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Penguins Notebook: Shero promotes Botterill to assistant GM
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RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Penguins didn't have to look long, or far, for a new assistant general manager.
Just one day after assistant GM Chuck Fletcher accepted an offer to become GM of the Minnesota Wild -- and only minutes after Fletcher was to be formally introduced in that role -- Jason Botterill was promoted to fill his position with the Penguins.
Botterill, 33, had been the team's director of hockey administration, with responsibility for managing the salary cap, for the past two years.
General manager Ray Shero described Botterill as "one of the bright young executives in hockey" and credited him with making "major contributions to the success we have had the past two seasons."
Shero added that "we expect a seamless transition, because Jason has worked closely with Chuck and me in all facets of hockey operations."
Botterill played eight seasons of pro hockey, scouted for the Dallas Stars and worked with NHL Central Registry before joining the Penguins.
Defenseman Kris Letang, who took a cross-check in the mouth from Carolina's Ryan Bayda late in the Penguins' 7-4 victory in Game 2 Thursday night, yesterday declined to say if he felt Bayda deserved to be suspended.
"I'm not the guy who gives suspensions," Letang said. "There are people who are hired for that."
And those people determined that, even though Bayda received a match penalty -- which includes an automatic suspension, pending a review of the incident in question by the league -- he should not have to miss any additional playing time.
Bayda was fined $2,500, the maximum allowed by the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, but will be eligible to dress for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final at 7:38 p.m. today at the RBC Center.
Pascal Dupuis, a fourth-line left winger, lost his spot in the lineup during the second round because of circumstances that were completely beyond his control: Sergei Gonchar was injured, and Penguins coach Dan Byslma took to dressing seven defensemen -- one more than usual -- as insurance.
That reduced the number of forwards in uniform to 11, and Dupuis was the odd-man out.
But rather than dwell on his bad luck, Dupuis has opted to focus on what he could, or should, have done to make himself an untouchable.
"If I do great stuff, he's not going to [take] me out," Dupuis said.
"So, obviously, I was not playing [at that level]."
Dupuis is the apparent front-runner to get back in uniform if or when Bylsma opts to go with six defensemen.
The Penguins held an optional practice at Mellon Arena before the team flew to North Carolina yesterday afternoon. Sixteen players went on the ice for the practice, with the most prominent being wingers Tyler Kennedy and Craig Adams, along with defensemen Hal Gill and Philippe Boucher. ... Sidney Crosby, on a potentially dangerous high stick from Carolina center Matt Cullen in Game 2: "I'm just happy it kind of missed me, mostly got my visor. That was a pretty good whack, for sure."
First Published May 23, 2009 12:00 am
