Grading GMJR

It’s Monday, March 14, 2016 and Phil Kessell is a Pittsburgh Penguins. Enough said, right?

Ehhh… think again.

Don’t get me wrong, when Jim Rutherford took over as our GM in the summer of 2014 he had some shoes to fill from the departed Ray Shero (personally, still not a fan of the organization firing him), but GMJR made some news in his first few weeks at the helm. Who could forget getting Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling for James Neal? Or signing Christian Ehrhoff to a one year deal after losing Brooks Orpik to a ridiculous deal to the Capitals? (I mean, honestly, who wouldn’t take the money they threw at him?)

But this is also the same guy that gave up a young, talented defenseman who could take over the enforcer role Orpik previously left vacant, in Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy…

The same guy who gave up young talent (Zach Sill) and draft picks for Daniel Winnik…

The same guy that let Paul Martin walk…

Now, I know there’s plenty of work that needs to be done to stay under the cap, maintain player chemistry, and try to make sure you put together a team that can make to the ever coveted Stanley Cup Finals. But, and maybe this is just me, but maybe he’s really not the guy we’re proud to have as our GM.

I don’t completely blame him for losing Orpik or Martin. Orpik took one hell of a contract from Washington and there were even trade rumors about Martin to get younger and help bolster the blue line before he left for San Jose. Plus, Paul Martin loved Pittsburgh and he showed his thanks and gratitude to the fans and the city when he left in free agency.

If we go back and break down all the moves made by GMJR and grade them, most of them, up until recently, have been pretty lackluster signings or trades.

Nick Spaling was almost unnecessary in saying good bye to James Neal. Hornqvist has been a solid, consistent cog in the Penguins machine since arriving in Pittsburgh, regardless of the line you place him on. Spaling was really only useful in bringing in Phil Kessel. So it all worked out in the end…

Sure… Let’s go with that…

As of late, however, I find myself kind of siding more with what Rutherford has been able to accomplish with a team so close to the salary cap. (Finally) Trading away Rob Scuderi for Trevor Daley; a trade that has worked out very well in our favor, and trading a struggling David Perron for Carl Hagelin. Yes, Perron has kind of found his niche in Anaheim and has been producing more than he ever did here, but Hagelin has been great when he has been paired up with Kessell on the second line with Geno.

All-in-all this year has been a much better year than 2014-15 for GMJR. I’d grade this year a solid B. He’s done a good job doing what he can do with what he has, but I still feel there’s room for improvement (i.e. Matt Murray taking over for Jeff Zatkoff.) As for an overall grade for Rutherford? I’d give him a C. There’s some things I really wish he wouldn’t have tried (See: The Ben Lovejoy experiment), but there’s some things he has been able to do to make this team a potential Stanley Cup Champion (See: Phil Kessell.)

Now, players gotta play and coaches gotta coach, and managers gotta manage (?). But GMJR has started to right the ship. Bringing in Mike Sullivan when Mike Johnston couldn’t get things going this year was the best move possible for that coaching staff. Now we’ve got the Justin Schultz and the two backup goalie experiments we’re trying out. So something has to happen coming down the stretch… right?

If this all works out I have no choice but to give this season an A. Not just for the team and the coaching staff, but also for Rutherford for pulling all this together from seemingly nothing after the month of October.

But that’s what I love about this sport. One trade, one pickup, one move a GM takes a risk on can pay off and the season can turn around. Anything can happen now. Giants may fall, the runts can make deep runs into the playoffs. Let’s just hope this pays off for us. This team has the capability to get hot and stay hot and make run in the upcoming playoffs. Let’s just enjoy the ride.

And of course…

Let’s go Pens!