 attempts, of which 37 were blocked by the Metallurg defense. Off came Shestyorkin in a last bid to conjure something from the game, but the gamble failed. Timkin burst clear down the left flank, only to shoot wide of the empty net. The puck swung around the boards for Santala and the Finn – who began the day with the unwelcome news that he would be fined after the disciplinary panel handed him a 5+20 for an incident in Saturday’s game – ended the game by sending it back into the empty net.
Game 3 - SKA v Metallurg 2-1 OT - Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Hockey should be a simple game. Get pucks to the net, work the opposition goalie, and eventually, results will come. But this series is starting to suggest that the usual indicators may not always be reliable. After a game two loss in which it dominated the attacking play, SKA encountered similar problems here in St. Petersburg. The shots piled up, the opportunities were created … but the goals were hard to come by.
As the race for the Gagarin Cup marked Cosmonauts’ Day – the 56^th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s historic trip into orbit – the teams produced a game longer than the 65 minutes he spent in orbit around the Earth. Indeed, they threatened to rival the 108-minute journey of Vostok-1 from launch to landing before SKA finally grabbed its winner. By the time Evgeny Dadonov settled the outcome in the 93^rd minute, the home team had fired in 60 shots on Vasily Koshechkin’s net. For the second game in a row, SKA managed 100 attempts on goal in total, but found Koshechkin and his colleagues in obdurate mood.
The winning goal was another triumph for the Dadonov-Shipachyov-Gusev line. Vadim Shipachyov fed Nikita Gusev in center ice and for a moment it seemed that Gusev might be about to do it all on his own as he tormented Metallurg’s tiring defense. Eventually he was steered away from the net, but not before he could get the puck to Dadonov with a clear shooting lane from the right. In came the shot, rattling around off post and bar enough to give Metallurg hope of an appeal to the video referee; victory was confirmed from the sidelines and another epic battle between these teams was over at last.
Much like Monday’s game, this one started with a surge towards Koshechkin in the Metallurg net. Gusev was a constant menace early on, buzzing around Magnitka’s zone and making things happen. It was his pass from beyond the goal line that teed up Anton Belov for a shot that Koshechkin barely managed to push past the far post; it was his rush that almost presented Shipachyov with a good look at Koshechkin. Metallurg hit penalty trouble, Gusev tested the goalie again late on. It was turning into a one-sided encounter.
For all SKA’s creativity, though, the opening goal came from a good old-fashioned hammer blow. Andrei Zubarev collected the puck in center ice, advanced to the red line and let fly with a long-range effort that kept low beneath the leap of a team-mate and surprised Koshechkin. For SKA, which twice conceded goals from the red line to Dynamo’s Andrei Kuteikin earlier in the playoffs, it was an unexpected way to take a deserved lead.
Metallurg, heavily outshot in the first half of the game, gradually began to pose more of a threat. A penalty on Yegor Yakovlev in the 30^th minute helped to shift the momentum and the play was more even as the second period drew to a close. The equalizer came just six seconds before the intermission. Magnitka rolled forward and produced a slick bit of tic-tac-toe: Vladislav Kaletnik to Chris Lee, then a pass fizzing across the face of goal to Denis Kazionov at the back door.
The third period reverted to the initial script, with SKA having more of the play and Metallurg relying on counter attacks to keep Mikko Koskinen honest on his return to the starting line-up. The best chance to win it in regulation was also the last. Alexander Barabanov found himself all alone in front of the net, but his attempt to fire in a backhand was hurried and the puck went wide of the target. Overtime followed. The extras saw two big chances for Magnitka, both coming when a well-placed pass released a forward for a duel with Koskinen. The first opportunity, on 63 minutes, went to Vladislav Kaletnik, but Monday’s game winner shot wide of the mark. The next, 10 minutes later, fell to Sergei Mozyakin, but for once his scoring touch deserted him as Patrik Hersley got back to make the block. However, the bulk of the scoring chances were still coming at the other end, and ultimately that made the difference as Dadonov grabbed his third goal in three games to give SKA the initiative.
Game 4 - SKA v Metallurg 3-2 - Friday, April 14, 2017

A final-period fightback gave SKA its third victory in this series – and means Metallurg must win on home ice on Sunday if it is to continue its defense of the Gagarin Cup. For once, SKA’s stellar offense was subdued; instead Dinar Khafizullin was the unlikely hero, snaffling up the game-winning goal in the 53^rd minute. The defenseman, who earlier tied the game at 1-1 with a similar finish, reacted quickly after Patrik Hersley’s slap shot smashed into Vasily Koshechkin’s helmet. The goalie lay sprawled on the ice as Khafizullin stuffed home the rebound from close range. But Metallurg’s disappointment was combined with a sense of grievance. First, the visiting team was unhappy that play continued with its goalie taken out of the game by a powerful blow to the head. And, moments earlier, Magnitka protested loudly at an interference call against Danis Zaripov after a collision on the edge of the SKA zone that abruptly halted a promising counter-attack for Jan Kovar.
Not that Khafizullin or SKA were greatly concerned about any protests. The defenseman’s second goal of the game was only his sixth game-winner in 377 career KHL outings and saw him double his career playoff tally in this clash. Previously the 28-year-old had scored the opener in game four of the Conference Final against Lokomotiv and claimed one goal in last year’s post season. Not for the first time, the big occasion calls for an unexpected hero to emerge and grab a vital marker, and Khafizullin joins Alexander Barabanov on SKA’s list of post season game winners with a modest track record of scoring goals.
The game started with a bang. Viktor Antipin put Metallurg in front after just 27 seconds, claiming the fastest ever goal in a Gagarin Cup Final game. SKA won the opening face-off, but little else went right for the host as Magnitka gained possession and Sergei Mozyakin threw a peach of a pass off the boards to the unmarked Antipin in the right-hand face-off circle. A backhand shot across the face of Mikko Koskinen found the top corner, and Metallurg had exactly the start it needed. But, much like games two and three of this series, SKA was only interested in offense. The game was played almost exclusively around Koshechkin’s net and in the first period alone the visiting goalie made 23 saves. That was enough to preserve Metallurg’s lead into the first intermission, but early in the middle stanza the home team got the breakthrough it needed to tie the game.
Defenseman Khafizullin was the scorer, claiming only his second post-season marker when he reacted fastest to the rebound after Vadim Shipachyov’s shot bounced back into play from Koshechkin’s pads. The goal was as much a tribute to SKA’s on-going pressure rather than any particularly brilliant play: a more alert Metallurg defense would surely not have allowed Khafizullin to get into such a dangerous position without far closer attention.
Encouraged, the home team continued to press. But it was Metallurg that struck the next blow with a devastating counter attack from Oskar Osala. The Finn showed great speed as he raced on to Tommi Santala’s pass and burned down the left with Alexander Khokhlachyov in his wake. Osala’s shot fizzed inside Koskinen’s near post, and Metallurg led once again.
The lead did not last long, though. Early in the final stanza, Andrei Zubarev tied the game at 2-2 – despite shattering his stick in the process. Nikolai Prokhorkin’s shot from the boards bounced a long way from goal off Koshechkin’s pads, and Zubarev got into a race with Metallurg’s Yaroslav Kosov to reach the rebound first. Zubarev’s slap shot connected with the puck and his opponent’s stick; the SKA forward’s own weapon snapped on impact, while the deflection sent his shot on an unpredictable trajectory that left the goalie out of position. The trajectory of this series, though, is starting to feel familiar. SKA’s previous Gagarin Cup triumph, two years ago, came in five games. Victory that time was sealed on the road in Kazan on a Sunday afternoon. This coming Sunday, SKA goes on the road to Magnitogorsk with the chance to repeat that success and join Metallurg, Ak Bars and Dynamo Moscow on two cup wins. However, two men in the SKA camp will also recall a famous occasion when a team blew a 3-1 lead in the Gagarin Cup final. Head coach Oleg Znarok and defenseman Anton Belov were on opposing sides in 2012 when Avangard looked to be in command of its series against Dynamo. But Belov suffered a suspension, the Omsk defense began to wobble, and Znarok led the Muscovites to a memorable victory thanks to a solitary Jakub Klepis goal in Siberia. The destiny of the cup in 2017 is yet to be decided.
Game 5 - Metallurg v SKA 3-5 - Sunday, April 16, 2017

