Penguins Update: In Ray We Trust (Again)?

Okay, so I’m jumping the gun, and not just by a little. But what started out as a reply to one of our Poopers quickly morphed into a seed for an article. As the old saying goes, strike while the iron’s hot. So Pens4ever, this one’s for you.

I’m generally really bad at predictions. But at the risk of invoking the dreaded PenguinPoop curse, I’m doing to do some prognosticating.

I think we’re going to miss the playoffs. And when that occurs, I believe heads will roll. The first crown to fall? Fairly or unfairly, general manager Ron Hextall’s.

A team that had Stanley Cup aspirations, however distant, at the beginning of the season has morphed into an erratic, aging pile of rubble. Caused, at least in part, by Hextall’s failed attempts to reconstruct our defense and bottom six.

Who should the Penguins get if Hextall is relieved of his duties?

A name from the past popped into my head.

Former GM Ray Shero.

Before you shout me down, hear me out.

Shero did some brilliant work during his initial stint in the Steel City. Building off a foundation laid by his predecessor, Craig Patrick, Shero moved boldly to put the finishing touches on a Stanley Cup champion. He kept the black-and-gold on a short list of Cup contenders during his eight-season tenure that included two trips to the Final and one to the Conference Final. Shero earned the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award in 2013, a scant 12 months before his dismissal in the summer of 2014.

The St. Paul native departed with best record for a GM in franchise history at 373-193-56 and 802 points. His .645 points percentage was better than Patrick’s and better than that of his successor, Jim Rutherford (.626).

Along the way, he developed a penchant for surrounding himself with quality people. Present Wild and Devils GMs Bill Guerin and Tom Fitzgerald cut their management teeth under Shero, as did former NHL GMs Jason Botterill (currently with Seattle) and Chuck Fletcher. Carolina GM Don Waddell and former Panthers GM Randy Sexton also served on Shero’s staff.

Quite a management tree.

In addition, he cultivated former Devils and present Predators coach John Hynes, one of the more respected and longest tenured coaches in the NHL.

His only discernable flaw if you can call it that? His loyalty to friend and former coach Dan Bylsma, whom ownership had wanted to dismiss following a first-round failure in 2012.

Some might say, “That’s ancient history, Buker. What about New Jersey? Didn’t Shero fail during his run as the Devils’ GM?”

Depends on how you look at it. Yes, the Devils missed the playoffs in three of Shero’s four full seasons at the helm. However, it’s important to remember the Devils were fading and badly in need of an overhaul when he took over in the summer of 2015 from Lou Lamoriello. Much as we are now.

A great deal of the Devils’ present success can be attributed to the foundation laid by Shero. He drafted young studs Jack Hughes (2019) and Nico Hischier (’17) with first overall picks. Both have blossomed into stars and team leaders.

As a side note, Hextall had the second overall pick in ’17 with Philly and took Nolan Patrick, who through a series of misfortunes has proven to be a colossal bust.

Back to Shero. Among his other draft successes, he took center Michael McLeod, one of the league’s top faceoff men, in the first round in ’16. Fellow forwards Jesper Boqvist and Nathan Bastian were second-round picks. Forward Yegor Sharangovich and promising netminder Akira Schmid were taken in the fifth round.

Perhaps his greatest draft plum, 30-goal scorer Jesper Bratt, was plucked in the sixth round (162^nd overall) in ’16! Reminiscent of current black-and-golders Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, who were selected by Shero in the third round of their respective drafts.

Known for his bold trades with the Pens, he acquired former first overall pick Taylor Hall from the Oilers in 2016. Hall would lead the Devils to the playoffs in ’17-18 while capturing the Hart Trophy. When Hall faded down the road, Shero dealt him to Arizona for prospects and draft picks (including a first-rounder) and physical defenseman Kevin Bahl. In the process turning lemons into lemonade.

Shero was fired by the Devils on January 12, 2020, before he had a chance to see the rebuild all the way through. Similar to the way the Pens dismissed Patrick following several strong drafts. But his long-standing reputation as a quality human being remained intact.

“He was a really great GM, a great guy,” said then-Devils captain Andy Greene. “He was nothing but awesome with me and the team and my family. We underachieved to a certain degree, and it wasn’t too long ago we were going into the season saying what a great job he did over the summer, adding pieces, bringing people in and being active, and then unfortunately that doesn’t work out the way we wanted it to and this is what happened.”

Shero presently serves as a senior advisor to Guerin in Minnesota. Whether the 60-year-old might consider a return to the ‘Burgh to take on the general manager duties is pure conjecture. But if the Pens ownership does make a change this summer?

They could do far worse than consider Shero for the job and maybe not a whole lot better.