"He moves the puck. He plays with poise. He's competed hard," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said during his morning skate press conference at AMALIE Arena. "We've run into some injury troubles, and he's stepped right in. It's one of those kind of sneaky, under-the-radar moves that was made toward the end of the season. We were looking for a right-handed shot defenseman that could give us some depth. Probably didn't anticipate that he'd be starting in Game 1, but here he is, playing in his first NHL playoff game."
Rutta came to the Lightning from the Chicago Blackhawks, where he signed a one-year contract before the 2018-19 season and played 23 games to start the season, notching two goals and four assists. Tampa Bay made a deal with Chicago on January 11 to send Slater Koekkokek and a 2019 Fifth Round NHL Draft pick to the Blackhawks in exchange for Rutta and a 2019 Seventh Round selection. Rutta started his career in the Lightning organization with their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, where he skated 18 games with the Crunch, tallying three goals, five assists and a plus-15 rating.
The move didn't generate much attention at the time. For Lightning fans, it was more about giving up on Koekkkoek, who showed so much promise after bursting onto the scene during the 2016 playoffs and being a major blue line contributor on a team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.
But Koekkoek couldn't consolidate that spectacular playoff run into a regular spot in the Lightning lineup over the next couple seasons, and the Lightning opted for the less dynamic offensively but more sound defensively Rutta.
That's he's a right-handed shot and, when partnered with Mikhail Sergachev, allows the Russian to play his preferred left-hand side, also factored into the decision to make the trade.
It was a barely-noticed move at the time, one made over a month before the NHL trade deadline, that's paying dividends right now for the Lightning.
"He's very consistent out there, every shift is very predictable. Can get in the offense but very responsible defensively," Bolts defenseman Dan Girardi said. "He's been, like I said, very reliable back there for us, and that's why he's playing Game 1."
That Rutta could fit seamlessly into the back end and the team didn't miss a beat speaks to how Rutta has adapted since his arrival in Tampa Bay and the admirable job Syracuse Crunch head coach Benoit Groulx and his staff did bringing Rutta up to speed with the Lightning system.
Tampa Bay went 11-3-0 with Rutta in the lineup, the Czech defenseman contributing two assists over that span.