SKA St. Petersburg wrapped up its second Gagarin Cup triumph in three seasons with a battling victory in game five in Magnitogorsk. Oleg Znarok’s team displayed the hallmarks of a true champion, battling back from 0-2 to wrest control of the game and complete the series in five. In contrast with SKA’s previous Gagarin Cup triumph in 2015, when the team went to Kazan and overwhelmed Ak Bars with a devastating first-period performance, this game was all about patience, belief and finding a way to retrieve a difficult situation.
Metallurg, knowing that only victory would prolong its defense of the title it won last season, produced a start that got the home fans believing that their hopes could be resurrected this Easter Sunday. In the third minute, Alexei Bereglazov’s shot was tipped beyond Mikko Koskinen by Sergei Mozyakin; only the post saved SKA. In the ninth minute, though, Oskar Osala would not be denied. He raced onto Tommi Santala’s pass, got away from Alexander Barabanov and shot from the face-off spot to beat Koskinen over the glove for a goal reminiscent of his marker in Metallurg’s 2-3 loss in Petersburg on Friday.
That was the only goal of the first period, but Viktor Antipin doubled the home lead early in the second when his shot from the left took a deflection off Yegor Rykov’s skate and beat Koskinen. In a series where two-goal leads have been scarce, Metallurg was looking good to win the game and take the action back to Petersburg.
The momentum changed fast. A penalty on Danis Zaripov saw SKA quickly convert its power play chance: Evgeny Dadonov rushed down the right, played the puck back into the center from the goalline and found Nikita Gusev perfectly placed to fire home a one-timer from between the hashmarks.
The fans who came to the game in referees’ uniforms with a SKA logo replacing the KHL’s crest would, no doubt, have continued to protest the perceived injustice of Zaripov’s latest penalty call. SKA, meanwhile, was inspired and went on to tie the game two minutes later. Alexander Barabanov got the goal, but it was all about Ilya Kovalchuk’s pass from behind the net. SKA’s captain picked up on a broken play in Metallurg’s zone and set off around the boards, but opted to pass early from the near post when he spotted Barabanov peeling into space right in front of Vasily Koshechkin’s net. Suddenly, the pattern of the game was transformed. Metallurg, having built itself a winning position, had to start afresh. SKA, facing a trip back to Petersburg, now saw its way clear to winning the cup on the night.
That pathway become even wider for the visitor in the 35^th minute when Dadonov converted a two-on-two rush. Gusev fed Vadim Shipachyov, who brought the puck smoothly through center ice. Metallurg’s covering defensemen were caught out, unsure whether to block the shot or the pass, and ultimately failed to do either as Shipachyov’s perfectly-weighted pass picked out Dadonov for a one-timer that Koshechkin could do nothing with. Three goals in seven-and-a-half minutes had transformed the destiny of the game and the series.
Kovalchuk made it 4-2 just nine seconds into the final stanza. Patrik Hersley intercepted a pass out of Metallurg’s zone, advanced into an attacking position and fed Kovy for an emphatic finish. But Magnitka, rocked, was not done. Yaroslav Kosov made it 3-4 within a minute, collecting a loose puck after Artyom Zub collided with a linesman and advancing to find the bottom corner under pressure from Andrei Zubarev.
The final period was anxious; Metallurg fought hard, piling up the pressure and finishing with a 20-3 advantage on the shot count. But Koskinen was in unbeatable form, and kept his best save until last. With less than two minutes left, and Magnitka using six skaters, a rebound dropped for Osala on the slot. The Finn’s shot drew an instinctive reaction stop from his compatriot, and the puck rolled agonizingly alone the goal line before bouncing to safety off the post. That proved to be the last chance. Two time-outs later, SKA resumed, won a face-off at its own net and got the puck clear for Sergei Plotnikov to score an empty-netter. Koskinen still needed to complete his 42^nd save of the night and deny Zaripov, but the 2017 Gagarin Cup had found its home.
SKA’s victory means that the Petersburg club is the fourth to lift the Gagarin Cup twice, joining Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Ak Bars and Dynamo Moscow. Head coach Znarok becomes the first coach to win it three times, having twice claimed the top prize in the capital. The 4-1 margin in the final series matches the best ever, twice achieved by Vyacheslav Bykov as head coach of Salavat Yulaev (2011) and SKA (2015). Like Bykov, Znarok has also now won the cup while combining his club duties with taking charge of Team Russia.




