Phil Kessel's not the only one with a redemption story.
With the Pittsburgh Penguins' title triumph in Game 6 on Sunday, Jim Rutherford - a man many believed was watching the game pass him by - joined Tommy Gorman as the second general manager in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with two different franchises.
Pittsburgh hired Rutherford two years ago, a few weeks after he was squeezed out of his role with the Carolina Hurricanes. He brought drastic and often contentious changes to the organization he inherited from Ray Shero.
Here's a rundown of Rutherford's feverish work since taking the job:
- Traded James Neal to the Predators for Patric Hornqvist (June 2014)
- Traded 2015 first-round pick for David Perron (January 2015)
- Traded Robert Bortuzzo for Ian Cole (March 2015)
- Traded Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy (March 2015)
- Acquired Phil Kessel for package including Kasperi Kapanen, 2016 first-round pick (July 2015)
- Traded Brandon Sutter for Nick Bonino (July 2015)
- Hired Mike Sullivan (December 2015)
- Traded Rob Scuderi for Trevor Daley (December 2015)
- Traded Perron for Carl Hagelin (January 2016)
- Acquired Justin Schultz (February 2016)
Looking back, Rutherford's series of transactions is quite remarkable, but it wasn't long ago that his every move was questioned. The Penguins bowed out in five games to the New York Rangers in his first postseason at the helm, and the team appeared better suited to taking a step back.
But, committed to the Penguins' core, Rutherford remained aggressive and hit with five major acquisitions this season. His incredible run included landing all three components of Pittsburgh's "HBK Line" - a unit that combined for 56 points in the postseason - and a new-look defense that surrounded Kris Letang with similarly elusive but much less expensive puck movers.
At times, it seemed as though Rutherford was making impulsive and even reckless decisions about his roster. But Monday, there's absolutely no denying his impact, deliberate and otherwise.
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