Morehouse said that Allvin is a candidate to be considered for the permanent general manager job. The search is currently underway, and there is no timeline.
In the meantime, Allvin - who is currently at his home in Michigan and plans to meet the team back in Pittsburgh ahead of their game against the Devils on Tuesday - will keep working hard. He said there is tremendous support from Sam Ventura, Erik Heasley, Michele Colaianni and Trevor Daley, and Allvin's message to his staff is to make sure they're prepared for any and all scenarios that may pop up.
"I'm taking charge of the team, and our mindset with this organization is that we want to be the best possible," Allvin said. "We're always looking at the team to see what we can do day-to-day and in the big picture here. Obviously, I'll spend some more time with Sully here and see what's needed or not. But I think we have a lot of good pieces in place here. Basically, I'm going to do my part, my job here, and we'll see how far that takes me."
After playing nine seasons of professional hockey in both Europe and North America as a defenseman, Allvin retired following a knee injury and got the job opportunity in Pittsburgh through former assistant coach Andre Savard.
Allvin worked his way up to head European scout before serving as director of amateur scouting from 2017-20. He was promoted to assistant general manager in November 2020 before stepping into this role as interim general manager.
The entire time, Allvin learned from so many different members of Penguins management. Ray Shero hired him, and from there, Allvin listed Chuck Fletcher, Jason Botterill, Billy Guerin, Tom Fitzgerald, Randy Sexton, Dan MacKinnon and of course, Rutherford as people who helped him learn all different facets of the business, including contracts, negotations and techniques.
However, Allvin's main responsibility was finding players who fit the identity of the Penguins and have the right skillset, compete and character that allows them to mesh with Sullivan's system when called upon - usually outside of the first round and through free agency, as Pittsburgh has been a perennial Stanley Cup contender ever since he joined the organization.
Allvin's background with that is going to be absolutely crucial in the short-term as the Penguins try to navigate through an influx of injuries.
"He's a really smart guy," Sullivan said of Allvin, who has contributed to three Stanley Cups in his tenure thus far. "He has a wealth of experience in different aspects of the game. I think he's a great personnel guy as far as his evaluation and assessment of players and how they might fit into our team that to help us win. So, my relationship with Patrik is really good. I look forward to the opportunity to get to know him even better."
The two of them have already had numerous conversations, with Allvin praising the job that Sullivan has done not just in these past few weeks, but in the past few years since he took over as head coach.
"I have so much respect for Mike Sullivan as a hockey coach, but even more as a person," Allvin said. "What he has done with this team and this organization, I definitely think he's one of, if not the best, coaches in the NHL. And we're on the same page. We're in agreement. We want the best for the organization and the team. We're definitely looking forward to continuing to find the success we've had here over the last five years."