Not many teams could shrug off the absence of Stanley Cup-winning duo Slava Voynov and Pavel Datsyuk, but the power and depth of SKA’s roster means Oleg Znarok’s team has progressed serenely despite injuries to two star players. There’s scoring power all over the ice here, with any line capable of conjuring up a game-changing moment, and evidence of players getting hot at just the right time as we reach the sharp end of the season. Here’s a guide to the roster for the Western Conference representatives in the 2017 Gagarin Cup final.

Goalies

In the regular season, Mikko Koskinen and youngster Igor Shestyorkin largely shared goaltending duties, with the 21-year-old Russian enjoying an impressive campaign. In post-season, though, the experienced Finn took top billing … until suffering an injury during the Conference Final against Lokomotiv. Koskinen had his critics, allowing Dynamo’s Andrei Kuteikin to beat him from the red line twice in successive games raised eyebrows. But he also produced some stunning stops, with a memorable stick save against Loko looking like a lock for the save of the season. Shestyorkin, meanwhile, proved a more than able deputy as he backstopped SKA to victory in game four of the Conference Final and, if required, will only develop from the experience of playing in the biggest games of the season.

Mikko Koskinen

Defense

The absence of Slava Voynov, struggling with a long-term injury, hasn’t hampered SKA as much as might have been feared. Oleg Znarok’s team has been boosted by Patrik Hersley’s return to full fitness after a frustrating regular season and the Swede has responded with a career-best scoring haul in the playoffs. His 5+8 puts him level with Anton Belov on 13 points. Belov brings a wealth of experience of Gagarin Cup finals after playing at this stage for Avangard in 2012 and SKA in 2015. Elsewhere on the blue line, Maxim Chudinov is another high-profile absentee with the Russian international managing just one post-season outing, in a 2-3 overtime loss to Dynamo on March 8. There’s been plenty of uncompromising, stay-at-home defense work from Dinar Khafizullin, Yegor Yakovlev, Andrei Zubarev and Roman Rukavishnikov.

Maxim Chudinov

Offense

With Pavel Datsyuk injured, it’s fallen to the Shipachyov-Dadonov-Gusev line to pick up the slack … and the trio has responded in fine style. With 14 points apiece in the playoffs, this has been by far and away the deadliest line on SKA’s roster, and on the power play it has been especially impressive. They have produced eight goals between them on the PP, and contributed assists on further scores from Hersley and Belov as SKA repeatedly punishes its opponents for any indiscipline. The sudden upswing in production from Jarno Koskiranta has been another boon. The Finn achieved a modest 12+6=18 in 57 regular-season games, but quickly heated up in the playoffs to produce 6+4=10 in 13 appearances. Winning teams often rely on a player hitting form at the right time, and Koskiranta could be the man to do that for SKA in this run.
Scoring goes deep: Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeny Ketov have five goals each, and even Alexander Barabanov ended a 38-game goal drought to snatch an overtime winner against Lokomotiv.

Pavel Datsyuk

Special teams

That Shipachyov line has been impressive on the power play, helping SKA to 20 goals with a man advantage. That’s the joint top return in this year’s playoffs, matched only by Grand Final opponent Metallurg. But SKA also has a miserly PK to call upon, killing 93.3% of its penalties and allowing just three goals when playing at reduced strength. Another important detail: SKA has drawn noticeably more penalties than everyone else, with 73 opportunities to play with a man advantage. With Magnitka allowing 11 goals on its PK, that could prove a decisive factor in the coming series.

Coaching

Oleg Znarok is behind the bench for his fourth Gagarin Cup Final. Victory would make him the first man to lift the cup three teams, and only the second to do it with two different clubs. More impressively, though, he’s a rare example of a coach who can successfully adapt his style to the roster at his disposal. In 2010, for his first tilt at the title, he took a decidedly non-stellar MVD roster to within one game of glory based on tactics that promoted team-work, resilience and an element of surprise. At Dynamo Moscow, where he won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, he took many of those players and melded them into a winning team with greater scope for individual flair; don’t forget his second championship season found space for the unique talents of Alexander Ovechkin during the NHL lock-out. Then, at Team Russia and now at SKA, Znarok has shown that he can work with the biggest names and the most extravagant talents in the Russian game. If it takes one skill set to win as an underdog, it’s a different matter to triumph as a favorite. Znarok has shown he can present a formidable team in any circumstances.

Oleg Znarok

This year’s Gagarin Cup Final isn’t just a head-to-head between the top teams of the current season. Instead, it pits the two strongest teams of the last three seasons against one another for the first time in playoff action. Defending champion Metallurg takes on 2015 winner SKA in a showdown that could give either side the right to claim a measure of lasting dominance over the KHL. So let’s take a look at how those trophies were won as the teams prepare to do battle on Saturday.

Shocking the favorite, establishing a dynasty

Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs CSKA, 2016
One year later, it’s easy to forget how many people rated CSKA as cast-iron favorite for this series. Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team had topped the regular season standings for the second year running before powering into its first ever Gagarin Cup final, dropping a solitary game along the way. A stacked roster, led by the talents of Alexander Radulov and Nikita Zaitsev, was in imperious form and a crushing sweep of SKA in the Western Conference Final suggested that this was the Muscovites’ year; hockey’s most titled club seemed on the brink of another entry on the honors board. Metallurg, by contrast, had a difficult regular season. Mike Keenan was moved upstairs to an advisory role part way through the campaign; Ilya Vorobyov got his first shot at the head coach’s role but expectations were low. A 1-5 loss in Moscow in the opening game of the final series reinforced the belief that Magnitka would merely make up the numbers. That game was a one-off, though. The next five games in the series were settled by a single goal. Three of them went to overtime. A game-winning performance from Sergei Mozyakin in game five earned Magnitka a 2-1 victory in the capital and gave Metallurg a 3-2 lead to take back home. Suddenly, Vorobyov was in touching distance of winning the cup after half a season in charge. Too soon. CSKA responded with a 3-2 OT success of its own, with the unheralded Mikhail Yunkov getting his first playoff goals of the season to set up a game seven decider. And, back in Moscow, Evgeny Timkin emerged as the key man. He scored twice, opening the scoring and adding an empty-net clincher, as Metallurg won 3-1 to lift the cup again. For the former Avangard and Vityaz man, those were the first playoff goals of his KHL career; for Metallurg, they were the tickets to a second cup win in three seasons. Now, in the Southern Urals, fans could begin to talk about a dynasty among the Steelmen as Vorobyov became the youngest coach to win the title.

