On a sunny afternoon in Raleigh, Jim Rutherford took a call to discuss being inducted into the Penguins Hall of Fame in the Builder category.
Twelve years earlier, he sat in that same spot in his backyard, in the same 70-degree conditions, when David Morehouse, then Penguins President and CEO, phoned the longtime executive to ask if he was interested in being Pittsburgh’s General Manager.
The conversation happened shortly after Rutherford had stepped down from the dual role of General Manager and Team President for the Carolina Hurricanes organization, where he had overseen both the hockey operations and business sides for 20 years, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.
It was an extremely heavy load for one person to handle, and while Rutherford did it admirably for a long time, he was ready for a break.
“I really did not think that I was going to continue to work,” Rutherford said. “But it was a really good conversation, and David just said, ‘You know, come to Pittsburgh and meet with (Penguins ownership), Ron (Burkle) and Mario (Lemieux) and myself, and let's just talk about it.’ So, it's always worth looking into things. I was there within the next couple of days, and it was just the start of a really good period in my hockey career.”
Once Rutherford got the news from Kyle Dubas that he was part of this year’s Penguins Hall of Fame class, along with Marc-Andre Fleury, Larry Murphy and Jack McGregor, with the celebration set for Nov. 14 versus Ottawa (tickets can be found here), a lot started going through his mind.
“It just all started to be a short little movie for me, when I reflected on a lot of the things that went on in Pittsburgh,” Rutherford said,
So, what were the main scenes?
“Well, I mean, that’s an obvious answer,” Rutherford answered with a chuckle.
It is, of course, the Stanley Cups in 2016 and ’17. Rutherford was the key architect of those championship teams, playing a pivotal role in shaping the Penguins into perennial contenders with his bold moves and strategic thinking.
It all started with having confidence that the Penguins could win, because Rutherford would not have accepted the job otherwise.
He had watched Pittsburgh sweep the Hurricanes in the 2009 Eastern Conference Final en route to capturing the Stanley Cup. And while the Penguins’ stars were still in place and they had put together some strong seasons, they hadn't returned to the promised land in the years since.
“And why is that? You have the best player in the game, and as I call it, the Big Four: (Sidney) Crosby, (Evgeni) Malkin, (Kris) Letang, (Marc-Andre) Fleury. You have those guys and you think, golly, those guys are going to win a Cup,” Rutherford said.
It was up to Rutherford to figure out the issues, and come up with solutions. By the time Pittsburgh did win again in 2016, Rutherford had completely retooled the roster from his first year on the job through bold moves and strategic thinking.
Every transaction leading up to those Stanley Cup runs made a difference, and looking back now, Rutherford didn’t want to disrespect or discount any of them. But when thinking about ones that had a particularly significant impact, bringing in Patric Hornqvist added a massive brick into the foundation.
“When you have Sid as your captain and he does everything, and he does everything great, and he's clearly the leader, you certainly can't expect him to do all the day-to-day leading in the dressing room and things like that,” Rutherford said.
“So, it was brought to my attention by our hockey staff and analytics department that the kind of guy that could help this team was Patric Hornqvist, for the reasons that I just talked about – that guy that can drive guys in the dressing room and drive guys in practice. Traded a very popular player, very good player in James Neal, and good friends with Geno, so it wasn't a real popular move. But once the dust settled and Patric got here and settled in, I think everybody understand why that took place.”
Acquiring Phil Kessel was also important, to get more balance throughout their forward lines. Rutherford had identified that getting Kessel out of the pressure cooker in Toronto and into a situation where he didn’t have to be THE guy could help the scoring winger thrive, and thrive he did.
“He was a really good fit,” Rutherford said. “Actually helped the chemistry in a little different way in his leadership. But how he went about his business, he was relaxed and funny, but when it came time in a game that you needed something, Phil was there. And he scored a lot of big goals for that team over those two years.”
While that move made headlines on the first day of free agency in 2015, signing Matt Cullen to a one-year deal later that summer flew much more under the radar. But the veteran forward played a key role on the ice, particularly in defensive and shorthanded situations, and off the ice, where his guidance and support helped all his teammates, regardless of age.
“He’s one guy that was very important to that team and important to me,” Rutherford said. “He won a Cup with me in Carolina in 2006, so a player that I won all three Cups with.”
During his time as the Penguins’ General Manager, only three teams won more regular-season and playoff games than Pittsburgh’s 276 and 40, respectively. From a franchise perspective, only Craig Patrick and Ray Shero have more wins in those categories among team GMs.
Rutherford’s tenure ended during the COVID pandemic, when he resigned for personal reasons in January 2021.
“Probably didn't end the way I would like it to. But at that point, I just didn't feel like I wanted to continue to work,” Rutherford said.
Overall, his time with the Penguins was defined by his fearless approach to team building and his success in achieving two Stanley Cup titles. Pittsburgh will always be special to Rutherford, also a Hockey Hall of Famer, as he also spent time here as a player.
“Even going back to those days, I loved being in Pittsburgh and met so many great people when I was there,” Rutherford said. “It’s just a special place. I've been very fortunate in my career. I worked a long time, and I've enjoyed every place I've been. But from everything that was done in Pittsburgh, how I was treated by Mario and Ron and David, to the staff I worked with, to all the people who worked for the Penguins, to the fans, to everything – it was so good.”
