BOSTON — Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, the architect behind two recent Stanley Cup runs and 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, unexpectedly announced his resignation on Wednesday afternoon.
Rutherford, 71, cited personal reasons for the decision and declined to elaborate much further. He did say his health is fine and had no influence on the decision.
Assistant general manager Patrik Allvin (pronounced All-veen) has been promoted to interim GM. He will be one of the candidates considered as the team begins its search for a permanent general manager.
“It was my decision,” Rutherford told the Post-Gazette. “It was just time to do it.”
The Penguins initially lured Rutherford out of retirement before the 2014-15 season in a hire that had both personality and a proven track record. He had the local connections as a former Penguins goalie for two seasons in the early 1970s. And he had the experience of building the Carolina Hurricanes into 2006 Stanley Cup champions during a two-decade tenure as their general manager.
It turned out to be a serendipitous moment in Penguins history. Rutherford pulled the right strings with blockbuster trades, promoted current coach Mike Sullivan from the team’s farm club in Wilkes Barre/Scranton in December 2015 and eventually hoisted back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
“I’ve been treated very well here by the Penguins organization,” Rutherford said. “When I first came here, I said I was going to come here for two or three years. I’m in my seventh year. I guess I’ve outlasted my welcome.
“I can’t say enough good things about how I’ve been treated by ownership. I’d prefer to just move on leaving it at that.”
While success came swiftly and suddenly, it appears the breakup was just as quick. Rutherford entered this season with his contract set to expire in June, making this a possible pivotal season for the Penguins. But just seven games in, Rutherford is gone.
The decision to part ways apparently happened quickly over the last couple days. Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse said that he and Rutherford had a one-on-one discussion on Tuesday evening. They met one more time Wednesday morning to finalize the news.
“Jim had his mind made up,” Morehouse said. “… I want to personally thank Jim Rutherford for everything he’s done for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won two consecutive Cups, a feat I don’t think will be replicated anytime soon in this salary-cap era."
Known for his aggressive nature and win-now approach, Rutherford pulled off some of the biggest moves in Penguins history. The blockbuster deal that brought Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh ranks at the top of the list. He also sent fan favorite James Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist, orchestrated a heist to land Trevor Daley and — more recently — gave up just a sixth-round pick to get defenseman John Marino.
This offseason, Rutherford’s Penguins tenure began to come full circle in some ways. The first player he ever acquired in a trade, Hornqvist, was dealt to Florida. The first player he ever drafted, Kasperi Kapanen, came back into the organization via trade.
Through it all, Rutherford remained an honest, transparent person who always believed the best trades were the ones that benefited both organizations in some way.
“The greatest compliment a Pittsburgher can pay someone from outside of Pittsburgh is he’s a true Pittsburgher,” Morehouse said. “He says what he means and he means what he says. Most of all, he’s a good personal friend.”
Rutherford will remain on contract with the Penguins through June. As a term of that deal, he is prevented from accepting work with another club. So — for now — he plans to relax and decompress before making any final decisions about his future.
“If something came along — whether it’s in hockey or something else — that made sense for me, I would consider continuing to work,” Rutherford said. “I am in good health. I feel good. I’m not a person that likes to sit around. Or I may just decide to retire officially at that point."
Whoever fills Rutherford's shoes in the long term will step into a challenging circumstance. Not only will they have to follow a Hall of Fame member, but the organization is approaching an inflection point.
The Penguins gave Rutherford freedom to take a win-now approach in order to maximize the window for their core players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Picks and prospects were routinely dealt to address immediate needs.
While the Penguins remain a marquee organization with hockey legend Mario Lemieux in the owner’s box and Crosby on the ice, the next general manager will inherit a club with one of the shallowest prospect pools in the league. They also don't have a lot of upcoming draft capital after the Penguins traded away their 2021 first-, third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks.
“I wish the next person nothing but the best,” Rutherford said. “I think if the Penguins can get through these injuries and stay in the mix and the goaltending holds up, this is a team that can turn out to be pretty good.”
Rutherford said he hasn’t had a lot of time to think about how he wants Penguins fans to remember his tenure, but he will cherish his memories from “a great sports town.”
Morehouse did the legacy talk for Rutherford.
“His legacy will be those banners,” Morehouse said, “his class and his dignity.”
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo
First Published: January 27, 2021, 6:47 p.m.
