Open GM job unfortunately has ups, downs

Appealing position might be deceiving

Is the open general manager seat in Pittsburgh as appealing as portrayed?

On one hand, the Penguins have an all-time talent in Sidney Crosby, a respected coach, first-rate facilities and ownership that is stable and driven to win.

On the other, a mass exodus from the front office over the past few years hints at instability, and around the league there are mixed opinions about whether the core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang can lift the Stanley Cup again. Also, as far as picks and prospects go, their cupboard is pretty bare.

To see how potential candidates might view the Penguins, we reached out to three former general managers for their thoughts on what happened with Jim Rutherford, the state of the organization and where the Penguins go from here.

The consensus is that the Penguins should have plenty of appealing candidates to choose from as they look to replace their Hall of Fame general manager.

“Every GM job is appealing. There’s only 32 of them … and there’s a lot of guys who have invested many years of their lives in order to become a GM,” said Brian Burke, an NHL analyst for Sportsnet. “But Pittsburgh is a great city to live in. It’s a great sports town. And with the heritage of the Penguins, that’s a plum job.”

Penguins president and CEO David Morehouse said last week that they already started to receive inquiries about the vacancy before hitting send on their news release that announced the stunning news that Rutherford resigned.

Morehouse will conduct the search with owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. He made it clear that the Penguins are not ready to consider rebuilding.

“So does that mean it has to be somebody who’s been a GM before?” NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton said. “No, but it certainly seems like there’s a high percentage chance of that being one of the criteria of their list. I think they’re looking for somebody who has experience and can hit the ground running.”

Peter Chiarelli, Dean Lombardi and Dale Tallon each are former general managers who assembled Cup-winning clubs elsewhere. And then there are Jason Botterill and Tom Fitzgerald, two of Rutherford’s former lieutenants in Pittsburgh.

Burke, who was GM in Anaheim when the Ducks won the Cup in 2007, said that Chiarelli is one experienced executive the Penguins should interview. Chiarelli was unable to put the right pieces around Connor McDavid in Edmonton. But he built the Boston team that has been a powerhouse for more than a decade.

Another name Burke said should be on the team’s candidate list is Michael Futa, former lead scout and then assistant general manager for Los Angeles.

“If you’re looking to hire a young guy, you have to look at Mike Futa,” Burke said. “He’s never been a GM but he has clearly been a star at his level and he’s got all the other things you’d like to have in a GM. He’s a very articulate guy.”

Chris Drury, Mathieu Darche and Chris MacFarland are other up-and-comers.

Morehouse did not say that experience as a team’s head hockey executive would be a requirement. He did mention that the Penguins would covet a general manager who will be aggressive and think outside the box. Those are two qualities Morehouse believes made Rutherford

successful here.

Burke and Lawton said they were caught off guard by Rutherford’s resignation. The timing of it, seven games into the season, certainly raised eyebrows.

“Yes, it was strange,” Lawton said. “And it’s even stranger for me because I know Jim and he’s never quit on a team before. So that really jumped out at me.”

Rutherford has declined to specifically say what caused him to quit, leading to speculation that it was due to a difference of opinion in personnel matters or his lame-duck contract status. Morehouse shot down both of those theories.

Still, it could create the perception that the organization is in turmoil, especially after assistant GM and close Rutherford friend Jason Karmanos was dismissed this past offseason, along with three of Mike Sullivan’s assistant coaches.

“If you’re a rookie [GM], you’re just excited to get to the table,” Burke said. “If you’re a veteran, that turnover or stability, that’s a concern if you’re a veteran guy. If I were interviewing, that would be the first question I asked. Where do you as owners feel this team is going? Are we in the window or are we not?”

Lawton echoed that. The former NHL player, agent and general manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning added that a candidate must be prepared to give his or her unvarnished thoughts on what the Penguins should do with Malkin and Letang, whose contracts are both up after the 2021-22 season.

“At some point, the party is going to end. And you have to look for a transition plan. Just those two players alone, you’re talking about nearly $17 million [in cap space],” he said. “You’d be crazy to not investigate what your options are.”

In the meantime, Patrik Allvin, who quickly has climbed the front-office ladder, is interim GM. He will be in the mix for the full-time gig, Morehouse said.

“I think Patrik is intelligent, dedicated and a team player, understanding that it takes many to be successful on the ice,” TSN analyst Craig Button said. “I think Patrik fits the criteria to be a general manager in this league and is somebody who should be considered right at the top of the list, not as an afterthought.”

With time ticking down on the Crosby era, putting pressure on the Penguins to make the most of the opportunity each season presents, they will want to move swiftly to make a hire, perhaps even before the April 12 trade deadline.

Burke said that, even during this pandemic, a thorough search with three rounds of interviews and background checks could be completed in two or three weeks. But he believes Morehouse is a “really smart guy” who won’t “rush this.”

Lawton agreed again, saying, “I think it will be incumbent on Pittsburgh, even though they want to do this quick, to go as deep as they can to make sure they come up with the right person because I think it is such a critical hire for them.”

Think you’re the one best suited to lead the Penguins into the future? You better pack some snacks. The line of applicants is getting pretty long in a hurry.

“I find it ludicrous that people would stink and say that there’s cause for concern to take that job,” said Button, Calgary’s former GM. “It’s a great market. They have demonstrated unequivocally that they are committed to being the best they can be. They have star players and a good coach. Really? You’ve got pause?”