A long-awaited triumph as Petersburg finally lifts the cup

SKA vs Ak Bars, 2015
Winning the Gagarin Cup was a long-held dream in St. Petersburg. Although SKA had represented the city since 1946, it had never managed to bring home a national championship in Soviet or post-Soviet times. The 2015 Gagarin Cup Final against Ak Bars was a chance to re-write history. It was also a reflection of the changing order in Russian hockey. SKA, with its big-money connections to Gazprom, could be viewed as a brash, big-spending newcomer at the top table; Ak Bars, now an established powerhouse, had gone through that process more than a decade earlier when the balance of power in the game moved decisively away from big-city domination and encompassed a wide range of newly oil-rich regions eager to turn petrodollars into sporting prowess. For some, at least, the duel carried a socio-economic resonance beyond the action on the ice. The match-up also pitted two great coaches against one another. SKA’s Vyacheslav Bykov was back in KHL action for the first time since leaving Salavat Yulaev after leading the Ufa team to the 2011 Gagarin Cup. Victory here would make him the first coach to win the prize with two clubs. He faced Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, who was bidding to become the first coach to claim three Gagarin Cups, just a year after leaving his role with Team Russia after failing to win an Olympic medal. Surprisingly, though, the series was all over in five games. SKA proved irresistible from the start, with the Shipachyov-Dadonov-Panarin axis in unstoppable form. Evgeny Dadonov finished with 15 goals, a playoff record. Artemy Panarin signed off on a move to the NHL – one year later, back in Russia at the World Championship, his old line-mates would tease him about turning into an American player. Vadim Shipachyov, as in the current campaign, made it all tick. There were big post-season contributions from Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrick Thoresen; the former finally claimed the hardware that had eluded him in New Jersey, the latter, reunited with Bykov, finished his career with a second Gagarin Cup triumph. The final game, in Kazan, was something of a masterclass. Ak Bars, down 1-3 in the series, talked boldly of fighting to the last; SKA scored after 73 seconds on a Jimmie Eriksson breakaway, led 4-0 at the first intermission and romped to a crushing 6-1 victory. St. Petersburg, at last, had a cup to celebrate.

Pens Legends Return to Pittsburgh

Sergei Gonchar

When Sergei Gonchar's professional tryout contract with the Penguins didn't work out back in 2015, he decided to retire following a stellar 20-year career and join Pittsbugh's coaching staff in a part-time capacity. He served as defenseman development coach his first season and defensemen coach his second, helping the team win the Stanley Cup both years. Heading into his third, Gonchar has been named an assistant coach and will transition into a full-time role - which he couldn't have done without the blessing of his wife, Ksenia. That's because general manager Jim Rutherford had offered Gonchar the job after his first year, but he declined so that he could be at home in Dallas with his family as much as possible. But after his second year, she told him that he needed to go to Pittsburgh full-time and she would be able to handle their two kids by herself. Gonchar gives both her and the organization so much credit helping him get to this point.

"I had been playing all my life and when I started working as a coach I didn't know what to expect or how it was going to be," he said. "But the organization, including the players, made it easier for me."

As defensemen coach, Gonchar worked closely with Pittsburgh's blue line, utilizing extensive use of video to coach and teach the players. When he attended games, he would watch from the media level with former goaltending coach Mike Bales and go to the locker room during intermissions. Head coach Mike Sullivan called Gonchar "invaluable" during this most recent postseason, especially in working with the team's young defensemen. He played an important role in helping them get through an influx of injuries late in the season and throughout the playoffs. It's been an enjoyable experience for Gonchar watching both the individuals and the team have such success.

"You see how the young players respond and develop, and it's made the job rewarding to see how guys become better, how they're more comfortable on the ice, how they're doing things and becoming better players," he said. "I think it's what makes me feel great every morning and it's rewarding for me."

That's particularly true when it comes to Justin Schultz, someone Gonchar worked with closely to develop his defensive skills to get on the same level as his offensive skills. As a result, Schultz has emerged into one of the top offensive defensemen in the league, finishing the regular season ranked among the NHL's top-10 defensemen in assists (39), points (51) and plus-minus (+27).

"The biggest thing is he was willing to put in the work, especially at the beginning when he got here," Gonchar said. "He sacrificed his offense a little bit to focus on defense and it wasn't happening overnight, so it took him some time to develop that part of the game, but when he developed that part of the game, he was a guy who felt comfortable on both ends of the ice.

"Obviously offensively it's not a problem for him. He's got all the talent in the world. So what I should point out is the defensive part he worked on and how he was patient. Sometimes maybe in the beginning he was not getting as many points, but he was still patient and then he put 1 plus 1 together with his defensive game and his offensive game. He became a great player who has played well for us."

As assistant coach, Gonchar will continue to be an eye in the sky during games. He will work closely with head coach Mike Sullivan and new assistant coach Mark Recchi on the power play, and Gonchar will assist Jacques Martin with the defensemen. Like Recchi, Gonchar expects to make a seamless transition into his new role.

"I just expect it's going to be the same thing, just a little bit more time," Gonchar said. "Obviously spend more time together. I'm going to be there every day. But otherwise it will be the same."

Gonchar was known for being a power-play specialist during his playing days, and had already been helping out in that area the last two seasons. He's excited about contributing more input this year.

"I played with some of those guys, I know their tendencies and know what they like," he said. "I try to give them my input and my feelings and I'm going to do it again and again. Mark obviously being on board, he's going to have his opinion and his experience playing that role for many years. I'm actually looking forward to the power play. I think it's going to be something we can improve more next year."

Both Recchi and Gonchar have the unique perspective of having skated alongside a few of the current Penguins like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, which will be particularly helpful when it comes to the power play.

"You know what the tendencies are, what the guy likes to do on the ice, what he's feeling comfortable with position-wise," Gonchar explained. "Playing with a guy, you have a feeling, what he wants, what he's comfortable with. It helps when you're thinking about the power play and trying to do something with the unit and when you're putting a breakout together or setting up plays."

