Rutherford plans to do plenty more in offseason

After a disappointing four- game flameout for the Penguins in the qualifying round, general manager Jim Rutherford promised change.

It didn’t take long to get it. He dismissed the three main assistant coaches just a day later. Then, last week, Rutherford orchestrated a multiplayer deal that will bring their 2014 first- round pick Kasperi Kapanen back to Pittsburgh in exchange for a first- round pick in 2020 and forward prospect Filip Hallander.

With Kapanen in the fold, the Penguins believe they have solidified their top six with an infusion of speed and youth. So now what?

In a wide- ranging interview with the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, Rutherford detailed some of the other areas to be addressed during what could be a pivotal — and busy — offseason.

• A goalie has got to go — and youth is the selling point:

Rutherford plans to move Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry this offseason, in part due to the flat $ 81.5 million salary cap.

Both goalies are set to be restricted free agents, but because budget restrictions are the motivating factor and Murray will command a higher salary, he’s the more likely candidate to find a new home.

“We’re really in a similar situation as we were when we had to move [ Marc- Andre] Fleury for cap reasons,” Rutherford said. “We look at different ways of doing it. We talk to different teams that are interested in goalies. We just have to see how it plays out.”

The goalie market this offseason ranges from veteran Stanley Cup winners such as Washington’s Braden Holtby and Chicago’s Corey Crawford, to trusted backups who might turn into more like Calgary’s Cam Talbot and Dallas’ Anton Khudobin, to true No. 1s like Vegas’ Robin Lehner.

While there are plenty of options, Rutherford believes he has something others can’t offer — youth.

“The thing with our goalies is they’re in their mid20s,” Rutherford said. “When you look at the free- agent goalies, they’re pretty much 30 and up. When you have a young team and you’re building it toward a contending team or you have a contending team, having that goalie in the mid- 20s to grow with is appealing.”

• Changes in style and/ or personnel on the third line? When it comes to stylistic and personnel changes, the third line is one of the first and best places to start.

“What do we want from our third line?” Rutherford said. “Do we want more of a defensive line than an offensive line?”

As it stands now, a possible third line might include two of the heftier contracts in Patric Hornqvist ($ 5.3 million AAV) and Nick Bjugstad ($ 4.1 million) and one of the more puzzling players in Jared McCann, who tallied 14 goals in the first 44 games and then none in the final 22.

“We can use the guys that we’ve got and ask them to play a little different way,” Rutherford said. “Or we can change those guys.”

The center position, in particular, will be one to watch. McCann and Bjugstad both got chances at the position at different points this season. But because of McCann’s slump and Bjugstad’s two surgeries, it remains a question.

“Jared McCann should score 20, 25 goals,” Rutherford said. “Nick will come off his surgery. He’s doing very well. He’s 100%. He’ll probably be better than ever.

“We’ve also got [ Sam] Lafferty that can go there. He’s still developing into an NHL player. And we have the possibility of moving [ Teddy] Blueger up to the third- line center, too. That would be another option if we wanted it to be more of a shut- down line.”

• Goodbye Justin Schultz: Odds have been stacked against the Penguins re- signing unrestricted free- agent defenseman Justin Schultz. On Monday, Rutherford confirmed officially that the Penguins plan to go another direction.

“He’s going to do better in the marketplace than what he can do here, based on our cap situation,” Rutherford said.

Chad Ruhwedel — who signed a contract extension last week — and Juuso Riikola would be the next options on the depth chart. The Penguins might also give a good look to some young players, like recently signed college free agent Josh Maniscalco, in training camp.

“As always, we’ll keep our eye out to see if there’s anybody out there that can fit into our cap and help us,” Rutherford said.

• Assistant coaches coming soon: The Penguins are in the process of interviewing candidates to replace the three assistant coaches who were dismissed and hires are expected to come “fairly soon.”

“It will be a little bit different for each guy,” Rutherford said. “We’ll look at somebody that has power play experience. We’ll look at somebody that has penalty- killing experience. I’d like to hire somebody that can work with our defense. We’d like to hire somebody that is a good communicator with the players.”

• Young and hungry: On numerous occasions, Rutherford has underscored the value of young and hungry players. On Monday, he mentioned several in particular to keep an eye on.

He said the Penguins are “really high” on Dartmouth free- agent Drew O’Connor. A 21- year- old forward, O’Connor brings good speed and 6foot- 3 size. He was named the Ivy League player of the year and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. “He’s going to be given a very good chance at training camp,” Rutherford said.

Another forward to keep an eye on is Samuel Poulin, the Penguins’ 2019 firstround pick. After a productive junior season, the Penguins believe he’s close to NHL- ready. On the back end, the Penguins signed college free- agents Cam Lee and Josh Maniscalco and they might also have a chance to crack the roster in camp.