By Josh Yohe
www.dkonpittsburghsports.com
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Penguins felt like keeping the NHL General Manager of the Year around for a few more years.
Jim Rutherford isn’t ready for retirement.
Rutherford, 67 years young, has agreed to a three-year contract extension to stay with the Penguins. He will be 71 at the completion of this contract, which runs through the 2019-2020 season.
After a disappointing first season as general manager in Pittsburgh after spending two decades with the Whalers and Hurricanes, Rutherford enjoyed the season of his managerial career during the 2015-16 campaign.
He made a series of moves that turned the Penguins from a disappointment into hockey’s best team.
When he took this job in June of 2014, Rutherford said he’d be in charge for “two or three years.”
Funny how success can change things.
A question now becomes, will the Penguins be able to retain Jason Botterill and Bill Guerin for much longer? Both are viewed by many as sharp hockey minds and future NHL general managers.
Rutherford said he would mentor them when he took the job and, by all accounts, he has. But this is turning into a long — and very successful — mentorship
www.dkonpittsburghsports.com
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Penguins felt like keeping the NHL General Manager of the Year around for a few more years.
Jim Rutherford isn’t ready for retirement.
Rutherford, 67 years young, has agreed to a three-year contract extension to stay with the Penguins. He will be 71 at the completion of this contract, which runs through the 2019-2020 season.
After a disappointing first season as general manager in Pittsburgh after spending two decades with the Whalers and Hurricanes, Rutherford enjoyed the season of his managerial career during the 2015-16 campaign.
He made a series of moves that turned the Penguins from a disappointment into hockey’s best team.
When he took this job in June of 2014, Rutherford said he’d be in charge for “two or three years.”
Funny how success can change things.
A question now becomes, will the Penguins be able to retain Jason Botterill and Bill Guerin for much longer? Both are viewed by many as sharp hockey minds and future NHL general managers.
Rutherford said he would mentor them when he took the job and, by all accounts, he has. But this is turning into a long — and very successful — mentorship