CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Quote It won’t be a homecoming for Jim Rutherford. That’s because he won’t be in Pittsburgh. When the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, Rutherford will be three time zones to the west in British Columbia. His current employer, the Canucks, will be involved in scouting meetings and, as president of hockey operations, Rutherford oversees all of that. But Tuesday’s meeting clearly will represent a vivid connection given Rutherford’s history with the Penguins. As general manager, he directed the Penguins to their two most recent Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and ‘17. “I feel a personal connection with that team,” Rutherford said by phone Friday. “I was there and enjoyed my time there. I still have very strong friendships there with the coaches and some of the players. But I really try not to talk to people there too much because I don’t want to get out of my own lane. But those friendships will last forever, and I miss them.” It’s been almost two years since Rutherford abruptly quit as Penguins general manager Jan. 27, 2021. And it’s been just over a year since he took over in his current capacity with the Canucks on Dec. 10, 2021. Over the past 13 months, Rutherford has had his hands full with a franchise that has made the playoffs only once in the past seven seasons and seems destined to have another long summer after this season. Almost at the midway point for 2022-23, the Canucks have a 17-19-3 record and would need a hot streak or two to even get into contention for a wild-card spot. Add in the always immense expectations of any team in a Canadian market, and the task has been daunting for Rutherford. “In Vancouver, we have a CFL football team, but we don’t have NFL or Major League Baseball like you do in Pittsburgh,” Rutherford said. “And a big thing here — and I totally understand it — is the frustration of having a franchise for as long as they have, getting to the (Stanley Cup) Finals a few times but not winning the Cup. And then of course, even worse than that, is a number of years without being a playoff team. “There’s a lot of frustration, and I understand it. We have a wonderful fan base. They understand the game. I like being in a Canadian market. I was born and raised in Canada. Quite frankly, I like being in this market.” The Canucks aren’t bereft of talent. There are a handful of All-Stars such as forwards Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes. But there has been more dysfunction than wins. “I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Rutherford said. “We had some work to do to improve the team. It’s probably been a little bigger challenge than I expected in trying to unravel the cap situation here. The sooner we can do that, the sooner we can move forward and improve the team. “We have a lot of good players here. We certainly show signs of that at different times with this group. We haven’t totally come together as a team, which would give us a chance to be more consistent. We’re working and looking at what we can do better.” Working toward that goal with Rutherford is general manager Patrik Allvin who joined the Canucks on Jan. 26, 2022. Previously, Allvin worked under Rutherford with the Penguins in various front office roles and even temporarily succeeded Rutherford as the Penguins’ interim general manager until Ron Hextall was hired Feb. 9, 2021. “I have a lot of respect for (Allvin),” Rutherford said. “He’s really good at what he does. The roles are different with me being president and him being the (general manager). I don’t do the phone calls to other (general managers) and things like that. He does the day-to-day stuff that I would have done in the past. That’s a little bit of an adjustment for me. And an adjustment for him in his new role. “But overall, our working relationship is real good. We’ve built a very strong hockey (operations department) here. We just have to work hard. We’ll never get as good as we should be as soon as everybody wants. But I think the opportunity is going to be there at some point in time that we can put a pretty good team together here.” What kind of team does Rutherford think the Penguins have put together this season? “I’m watching games every night,” Rutherford said. “We’re always looking, is there somebody available that can help our team? I don’t have a lot to say (about the Penguins) other than the fact that every team in the league other than a couple — (the Boston Bruins) being one — has their ups and downs during the season. I think the Penguins have a good team, and I think they’re going to be OK.” A significant reason for confidence in the Penguins is the so-called “core” of forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang, a trio that has spent 17 seasons together. That union was able to remain intact this past offseason when Hextall found a way to re-sign Malkin and Letang, each pending unrestricted free agents this past summer. Theoretically, had Rutherford not stepped away, it might have been his task to figure out what direction to take with Malkin or Letang. “I don’t want to comment on the job (current Penguins management does),” Rutherford said. “I have a tough enough job to do myself with one team let alone another. I will say I was happy to see the three guys were able to stay together and (potentially) finish their careers together.” Rutherford acknowledges his career probably should have finished in Pittsburgh as well. At the time of his resignation, Rutherford, 73, largely had operated from the confines of his Pittsburgh-area home for nearly a year because of the risks of covid-19. “Oh, I wish I had ended different,” said Rutherford, who contracted and recovered from covid-19 last March. “But I had been quarantined with my family for 11 months. (Covid-19), what we went through there, it affects you mentally. I wasn’t in a position at that time to go forward and do my job properly. I wasn’t in the right mental state of mind. “This is not anybody’s fault. This is just something that we have all had to deal