Gonchar is looking forward to being around a lot more, and excited to keep instilling his philosophy of working with individuals 1-on-1 to help the team.

"Some of the guys you spend a little bit more time with, and some of the guys less time," Gonchar said. "Some of the guys like to have video, some of them don't. It's finding an individual approach for everyone. I think everyone is different, everybody has their tendencies, everybody has their opinions about the game, so that's why I try to build a relationship with every one of them and it's not necessarily the same with every one of them. That's the way I look at it. That's the way I try to work."

The Penguins have named Sergei Gonchar assistant coach, it was announced by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford and head coach Mike Sullivan. Gonchar is the third newcomer to join Sullivan's coaching staff, joining Mark Recchi, who was added yesterday, and goaltending coach Mike Buckley. The trio joins holdovers Jacques Martin and video coach Andy Saucier. Between Gonchar and Recchi, the Penguins have added more than 3,000 combined NHL regular-season and playoff games, 2,500 points and eight Stanley Cups to the coaching staff in the past two days. 

"Like Mark, Sergei brings a wealth of hockey knowledge to our team," Sullivan said. "His career is a body of work that speaks for itself. He will naturally transition into a full-time coaching role, building on the experiences and relationships he has already made with our group. He was invaluable during the playoffs, especially in working with our young defensemen." 

Gonchar, 43, had spent the past two seasons working as the Penguins' defenseman development coach.  As Sullivan mentioned, Gonchar played a crucial role in helping the young blueliners on Pittsburgh's roster survive a rash of injuries late in the season and throughout the playoffs to win a second-straight Stanley Cup. In his new role, Gonchar will be an eye in the sky during games. He will work closely with Sullivan and Recchi on the power play, and Gonchar will assist Martin with the defensemen. One of the young defenders that Gonchar has taken under his wing is Justin Schultz. Since joining the Penguins and being tutored by Gonchar and Martin, Schultz has emerged into one of the top offensive defensemen in the league, finishing the regular season ranked among the NHL's top-10 defensemen in assists (39), points (51) and plus-minus (+27). During Pittsburgh's back-to-back championship runs, Gonchar has aided the development of several other young blueliners who were crucial to both titles, including Olli Maatta, Brian Dumoulin, Chad Ruhwedel and Derrick Pouliot. 

As a player, the 6-foot-2, 210 pound native of Chelyabinsk, Russia was one of the highest-scoring blueliners in the game, especially so during his five-year run in Pittsburgh from 2005-10, when Gonchar produced the fifth-most points among NHL defensemen with 259 (54G-205A). Only Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Brian Rafalski had more points during that span. When Pittsburgh won its third Stanley Cup in 2009, Gonchar was both an alternate captain and the team's highest-scoring defender with 14 points (3G-11A) in 22 games. One year prior in '08, Gonchar was a key catalyst for an emerging Penguins club that lost in the Stanley Cup Final to Detroit.

Gonchar enjoyed a stellar 20-year NHL career that saw him record 811 regular-season points (220G-591A), the most among Russian-born blueliners in NHL history. Between 1999-2010, the prime of his career, Gonchar reached 50 points nine times in a 10-season span. Only Lidstrom (8 such seasons) had more than five 50-point seasons in that time frame among defensemen. Gonchar skated in 1,301 career NHL games with Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Dallas and Montreal. His point total sits in 17th place in NHL history among defensemen, and his games played total ranks 18th. He had 90 points (22G-68A) in 141 playoff games.

What made Gonchar so valuable to his teams was that not only did he produce points, but the frequent leader by example became an all-around defender capable of logging heavy minutes. Throughout the duration of his career, Gonchar skated in 83 percent of his teams' total games, and according to hockeyreference.com, he logged at least 23 minutes per game 11 times in 14 seasons between his age-24 season in 1998-99 as a Capital and his age-38 season in 2013-14 with Ottawa. 

During back-to-back seasons with the Capitals in 2001-02 and '02-03, Gonchar led all NHL defensemen in goals with 26 and 18, respectively. His 59 points in '01-02 also paced all D-men. He earned NHL Second-Team All-Star status both years. He represented his country on numerous occasions internationally, including four Olympic Games. He won a silver medal in the '98 Games and a bronze in '02. 

Gonchar won a silver medal at the 2010 World Championship and a bronze medal in the '07 World Championship. He also suited up in the 1996 and 2004 World Cups of Hockey. Gonchar was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round (14th overall) in the 1992 NHL Draft. Since the 1967 NHL Expansion, only 13 defensemen who have been selected in the NHL Draft have accumulated more points than Gonchar's 811. Of those 13 above him, 11 have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

 

Mark Recchi

The Penguins named Mark Recchi as an assistant coach to replace Rick Tocchet, who was named head coach of the Coyotes. And when discussing what the transition behind the bench would be like for Recchi, both he and Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan used the word "seamless."

"Obviously 'Tocc' is a real good coach and a great person, and is a tough guy to replace as a coach, but I can't think of a better guy than 'Rex' to do that," Sullivan said of Recchi, who will assume the duties handled by Tocchet - which include running the team's forwards and working closely with Sullivan on the power play. 

There's a number of reasons.

* First and foremost, his playing career. Recchi was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on June 26 as one of seven members of the Class of 2017 following a career where he finished as the NHL's 12^th all-time leading scorer with 1,533 points in 1,652 games. He won the Stanley Cup three times (Pittsburgh, 1991; Carolina, 2006; Boston, 2011), becoming one of just 10 players from the modern era to win a championship with three different teams. Recchi's longevity and pedigree are impressive. Players have remarked about Tocchet's ability to relate to them as players having produced such a successful career, and Sullivan knows Recchi will do the same.

"(Recchi) is a very similar type personality (to Tocchet) in the sense that he's such an accomplished player," Sullivan said. "He'll get instant credibility with the career he's had as a player and that speaks for itself. Not only how elite he was as a player, but just the longevity. I think it speaks to his character - his ability to play that many years and help different teams win Stanley Cups - and play different roles. I know our players have so much respect for him already, and that's one of the reasons we're so excited to have Rex join our staff."

