In 1957, way before the Steelers began winning Super Bowls, Art Rooney Sr. hired Raymond “Buddy” Parker to serve as head coach and de facto GM. The rangy Texan had led the Detroit Lions to two NFL titles and a third appearance in the championship game and was considered one of the top coaches in the game.
Parker had little use for rookies and inexperienced players and immediately began to deal draft picks for proven veterans in order to make the Steelers competitive right away. And the previously woebegone “Rooney U” did improve, going 7-4-1 in 1958, 9-5 in 1962 and 7-4-3 the following season, although they never finished higher than second place.
Heading into the 1965 season the team was aging and there were few young players ready to step in. That didn’t dissuade Parker, who attempted to deal yet another draft pick for a veteran. The trade was vetoed by Dan Rooney, who’d taken over operations of the club. Parker quit in a huff.
An admittedly long-winded intro, but one meant to draw a comparison to now former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. (Seems weird to write that.) Maybe not apples to apples…under JR’s stewardship we won back-to-back Cups and made the postseason each year. But two emotional, driven men who operated in much the same manner. And perhaps resigned under similar circumstances, although Rutherford’s appeared to be handled with much more class and dignity. (Parker was said to have spouted, “I can’t win with this bunch of stiffs,” as a parting shot.)
Still, comments Rutherford made to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic…“I don’t think it serves anybody well (to share what happened)”, and Ken Campbell of The Hockey News…“I’m not going to get into that (why I didn’t finish out my contract)” hint that something triggered his sudden resignation.
Speculation, of course, is rampant. The most prominent rumor? JR wanted trade a core player or perhaps a top prospect/draft pick and was told no by ownership. Then there’s the lack of activity concerning a contract extension. Others suggest a rift between JR and Mike Sullivan, a notion that was quickly debunked during a rather emotional interview with the Pens’ coach in which he appeared shaken and saddened by his friend’s resignation.
The truth of what caused JR to walk away from the team he served so passionately and capably for seven-plus seasons may eventually come out in the wash. Then again, we may never know.
Back when there wasn’t a whole lot to write about in November and December, I focused a lot on Rutherford. I rated his trades and free-agent signings. None too happy with some of his recent off-season moves, I was consistently critical. I thought he was chasing his tail…that he’d lost his fastball.
Still, few GMs…if any…did better work than Rutherford during the Cup seasons, starting with the blockbuster Phil Kessel swap in the summer of 2015. I still remember how excited I got when the trade was announced.
In rapid succession, he brought in veterans Nick Bonino, Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen and added Trevor Daley, Carl Hagelin and Justin Schultz through incredibly astute in-season trades. The newcomers fit so seamlessly, it’s almost as if GMJR consulted a seer prior to making the deals.
Don’t forget his hiring of Sullivan, who hadn’t held a head coaching job in the NHL in 10 years. The Pens were absolutely stone-cold dead in the water when JR promoted “Sully” from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Preaching hard work and accountability, the hard-driving skipper transformed a moribund, dispirited crew into Stanley Cup champions.
I thought Rutherford did even better work in 2016-17. With Kris Letang out for the playoffs, JR resisted the urge to peddle franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury…for all intents and purposes a lame duck with Matt Murray emerging and the expansion draft looming…for top-end defensive help, insisting the team needed two quality goalies.
JR proved to be prescient. No way we win that second Cup without “Flower.” Or the player he acquired to fill Letang’s skates, Ron Hainsey.
Back to the present. Maybe it was time for JR to go, a notion he shared with the Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabio. The Pens will face many challenges as soon as the summer of 2022, when the contracts of Letang and Evgeni Malkin expire. A lengthy and perhaps painful rebuild is sure to follow.
Maybe a challenge for a younger man. Still, whoever replaces the plucky GM will be hard-pressed to match the passion, zeal and professionalism Rutherford brought to the job. Not to mention his honesty, color and flair for the big trade.
Best wishes, JR. And thanks for the memories.
