Following two masterful seasons at the Penguins’ helm, GM Jim Rutherford’s performance slipped in 2017-18. Indeed, he appeared to have entered the offseason in a sort of celebratory state of inertia following the Pens’ back-to-back Cups. Very human and perfectly understandable.
Too, with pricey new contracts to negotiate for pending RFAs Brian Dumoulin, Matt Murray, Justin Schultz and Conor Sheary, JR could do little but bid adieu to many of the battle-hardened veterans who helped capture the Cups.
As a result, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Trevor Daley, Ron Hainsey and Chris Kunitz signed with other teams. Mark Streit retired. Franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury departed for Vegas in the expansion draft.
Needless to say, the Pens had hemorrhaged a huge chunk of grit, character and leadership.
Rutherford planned to fill some of the slots from within the organization. His few moves over the summer to bring in outside talent raised eyebrows. On June 23, he peddled third-line center-in-waiting Oskar Sundqvist and a first-round pick to St. Louis for heavyweight hit man Ryan Reaves and a second-round pick.
Rather than re-sign Hainsey, who agreed to a two-year deal with Toronto for $6 million, JR gambled on journeyman Matt Hunwick, inking him for 3 years at $6.75 million. Forced to scour the bargain-basement bin, he also imported retread Greg McKegg to fill one of the bottom-six center slots and former Cup-winning goalie Antti Niemi to back up Murray, a noble but ultimately disastrous experiment that lasted all of three games.
Hardly inspired work, although to be fair he faced severe cap restrictions.
Taking their cue from GMJR, the Pens slogged through the first three months of the season at a pedestrian 19-18-3 clip.
Rutherford sprang to action. On October 21, he dealt grinder Scott Wilson to Detroit for Riley Sheahan, no world-beater but a decided upgrade over McKegg. Two months later he acquired the “Big Rig,” Jamie Oleksiak, a physical 6’7” defenseman who could play either side.
Suddenly, the Pens rediscovered their mojo. Starting with a 5-1 shellacking of the Flyers on January 2, the team ripped through a 21-game stretch at an incendiary 16-4-1 clip. Unthinkable months earlier, a three-peat suddenly seemed a real possibility.
Then Rutherford reached for the brass ring…literally. In the mega-deal of the trade deadline he acquired Derick Brassard and a third-round pick from Ottawa for defensive stalwart Ian Cole, goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson and first- and third-round picks.
In a related move, Reaves was air-mailed to Vegas along with a fourth-round pick for what amounted to cap relief.
The impetus for the trades was sound and even admirable. Although Sheahan was emerging, Rutherford felt the club needed to be deeper down the middle. Brassard was a solid, skilled, two-way center who could kick in on the power play. Nicknamed “Big Game Brass,” he was a clutch playoff performer as well.
JR no doubt had dreams of a revamped HBK Line dancing in his head.
What he got was something less. Brassard displayed little chemistry with new linemates Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel, nor did he embrace his third-line role. In hindsight, the Pens got Brassard precisely when his play began to slip.
A gamble that decidedly didn’t pay off.
Worse, Cole’s departure left a gaping hole on the blue line. Coach Mike Sullivan tried unsuccessfully to plug the gap with Hunwick before settling on spare d-man Chad Ruhwedel.
Likewise, the Pens couldn’t replace Reaves’ muscle and swagger. He and Cole likely would’ve come in handy during the black-and-gold’s second-round loss to the rugged Capitals.
JR’s grade? An A for effort. But in terms of execution…C+.
TRADES
| Date | Team | Acquired | Traded | Rating |
| Jun. 23, 2017 | St. Louis | Ryan Reaves (rw), 2nd round pick in 2017 | Oskar Sundqvist (c), 1st round pick 2017 | C+: Sullivan never gave Reavo a chance. |
| Oct. 21, 2017 | Detroit | Riley Sheahan (c) | Scott Wilson (lw), 3rd round pick in 2018 | B: Sheahan played well until bumped aside by Brassard. |
| Dec. 19, 2017 | Arizona | Michael Leighton (g), 4th round pick in 2019 | Josh Archibald (rw), Sean Maguire (g), 6th round pick in 2019 | B: Archibald fast and feisty, but salary dump paved the way to acquire Oleksiak. |
| Dec. 19, 2017 | Dallas | Jamie Oleksiak (ld) | 4th round (conditional) pick in 2019 | B+: “Big Rig” and Cole formed a solid third pair until the latter was dealt. |
| Feb. 23, 2018 | Ottawa | Derick Brassard (c), Vincent Dunn (c), 3rd round pick in 2018 | Ian Cole (ld), Filip Gustavsson (g), 1st round pick in 2018, 3rd round pick in 2019 | C-: Great on paper, not-so-hot on the ice. |
| Feb. 23, 2018 | Vegas | Tobias Lindberg (lw) | Ryan Reaves (rw), 4th round pick in 2018 | F: Salary dump stripped Pens of muscle and swagger. |
| Feb. 26, 2018 | Carolina | Josh Jooris (c) | Greg McKegg (c) | C: Swap of spare parts. |
FREE AGENT/WAIVERS
| Date | Old Team | Free Agent | Contract | Rating |
| Jun. 22, 2017 | Pittsburgh | Chad Ruhwedel (rd) | 2 years, $650 thousand (AAV) | B-: Depth defender assumed expanded role in playoffs. |
| Jun. 30, 2017 | Baby Pens (AHL) | Garrett Wilson (lw) | 2 years, $650 (AAV) | C+: Emerged as gritty role player for Pens in 2018-19 |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Dallas | Antti Niemi (g) | 1 year, $700 thousand | F: Disastrous signing. |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Toronto | Matt Hunwick (ld) | 3 years, $2.25 million (AAV) | F: See Niemi. |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Baby Pens (AHL) | Casey DeSmith (g) | 2 years, $675 thousand (AAV) | A-: Solid backup. |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Tampa Bay | Greg McKegg (c) | 1 year, $650 thousand | C-: “Kegger” went dry. |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Pittsburgh | Tom Sestito (lw) | 1 year, $650 thousand | C+: Popular tough guy protected Baby Pens. |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Los Angeles | Zach Trotman (rd) | 1 year, $650 thousand | B-: Dependable depth d-man. |
| Jul. 1, 2017 | Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC) | Adam Johnson (c) | 2 years, $925 thousand (AAV) | C+: Speedy forward never got a chance to shine. |
| Aug. 21, 2017 | Pittsburgh | Jean-Sebastien Dea (c) | 1 year, $650 thousand | C+: AHL depth forward. |
| Oct. 24, 2017 | Pittsburgh | Antti Niemi (g) | Claimed on waivers by Florida | A: Addition by subtraction. |
OVERALL GRADE: C+
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