Rutherford Has Gotten Some Things Right

I confess. When you write for a blog, it’s very easy to be critical. Over the past several months I’ve had Penguins GM Jim Rutherford in my crosshairs on numerous occasions. After doing some superb work through the Cup years, I don’t think there’s any question his performance has slipped a bit over the past few seasons. Culminating in some iffy signings this fall.

Still, to portray the Hall of Fame GM as a bumbling boob is a grave distortion of fact…not to mention a disservice.

No team wins Stanley Cups forever…especially in the salary cap era. When Chicago won three Cups in six seasons their GM Stan Bowman was hailed as a genius. Haven’t heard that as much lately, especially since he’s struggled to restore the Blackhawks to any semblance of their former glory.

Ditto Dean Lombardi of Los Angeles, who was relieved of his duties just three short seasons after the Kings won their second of two Cups.

The fact that Rutherford built back-to-back Cup winners? A testimony to his eye for talent and team-building skills.

Yes, the foundation pieces were in place. But make no mistake. It was largely JR’s savvy additions…Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Trevor Daley, Carl Hagelin, Ron Hainsey, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Justin Schultz…that put the Pens over the top and propelled them to those two Cups. Not to mention hiring coach Mike Sullivan.

Now, like the Blackhawks and Kings before them, the Pens are in decline. An inevitable part of the championship cycle.

Retooling a fading former champion on the fly is no easy task, one few executives are able to master. As a general rule, a team runs its course and falls to the earth like a spent bullet, often without the benefit of young talent to help rebuild. This is especially true in hockey, where draft picks are often used as chattel to add key pieces. Often leaving the prospect cupboard bare down the road. A zero-sum game.

So it is with Rutherford. He’s burned numerous high draft picks, including five first-rounders, to fill in the missing pieces and keep the Pens competitive. That’s not an indictment…most other GMs would follow the same course of action while trying to maximize his team’s championship window. Nor does it discount the fact that JR’s done some good things over these past few years. Something he doesn’t always get proper credit for, especially on this blog.

He signed Brian Dumoulin to a six-year contract worth $4.1 (AAV) in 2017. “Dumo’s” emerged as one of the premier stay-at-home defensemen in the league (plus-48 over the past two seasons). The perfect complement to his freelancing partner, Kris Letang, and a real bargain.

Rutherford acquired obscure Swedish defenseman Marcus Pettersson from Anaheim in 2018 for prickly sniper Daniel Sprong. While Sprong has mostly languished in the minors, the rangy Pettersson emerged as a solid second-pairing defender.

JR absolutely stole promising young defenseman John Marino from Edmonton in 2019 for a sixth-round pick…perhaps one of his top three or four moves. The preternatural Marino enjoyed an outstanding rookie season and was recently wrapped up on a six-year extension with an AAV of $4.4 million.

GMJR inked energy forward Bryan Rust to a four-year deal in the summer of 2018 worth $3.5 million annually. Rust made that contract look awfully good last season, pacing the team with 27 goals and finishing third in assists (29) and second in points (56). All career highs.

Along the way, JR shed Olli Maatta’s pricey long-term deal after it was apparent the young Finnish defender had plateaued short of his potential. Rutherford’s corrected other mistakes as well, most notably Matt Hunwick and Jack Johnson. Difficult as the decisions no doubt were, he probably bid adieu to Hornqvist, Kessel and goalie Matt Murray at just the right time.

This is by no means an all-inclusive list of the good work he’s done, but it shines the spotlight on some of his better moves.

Okay, so what about all those draft picks he’s traded away? Yeah, it’s hurt, although in some cases (the original Kessel deal in particular) he got great value in return. But while the prospect pipeline isn’t exactly oozing with young talent, it isn’t bone-dry, either. Despite the dearth of draft picks, Rutherford has done a decent job of restocking the club through free-agent signings.

Late of Dartmouth, 6-foot-3-inch left wing Drew O’Connor displays genuine promise and could be a sleeper. The same goes for Josh Maniscalco, a mobile right-shot defenseman out of Arizona State. There’s hope he could develop quickly a la Marino.

Likewise, power forward pals Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare could be sporting the skating Penguins logo in the not-too-distant future. The former plays a strong all-around game and the latter possesses a wicked shot and tons of intangibles. Sturdy right wing Kasper Bjorkqvist might make the grade as well.

Although his path appears blocked for now, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, a former first-round pick of Arizona, has NHL potential. Will Reilly, a big right-shot defenseman, made significant strides during his senior year at RPI. He figures to get a ton of ice time with the Baby Pens this season.

No, Rutherford hasn’t been perfect. Our current bunch is a testament to that. He’s assembled a strong top-six up front and top-four on ‘d’, but there are plenty of holes and question marks among the supporting cast. In the high-stakes poker match of building a Cup winner, the Pens appear to be an ace or two short.

Still, for the sake of balance and fairness, I wanted to give a little credit where credit is due.