In November, the Penguins announced yet another promotion for Patrik Allvin, a former scout who had quickly rocketed up their front-office ranks.
The Penguins appreciated his eye for spotting young talent that other teams overlooked or underestimated — a necessity given how often general manager Jim Rutherford traded away premium picks while chasing championships.
And after 14 years of Allvin trying to set the franchise up for future success, the Penguins felt he was ready to make more of an impact on their present.
“Getting the opportunity to work with a Hall of Fame general manager in Jim Rutherford, I’m excited and humbled about this opportunity,” Allvin said Nov. 4, the day he was formally named assistant GM. “I’ll see where it takes me.”
Just 12 weeks later, Rutherford is gone and Allvin has been elevated again.
On Wednesday, the Penguins named Allvin interim general manager following the sudden resignation of Rutherford, who cited personal reasons unrelated to his health. Rutherford choosing to walk away two weeks into the season stunned the organization, president and CEO David Morehouse said Wednesday.
“I’m excited for this new opportunity with the Penguins, but I would not be in this position were it not for Jim’s faith in me over these past seven years,” Allvin said in a statement Wednesday. “I want to thank him and wish him the best.”
The first Swede to serve as a top executive in the NHL added: “I want everyone to know — from our ownership to our fans — that I’m committed to doing the best job possible for the Penguins, building on our strong start to the season.”
Allvin has been with the Penguins since 2006, helping them win the Stanley Cup three times. But he served as a European scout until a few years ago.
Morehouse, speaking on a conference call with reporters, acknowledged that the 46-year-old has ascended up the organizational ladder “pretty quickly.” He said Allvin will be among those considered for the permanent general manager position, a search process that the Penguins say will begin immediately.
“Very smart. Very well-respected in the hockey community,” he said of Allvin.
Allvin is a former defenseman who spent most of his professional career skating in Europe. He spent parts of two seasons in the U.S. bouncing between the ECHL and what was then the International Hockey League. After retiring as a player in 2002, he was swiftly hired by the Montreal Canadiens to be a European scout.
After four seasons with Montreal, he joined the Pittsburgh organization.
Since Allvin was named head European scout in 2012, the Penguins have picked more Europeans than they had throughout most of Ray Shero’s tenure — another possible sign that Allvin’s influence in the organization was growing.
Over those nine drafts, the Penguins selected 14 prospects who played overseas. That list includes Kasperi Kapanen, Oskar Sundqvist, Dominik Simon and their top two draft picks from a year ago, goalies Joel Blomqvist and Calle Clang.
In 2017, after Jason Botterill and Randy Sexton left for the Buffalo Sabres, the Penguins promoted the native of Falun, Sweden, to director of amateur scouting.
Allvin has been a big believer in the value of seeing players with his own eyes. The COVID-19 pandemic forced him to embrace other methods heading into October’s draft, including video scouting, Zoom calls and more analytics.
“You have to be open-minded. You can’t be sour about what you’re missing. You’ve got to believe in your team and trust your scouts,” Allvin said then.
A few weeks later, when assistant general manager and longtime Rutherford confidant Jason Karmanos was let go, the Penguins promoted Allvin again.
Now Allvin, at least in the short term, will be in the GM chair, responsible for overseeing a Stanley Cup hopeful that is trying to squeeze at least one more title out of the veteran core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
And he’ll have to do it with a skeleton crew in the front office. Morehouse said owner Mario Lemieux may step in to support him with hockey operations.
But if Allvin steers the Penguins on a deep playoff run, he could keep the job.
“We’re looking for someone that’s going to be able to come in, take a very talented team with a very good coaching staff, and take it as far as they can take it. I don’t think there’s much more of a criteria than that,” Morehouse said.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: January 27, 2021, 10:41 p.m.