Penguins Rutherford Deserves Praise

I’ll be honest. Jim Rutherford wasn’t my choice to succeed Ray Shero as the Penguins’ general manager back in the summer of 2014.

I’m not sure he was the Pens’ top choice, either. The club was considering associate GM Jason Botterill and analyst Pierre McGuire, among others, before JR emerged—seemingly from left field—to win the job.

Now? It’s hard to imagine anyone doing better work. Especially given the tangle of issues he inherited.

There were rough patches, for sure. Following some good moves early on, I thought Rutherford stumbled as the 2014-15 season progressed. Culminating in the embarrassing salary-cap snafu that prohibited the Pens from using a full complement of defensemen. And the controversial (and wildly unpopular) Simon Despres-for-Ben Lovejoy deal.

Combined with JR’s spotty record toward the end of his tenure with the Hurricanes? I viewed the Beeton, Ontario native as part of the problem rather than part of the solution. An opinion hardly swayed when his former Carolina boss, Peter Karmanos, ripped JR last summer.

The embattled GM took the high road. Instead of responding to the scathing critique, he focused on improving the team. In an under-the-radar hiring that would reap enormous dividends, he replaced highly regarded John Hynes—who’d left for the greener pastures of New Jersey—with Mike Sullivan as the head coach at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

There were plenty of on-ice defections to contend with, too. No fewer than seven skaters, including mainstay defenseman Paul Martin, bolted on the first day of free agency. Not to mention the crushing weight of unfulfilled Cup expectations and the pressure to produce…or else.

Rutherford met the challenge head-on. He shook the hockey world by acquiring All-Star sniper Phil Kessel in a megadeal with Toronto. Refusing to part with plum prospect Derrick Pouliot, he somehow convinced counterpart Dave Nonis to pick up the tab for $1.2M of Kessel’s hefty annual salary.

JR’s overhaul had just begun. On July 28, he parlayed Brandon Sutter into third-line center Nick Bonino and defenseman Adam Clendening. Hours later he inked versatile free-agent Eric Fehr to a three-year deal.

In August, Rutherford really hit his stride. Raising eyebrows, he signed greybeard Matt Cullen, who’s been invaluable both on the ice and in a leadership role.

When the Pens sputtered out of the gate, Rutherford again acted boldly. On December 12, he dismissed coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with the fiery and intense Sullivan, who’d guided the Baby Pens to a smokin’ 18-5 start.

“In fairness to our coach, part of this falls on me because I didn’t get the defensemen that was necessary to have more movement from the back end,” Rutherford explained, refusing to use Johnston as a scapegoat.

Backing up words with deeds, JR then traded the immovable object—former Cup hero Rob Scuderi—to Chicago for mobile defenseman Trevor Daley. The change ignited the Pens’ near-glacial transition game.

A month later he swung another savvy trade. In a swap of underachieving left wings, Rutherford shipped snake-bitten David Perron to Anaheim for Carl Hagelin. Tailor-made for the Pens’ puck-possession style, the speedy Swede immediately began to create space for high-profile linemates Kessel and Evgeni Malkin.

When injuries rocked the forward ranks, JR refused to go with retreads. Instead, he promoted a passel of kids from Wilkes-Barre. The erstwhile Baby Pens injected speed, tenacity and hunger, not to mention an underpinning of remarkably effective two-way play.

Displaying prudence and restraint, Rutherford stayed within himself (and a tight budget) at the trade deadline by acquiring reclamation project Justin Schultz from Edmonton for a third-round pick. Fast and fluid, the former University of Wisconsin star’s been a terrific addition to a suddenly deep and capable defensive corps.

Talk about pushing all the right buttons.

I’ll admit. It’s easy to jump on JR’s bandwagon with the team riding high. But my new-found admiration for the 67-year-old executive goes beyond the team’s present success.

Rutherford’s accomplished something I thought impossible. In one short season, he turned the team’s outlook from dismal to bright. I’d written on numerous occasions that I thought the Pens’ Stanley Cup window had closed.

But now…?

I’ve converted from skeptic to believer. JR’s performance is a big reason why.

Penguins Sign Pair

The Pens signed two more draftees from the Ray Shero-era on Tuesday. Forwards Teddy Blueger and Jake Guentzel signed amateur tryout contracts and will join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the AHL stretch run.

A skilled 5’10” 175-pound forward, Guentzel (3rd round, 2013) starred at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he tallied 19 goals and 46 points in 35 games during his junior season. Guentzel, 21, joins former collegiate teammate Josh Archibald on the Baby Pens.

In addition to the ATO, Blueger, 21, signed a two-year, two-way entry contract. A native of Riga, Latvia, the 6’0″ 185-pound center was selected by the Pens in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2012 Entry Draft. He scored 11 goals in 41 games as a senior with Minnesota State U (Mankato) this season.