* Secondly, Recchi wasn't just any player - he was a teammate of several current Penguins during his career. When Sidney Crosby entered the league in 2005, Recchi was his first linemate and factored into both his first point (an assist on a Recchi goal) and his first goal (Recchi got the assist). He also spent time playing alongside Evgeni Malkin. Few, if any, coaches in the league can say they've played with the two-headed monster, so it will offer Recchi a unique perspective.

"I think it definitely helps," Recchi said. "They were young men when they started with me and just being around them and seeing the drive they had and playing with both of them, on lines extensively at times, it's definitely going to help."

It also helps having been around them in a front-office role the last three seasons and watching how they interacted with Sullivan and Tocchet.

"They are very competitive people and there's a reason why they've got three championships," Recchi said. "They thrive on competition, they thrive on the challenge and I'm excited to get in there and help them go through this. There's always going to be times when you're going to have challenges throughout the year. You're going to have to sit down and talk to them and they're going to want to talk to me, and I think I have that relationship that's already there that will just help the transition very easily."

That goes for Phil Kessel as well, somebody who was close with Tocchet but also has a rapport with Recchi.

"He already has a great relationship with Phil," Sullivan said. "We've used Rex over the last couple of seasons with Phil to try to help him grow his game and develop his game in different areas that we were trying to help Phil."

Sullivan went on to praise Recchi's "instant credibility" with the Penguins not just as a fellow player, but also as a coach.

"He's a natural when it comes to his ability to teach the game," Sullivan said. "I've watched him both on the ice and in the locker room, in meetings with players, and he's a natural. So I really believe that he's going to continue to foster those relationships that are so important to helping us grow as a team and more specifically, some of our individual players like Phil. I think Rex is going to do a great job in helping that process along."

* Thirdly, it's not just Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Kris Letang and Pittsburgh's other star players that Recchi is familiar with. In his role as player development coach, he was responsible for working with young prospects throughout the organization and assisting with the development of players in the minor leagues as well as junior and college hockey. He also helped recruit coveted NCAA free agents, as forward Zach Aston-Reese cited Recchi as a big reason he decided to sign with Pittsburgh. In fact, Recchi had just earned a promotion to director of player development for his tremendous work before accepting this new role.

"I think his relationship that he's built with the young players, working with them in Wilkes-Barre and through the development process, gives him so much familiarity with these guys and an already established relationship where we think he's just going to hit the ground running," Sullivan said.

* Finally, Recchi has been quietly working towards this for a while and has spent a lot of time behind the scenes involved in different parts of the process. Sullivan said that they talk hockey all the time in their offices and that Recchi has been a part of their coaches' meetings.

"Whether it be on the power play or penalty kill or 5-on-5, he's always added his insights to help us along the way solve some of the challenges that we've had in my tenure as the coach," Sullivan said. "I feel fortunate that we've got a guy like Rex that I've had the privilege to build a relationship with as well here in my time with Pittsburgh and it started when I was in Wilkes Barre."

Actually, the relationship began even earlier than that - back in 2008-09, to be exact. That season, Recchi was a player for Tampa Bay while both Sullivan and Tocchet were on the Lightning coaching staff.

"I'm just looking forward to this opportunity of working with Sully," Recchi said. "I have been around him for a long time. I was in Tampa when Sully and Tocc were coaches and we were together there. I've been around the dressing room and around them the last three years. I know I've built that trust with Sully and he knows I have his back, and we're going to work to do this thing together with Sergei (Gonchar) and Jacques (Martin)."

Overall, it's been one heck of a summer for Recchi so far. It started when he won his fifth Stanley Cup - second as an executive - in June. It continued when he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and has cumulated with this latest announcement. Not to mention dealing with the promotion to director of player development, the NHL Draft, development camp and free agency in between all of that.

"It's been exciting," Recchi said with a laugh. "I just caught up to my other texts from everything from the last couple weeks, so I'm going to have to catch up again now. It's been so exciting. When you win the Cup, seeing what these guys put into it and being part of that was huge. Then obviously getting into the Hockey Hall of Fame is the icing on the cake on a career that I was very proud of, put a lot of work into and really excited about that.

"Then I got moved up to director of player development and when the situation with Tocc arose and Sully and Jim (Rutherford) called me, it didn't really take me long to make the decision. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got and I'm just looking forward to this opportunity of working with Sully."

"I would like to thank Rick Tocchet for his invaluable contributions to our team over the last three years," Rutherford said. "Rick has done a terrific job for us, and we wish him the best as a head coach. Mark Recchi will be a tremendous addition to our coaching staff. His recent history with the organization, especially with our players and coaches, and his incredible knowledge of the game, will help to ensure a seamless transition. It's only fitting that he starts his NHL coaching career the same year he is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame."

Recchi, 49, will assume the duties handled by Tocchet, which include running the team's forwards and working closely with Sullivan on the power play. Recchi joins assistant coach Jacques Martin, recently-appointed goaltending coach Mike Buckley, and video coach Andy Saucier, on Sullivan's staff.

A Kamloops, British Columbia native, Recchi had spent the past three seasons as the Penguins' player development coach, and had recently been promoted to director of player development. On June 26, Recchi was elected to the Hall of Fame as one of seven members of the Class of 2017 that will be enshrined on Nov. 13, 2017, a day off for the Penguins. The NHL's 12th all-time leading scorer with 1,533 points in 1,652 games, Recchi is a five-time Stanley Cup champion. He won three times as a player, first with Pittsburgh in 1991, then with Carolina (2006) and Boston (2011). Recchi has added his name to the Cup two more times as an executive with the Penguins the last two seasons. Recchi is one of just 10 players from the modern era to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams. As a Bruin in 2011, Recchi became the oldest player to ever score in the Stanley Cup Final, as his Cup Final point total led Boston that year.

Nicknamed 'The Wrecking Ball,' Recchi solidified a spot on the Penguins' All-Time Team by producing 385 points (154G-231A) in 389 career appearances with Pittsburgh. He was the leading scorer on the '91 Stanley Cup championship team with 113 points in the regular season. A seven-time NHL All-Star, including the '91 season with Pittsburgh, Recchi joined the 500-goal club as a Penguin, scoring the milestone marker against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 26, 2007. In addition to playing for Pittsburgh, Recchi suited up for Philadelphia, Montreal, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Boston. Pittsburgh originally chose Recchi in the fourth round (67th overall) of the 1988 NHL Draft.

