I’ll say this for former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. He never fails to make headlines.
In a move that’s perhaps as stunning as his sudden resignation from the Pens back on January 27, Rutherford was hired today to serve as the Canucks’ president of hockey operations. He’ll also step in as interim GM while leading a search for a full-time GM to replace the recently fired Jim Benning.
In some ways similar to the black and gold when JR took over back in 2014, the Canucks possess a talented young core with the likes of Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Pittsburgh native J.T. Miller but have fallen far short of expectations. It’ll be up to the 72-year-old exec and recently hired coach Bruce Boudreau to right the ship. A task the three-time Cup winner and Hockey Hall of Famer clearly relishes.
“It is an honor to join the Vancouver Canucks and to lead an NHL team in Canada,” Rutherford said. “I would like to thank [owner] Francesco [Aquilini] and the Aquilini family for the opportunity. The Canucks have an exciting young group of players, and I look forward to building a plan that will take this team to the next level and excite Canucks fans everywhere.”
Speaking of Canucks fans, they’re in for a treat. Win, lose or draw, things sure won’t be dull in the southwest corner of British Columbia with JR stirring the pot.
Sale Approved
In other noteworthy news, the NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of our Penguins to the Fenway Sports Group today.
Current owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle will continue to hold a stake in the team.
“As the Penguins enter a new chapter, I will continue to be as active and engaged with the team as I always have been and look forward to continuing to build on our success with our incoming partners at FSG,” Mario said. “They have an organizational philosophy that mirrors the approach that worked so well for Ron and me over the past 22 years.”
In addition to the Pens, Fenway Sports Group owns the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, Liverpool of the English Premier League, Roush Fenway Racing of NASCAR and Fenway Park. American businessman and investor John Henry is FSG’s principal owner.
Hey Rick,
Did Santa Claus set the table for my wishes to come true?
I can’t help but think so. My dream of getting rid of Matheson’s contract, at the very least, may have come true.
Do you think Hextall will try to work a deal to send Matheson, Zucker and Simon to Vancouver for Vasily Podokolzin and Quinn Hughes? I certainly would try.
Actually Rick,
If JR traded Hallander and 1st round for Kapanen, I am thinking Matheson or Zucker for their 1st round pick in this coming drat and Podokolzn. I would prefer to trade Matheson’s contract first, but it would probably be a great fit for Zucker to go back out west and our Pens could get at least 1 top 10 pick in the draft.
The Other Rick
I think the Pens situation was a little different than the Vancouver situation. Pens had a core of players whose careers
began to wind down and in a win at all cost mode.
I think you’ll probably see them looking to move Miller, Pearson, Myers, Ekman-Larsson, Schenn, Sutter etc…etc…. They’ll never trade Hughes!! You may be able to get Garland but I have no use for another midget forward. No one on their team really piques my interest except for a few players they won’t trade – Horvat being one of those and
with Malkin ready to return and the addition of Carter last season I don’t see where he fits. I like Myers size
but he plays like he’s 5’10 not 6’8 so that’s a “No” for me.
A better trade would be Letang – Rust – Simon. I love Rusty but he can’t seem to stay healthy. I think everyone
knows how I feel about Leturnover. Quick question: How can you only have (1) goal playing just under 26 minutes
per game and playing with the PP’s first unit. He has the worst shooting percentage on the team.
GO PENS
Hey Mike,
Part of my comment is tongue in cheek over how bad JR decimated the Pens over the last several seasons. First, I don’t think even JR is that messed up to trade Matheson for Hughes. And with Ekman – Larson and Hughes both making over $7 million, I don’t see them trading for Matheson at all.
Interesting you mention Letang, apparently at least 1 publication is putting the RHD on their list of most likely trade baits, going so far as to suggest Letang and Fleury to Edmonton to help push them over the top. I must admit that idea has piqued my curiosity but I am not sure what I would ask. In the recent past, Raphael Lavoie would have topped my list but he is more stagnant than Poulin.
I too like Rust but with him in a contract year and as you noted struggling to find the back of the. net. He seems the ideal trade candidate. We should be able to get decent return. In fact, with JRs proclivity of going after players from his former teams, if Vancouver were in the hunt for a playoff spot, I would think they would be the first team I would start looking to trade Rust.
With Vancouver sitting with the 7th worst record right now, I would consider pretty much any player as an attempt to get JR to sell off another 1st round pick, but this time to Pgh. I would really love to get 1 or more top 10 picks this coming draft class. We all know how JR loves to over pay.