Hey Rick,
Long time every post reader, infrequent commenter. I appreciate everything that JR did. People have no idea how hard it is to win a Stanley Cup and when things don’t go perfect, they blame the Coach or GM. I will say it once again, the Penguins won two Cups with JR and Sullivan. Just because they haven’t won one in the last 4 years doesn’t mean they aren’t doing a solid job.
I don’t know what transpired with Letang, whether JR wanted him gone or the ownership wanted him gone. Someone wanted Letang gone and that is enough for me.
From the LOL file, Is it my imagination or did JR take a parting shot at tOR on the way out the door and signed another small defenseman.
Nice to see you again Phil and read your wise comments.
All the best to you and your family.
jim
Hey Phil,
I had the same thought when I saw that signing.
Hi Rick, Jim and tOR,
What I wish is that Sullivan had quit. I’d like to think there’s enough talent on this team to make a decent run at another cup, except the coaching/gameplan is same old, same old. Sullivan is still coaching for the team he wants instead of the team he has. Old habits die hard, I guess.
Every team in the league has seen their act for the past five years, and most of them defend this team the same way, pressure the breakout, clog the neutral zone, collapse on the net in their d-zone. Rinse, repeat.
The Pens apparently have no counter for that. Their “speed,” obviously, isn’t helping them. (When Boston outskates you, you aren’t as fast as you think you are.) They rarely see any open ice and can’t seem to manufacture any. Other than a couple breakaways, I can’t remember the last time I saw one of our guys have an open shot from the circle. They’ve become a mostly perimeter team, and their shot totals and the power play bear this out.
Yes, the D has been beat to hell, and that’s unfortunate. And, honestly, some players are simply stuck in neutral. There’s nothing can be done about the former except next man up, but there can be something done about the latter. This team is not, at present, well coached. They need a new gameplan and they need it fast.
Unfortunately, it appears Sully isn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future, and this team will continue to be the worse for it.
— 55
Spot on 55, got nothing to add
Hey 55 ,
It has been a long time buddy.
I can not disagree with you about Sully.You are dead on .100%!
But the real issue goes way above Jimmy. The blame for this
Current mess has to rest at the feet of ownership.
Mario’s team is not a contender and now we watch the side show
unfold. If this team had any leadership they would pull the trigger
on a rebuild while they still can.That means explore all options
and see what they can get in return.
Every option..If you don’t ask you’ll never know the answer!
Eventually this will happen 55.
Great to see you again…
Jim
Hi Rick
Good to see you.
I was surprised when Ray Sheri was let go and now I feel the same way about Jimmy. Never saw this one coming .
To me it does not matter the reason he was let go, it is a sign of the times… Job security is a thing of the past…
I wish him well…Thank you for recognizing his past services to the Penguins organization.
Whoever the new general manager is, he will have very limited resources to work with and changing the general manager will not make this team win the 2022 Cup.
That is the sad truth…
Cheers
Jim
Hello Jim,
Always so good to hear from you, my friend, and read what you have to say. Sorry I haven’t been responding to your comments…I’ve just been super busy keeping up with events. Like you, I didn’t see this coming at all.
For the record, Rutherford resigned and it doesn’t appear that he was “encouraged” to do so. It appears to have been his decision and his alone.
I love the way you summed things up…”changing the general manager will not make this team win the 2022 Cup.”
How true!
I hope all is well!
Rick
Check you e mail my friend. I sent you a private comment.
Jim
Hey Rick,
Good stuff! as usual.
As I said yesterday, not going to try and deny 2 Cups, but that is in the past and the mess JR left in his wake will live on for quite a long time.
However, did you see what Mike wrote yesterday about a former player suggesting to him that it was the other way around, management wanted Letang moved in the off-season and JR refused. That makes much more sense to me looking back at the off-season where Letang came out in the media saying he was resigned to being traded but we never heard anything remotely to JR testing the waters on Letang. Looking at that, I could see where someone leaked to Letang that management wanted him moved but JR ignored the directive.