 

 

Kevin Stevens Returns to Pittsburgh

For former NHLer Kevin Stevens, Boston will always be home. But Pittsburgh is a close second. 

"There's just something about here," Stevens said. "I love coming back here. I love Boston, but when I come back here I feel very relaxed, very at home. It's just one of those feelings.

"There are great people here. I've always loved the people here. It's a great place to call my second home."

Stevens, who played 10 seasons for Pittsburgh - as well as several more seasons working in the organization's hockey operations department - returned to his adopted city for Pittsburgh's 2017 Development Camp, which was held at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Stevens, 52, is a longtime friend of former Pens teammate/roommate and current director of player development for Pittsburgh Mark Recchi. It was Recchi whom invited Stevens to join the team for the on- and off-ice sessions.

"I talk to 'Rex' a lot. He's running the thing. He asked me if I wanted to come down and be a part of it," Stevens said. "I love the Penguins organization and everything about (Pittsburgh). Whenever I get a chance to come back here and be a part of the Penguins and the organization and see the guys, it's great.

"When he asked me I was more than willing."

Stevens played 15 years in the NHL with Pittsburgh, Boston, Los Angeles, New York Rangers and Philadelphia. He appeared in 874 career games while scoring 726 points (329G-397A). Stevens also won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 1991-92 and compiled 106 playoff points (46G-60A) in 103 career contests.

So the Brockton, Massachusetts native has a wealth of experience and wisdom to share with the group of 41 prospects in attendance for the camp on how to be a professional in the sport.

"It's just about those guys getting here and adapting to a pro-type of practice and the pro style," Stevens said. "It's a good learning experience to come here. They're not getting killed out there. They're out there at a fast pace, learning the pro game and it gives them all an opportunity to see what this organization is all about, the people that work here, the coaches. It's a great opportunity."

Stevens, who is affectionately referred to by his nickname "Artie," had his best NHL seasons while wearing a Pens uniform. In four seasons from 1990-94 he recorded two 50-goal seasons, four 40-goal seasons and two 110-plus point seasons. He notched 54 goals and 123 points in 1991-92 while helping the Pens win their second of back-to-back Stanley Cups.

"The '91-92 team was a pretty special team," Stevens said. "It was just a great bunch of guys. When you win championships you always remember those guys, remember those teams, remember how you did it, remember all the close calls and that you almost didn't win it.

"I miss those guys. They're all a part of my life. It's been a long time. And it feels like yesterday. I can remember everything that happened in every game. It's always nice to think about that stuff when you come back here."

Stevens has had a few off-ice issues during his career, including a stint with the NHL's Substance Abuse Program. But after some soul searching he has found himself in a good place.

"I feel good now. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at in my life," he said. "It took a little while. I've had some ups and downs, but I'm here. I'm happy to be here. Whatever I can do to help. I'm just taking it a day at a time, which is good for me."

And now that Stevens is once again dipping his toe into working in hockey, he's considering getting more involved in the future.

"I love hockey. It's been a big part of my life," Steven said. "I'm just going to take it a day at a time and see what happens. I'd love to work in hockey. I'm not sure where.

Stevens added with a laugh: "But it's the only thing I really know. So if I'm going to work I better get back in hockey, or else I'm not going to work." 

Brian Dumoulin Resigns

Brian Dumoulin was in Toronto, prepared to attend his arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday morning. Fortunately, he didn't have to go. That's because he and the Penguins agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension that has an average annual value of $4.1 million.

"I'm excited," Dumoulin said over the phone on Monday afternoon. "It's been in the works for a long time, and for it to be done now and not have to worry about it and focus on just playing the game and playing hockey, it's exciting. It's something that I wanted, which was a long-term deal with Pittsburgh. I couldn't be happier and more excited."

Dumoulin said that while the process was a lengthy one and it did go down to the wire, he pointed out they had a shorter summer than most to get the deal worked out. At the end of the day, there's nowhere else he'd rather be than Pittsburgh.

"It's been awesome," he said. "Whether it be how the organization treats us or the people that they bring into the organization, everything is top notch. And the fans in the community, it's amazing. I don't have to tell them or tell you how passionate they are about their sports. It seems like every time you drive around someone's either wearing a Penguins jersey, a Steelers jersey or a Pirates jersey. Everywhere you see is black and gold and it's cool to be a part of this city."

It can be easy to forget that Dumoulin didn't actually start his pro career here. The Boston College product was originally taken by Carolina in the second round (51^st overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft, and got traded to Pittsburgh in 2012 by then-Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford as part of the Jordan Staal-Brandon Sutter deal. It's certainly worked out, as five years later, both Dumoulin and current Penguins GM Rutherford are two-time Stanley Cup champions here in Pittsburgh.

"It's funny just because Jim Rutherford was with me in Carolina and now we're both in Pittsburgh," Dumoulin said with a laugh. "It worked out, obviously, having us both here and being able to win two championships with this group. It's been special and I'm very thankful for that."

Dumoulin has been a huge part of both playoff runs, playing all 49 postseason games during that span and recording 14 points (3G-11A). In 2016, Dumoulin partnered up with Kris Letang on the top pairing for most of that spring. And in 2017, Dumoulin stepped up with Letang out after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in his neck. Dumoulin averaged 21:59 minutes, the most of any Penguins skater, and they weren't easy minutes - especially against some of Pittsburgh's physical opponents like Columbus and Washington.

The big, mobile, puck-moving defenseman quietly provided stability and consistency to a blue line that was not only missing Letang, but also dealt with injuries to Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley as well along with its fair share of adversity. Not to mention Dumoulin was playing with one of his own, a broken hand that has since healed. That being said, another thing that can be easy to forget is just how young Dumoulin is. While he's grown so much as a player over these last couple of runs - especially this most recent one - at just 25 years old he knows he's got room to keep getting better.

"I think both years I've definitely improved," he said. "I still know that I can keep improving throughout these years and I still feel like there's a lot of good hockey in front of me. I'm excited to have that long-term deal and be able to get better and work with Pittsburgh to continue to try and improve my game."

