Follow me on twitter Follow @GunnerStaal
This is going to be a very reactionary blog with not much analysis involved.
Jim Rutherford is going to be announced as the new GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins. #TSN
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 6, 2014
I hate it.
There is absolutely no reason to use a retread GM and one that has had very little success in recent memory.
There is literally no reason to not give the keys of the operation to Jason Botterill or Julien Brisebois. The Penguins should have hired a young motivated candidate that has yet to put their mark on a franchise.
There are so many bright hockey minds who just need a chance to shine. Using somebody who has been around the game as long as Rutherford is not encouraging and quite frankly I have concerns about the Penguins embracing the philosophies and trends necessary to be a top end team in the modern era.
My one saving grace for this decision is that I am holding out hope that the Penguins have told Jason Botterill that he will be groomed for the position and that Rutherford is going to be a very short term solution. I want to believe that even though it makes no sense at all, Botterill does not need to be groomed anymore, he is ready now.
I leave with this thought. There are 2 GMs that Shero abused during his tenure as Penguins General Manager, the first was Joe Nieuwendyk in Dallas, the other Penguins new GM Jim Rutherford. Rutherford was the guy who tried to get rid of Jussi Jokinen on waivers and then gave away Jokinen for nothing while actually paying for some of his salary. He also traded for Jordan Staal and gave up a decent haul when the Penguins literally had no leverage at all. D'oh!.
The Hurricanes have made the playoffs twice since 2002-2003. I realize a Stanley Cup Championship is mixed in there but that isn't good enough. If it was good enough, Shero would still have a job in Pittsburgh.
Penguins are stuck in neutral at best. They had an opportunity to be one of the cutting edge franchises in the league and went with the "safe" candidate. But much like "playing it safe" with the lead in the 3rd period, you are never safe when you let your foot off the gas pedal. The Penguins are taking their foot off the gas pedal, for shame.
Thanks for reading!
Follow me on twitter Follow @GunnerStaal