with. That’s not the way I would have wanted to leave. I probably, probably should have ended my career in Pittsburgh after the success that we had there. But it didn’t play out that way.” How the rest of Rutherford’s career plays is anyone’s guess. Even for Rutherford. “I thought I was going to retire 10 years ago, and I didn’t. I would think I would probably retire in the next 10 years,” Rutherford said with a chuckle. “At this point in my life, the stress is harder to handle. But I’m not doing the day-to-day general manager stuff. So that should relieve some of the stress. But we have our challenges here. And I feel a big responsibility to try to make the Canucks better. I still deal with stress. If at some point, that stress gets too hard to handle, that will probably be where I’ll be retired somewhere.” https://triblive.com/sports/jim-rutherford-wishes-his-penguins-tenure-had-ended-different/ 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Excellent thread. Alfie awarded: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bell Posted January 10, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 10, 2023 Sounds like a guy who is getting paid handsomely has mailed it in. 2 1 2 3 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gawdzukes Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Yikes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 24 minutes ago, Alflives said: Excellent thread. Alfie awarded: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gawdzukes Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 3 minutes ago, Coconuts said: $50 a hit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 1 minute ago, Gawdzukes said: $50 a hit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brad Marchand Posted January 10, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 10, 2023 Quote It’s probably been a little bigger challenge than I expected in trying to unravel the cap situation here. Meanwhile, 17 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ilduce39 Posted January 10, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 10, 2023 Sounds pretty honest. I didn’t like his last offseason but he can make up for it pretty quickly this deadline / offseason. I like that he’s being patient and tuning out the noise - in this climate pushing anything through would be way too costly. 1 10 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.B Cooper Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Pretty sure this article was from last summer. Why are we crying about it now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gawdzukes Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 3 minutes ago, ilduce39 said: Sounds pretty honest. I didn’t like his last offseason but he can make up for it pretty quickly this deadline / offseason. I like that he’s being patient and tuning out the noise - in this climate pushing anything through would be way too costly. I hope you're right. I don't see how anything will be done quickly after all the handcuffs from last offseason. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Blight Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 1 minute ago, ilduce39 said: Sounds pretty honest. I didn’t like his last offseason but he can make up for it pretty quickly this deadline / offseason. I like that he’s being patient and tuning out the noise - in this climate pushing anything through would be way too costly. Sounds pretty honest? Sounds more like a guy that has checked out, doesn't want to be in Vancouver and would really, really like to go back to Pittsburgh and ride off into the sunset with Sid, Gino and Kris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 47 minutes ago, Alflives said: Excellent thread. Alfie awarded: i see, you brought a snack with you. cheers lad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilduce39 Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 1 minute ago, Rick Blight said: Sounds pretty honest? Sounds more like a guy that has checked out, doesn't want to be in Vancouver and would really, really like to go back to Pittsburgh and ride off into the sunset with Sid, Gino and Kris. How is that not honest? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoasting Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 5 minutes ago, D.B Cooper said: Pretty sure this article was from last summer. Why are we crying about it now? Why do you think that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.B Cooper Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Westcoasting said: Why do you think that? I tried to find the link I think he said the exact same thing in august to a paper in Pitt Edited January 10, 2023 by D.B Cooper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoasting Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Just now, D.B Cooper said: Because it was….. Oh really, never seen it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoasting Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 3 minutes ago, D.B Cooper said: Because it was….. Why does it say that it has been just over a year since he took over the Canucks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 10 minutes ago, ilduce39 said: Sounds pretty honest. I didn’t like his last offseason but he can make up for it pretty quickly this deadline / offseason. I like that he’s being patient and tuning out the noise - in this climate pushing anything through would be way too costly. If there is one thing Rutherford isn't, it's being patient. Penguins fans rightfully remember "Trader Jim" as someone who will openly talk bad about his own guys. He famously threw Boudreau under the bus this season. Being impatient worked on a team seeking to win every single year. We are not Pittsburgh. 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Blight Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 6 minutes ago, ilduce39 said: How is that not honest? I guess it is....LOL. Still doesn't give me warm fuzzies about his commitment to the job going forward though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now