Penguins - July News Round Up

The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Josh Archibald and defenseman Derrick Pouliot, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. Both players signed one-way contracts. Archibald's contract is a two-year deal that contains an average annual value of $675,000. Pouliot inked a one-year deal with an average annual value of $800,000. Both players have contributed to Pittsburgh's back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs. Archibald skated in four playoff games in 2017. One of Archibald's appearances this spring was in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against Nashville, which means his name will be engraved on the Cup. Pouliot appeared in two clutch wins in the Washington series during the 2016 Cup run, and earned a day with the Stanley Cup that year. Archibald and Pouliot were also members of the "Black Aces" practice squad. Pouliot, 23, has 67 NHL games under his belt with 14 points (2G-12A). He broke into the NHL in December 2014 and scored on the first shot of his NHL career. He finished the 2014-15 season with 34 games played, and seven points (2G-5A), earning him the Pens' Rookie of the Year award. He has seven assists in 33 games with Pittsburgh over the previous two seasons.

A 6-foot-0, 208-pound Estevan, Saskatchewan native, Pouliot has played three seasons for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, accumulating 70 points (20G-50A) in 114 games. His combined 47 points (13G-34A) and plus-17 in 2014-15 and '15-16 earned him back-to-back AHL All-Star Game selections.  The eighth pick overall pick by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft, Pouliot, played four seasons with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Winterhawks won the WHL championship in 2013 behind Pouliot's 20 points (4G-16A) in 21 playoff games. In 2013-14, he was named the CHL Defenseman of the Year, and recorded the most assists (27) and second-most points (32) in the WHL playoffs while serving as the alternate captain.

Archibald, a 24-year-old native of Regina, Saskatchewan, played 10 games at the NHL level this past season, registering three goals and a plus-4, after playing in one game in the 2015-16 season. The 5-foot-10, 176-pound forward had a memorable outing in his first NHL game this season on February 11, 2017 against the Arizona Coyotes, scoring two goals, including his first NHL goal to open the scoring. He also added a shorthanded tally in the third period. Archibald, a sixth-round pick (174th overall) of the Penguins in 2011, spent most of the 2016-17 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League, and put up a career-high 29 points (16G-13A) in 61 games played. He has improved his point total every year he has played in WBS. Archibald came to WBS following a three-year college career at Nebraska-Omaha, where he put up 94 points (58G-36A) over 112 games in three seasons. Following his final season at Omaha (2013-14), Archibald was named NCHC Player of the Year and Forward of the Year, an NCAA First-Team All-American and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey. He also represented the United States at the 2012 World Junior Championship, appearing in six games and registering two assists.  

Niemi - The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed goaltender Antti Niemi to a one-year contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. The deal has an average annual value of $700,000. Niemi, 33, adds a veteran presence for the Penguins to pair in goal with Matt Murray. Like Murray, Niemi has been the starting netminder for a Stanley Cup champion, having won all 16 playoff games for the Chicago Blackhawks during their 2010 championship run.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Finnish product is a veteran of eight-plus NHL seasons, having spent the past two years with the Dallas Stars following successful runs between the pipes for Chicago and the San Jose Sharks before his stint in the Lonestar State. A native of Vantaa, Finland, the left-handed-catching Niemi has played in 423 career regular-season games, compiling an overall record of 227-125-51 to accompany his 2.49 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and 35 shutouts. Niemi has four 30-win seasons on his resume.

Since jumping to the NHL on a full-time basis with the Blackhawks in the 2009-10 campaign, Niemi has won 226 regular-season games, the fifth-highest total in the entire league during that span. His 420 games played and 404 starts during that same period rank seventh and eighth, respectively. Niemi, who joined the Blackhawks organization as an undrafted free agent following a lengthy career in the Finnish League, has gone 36-29 in 67 career NHL playoff contests. One year after leading the Blackhawks to the 2010 Stanley Cup title, he backstopped the San Jose Sharks to a Western Conference Final appearance in his first year with that team. 

During his two years in Dallas, Niemi split goaltending duties with Kari Lehtonen. Two seasons ago, Niemi saw the majority of the action, winning 25 games in 43 starts as the Stars finished with the second-best record in the NHL, and the top record in the Western Conference. Niemi was teammates with Olli Maatta on the 2014 Finnish Olympic Team that won a bronze medal at the Sochi Games.

 

Schultz - The Penguins have re-signed defenseman Justin Schultz to a three-year contract, it was announced by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford. The deal runs through the 2019-20 campaign, and it carries an average annual value of $5.5 million. 

"Justin plays a very important role for our team," Rutherford said. "It's very good to know that he will be returning to us for the next three years." 

Schultz, 26, was a key catalyst in Pittsburgh's second-straight Stanley Cup win, providing a huge boost to an injury-ravaged defensive group by producing a career year. He ended the regular season tied for seventh among all NHL defensemen with a personal-best 51 points (12G-39A) and a plus-27 in 78 games. His plus-minus total was sixth-best among NHL blueliners, while his offensive numbers represented career highs across the board. Schultz emerged as an offensive force during the month of December, when he led all NHL defensemen with six goals and 18 points, becoming the first Pittsburgh D-man since Sergei Zubov in March of 1996 to collect at least 17 points in a calendar month. Only teammates Evgeni Malkin (21 points) and Sidney Crosby (20 points) had more points among all NHL players in December. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound Schultz continued his stellar play right into the postseason, when his 13 points (4G-9A) in 21 contests led the team and placed third (tied) among all league blueliners. His two game-winning goals and seven power-play points led all defenders in the postseason. Schultz opened the scoring in the Pens' pivotal 6-0 victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Three nights later, Patric Hornqvist scored the Cup-clinching goal by banking a Schultz shot that had missed the cage into the net for the winning marker in the decisive Game 6. Pittsburgh acquired the Kelowna, British Columbia native from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2016 third-round draft pick in February of 2016. Since migrating east to Pittsburgh, Schultz has totalled 59 points (13G-46A) in 96 regular-season games, and has added 17 points (4G-13A) in 36 postseason games. Schultz has skated in 344 career NHL games with Pittsburgh and Edmonton, scoring 41 goals, 119 assists and 160 points. He made the NHL's All-Rookie Team with the Oilers in 2012-13. Schultz was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the second-round (43rd overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He elected to not sign with the Ducks, and instead joined the Oilers as a free agent after a four-year collegiate career at Wisconsin.