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When the Penguins searched for a new GM in the spring of 2014, there were a lot of obvious candidates.
The names of Julien BriseBois and Jeff Gorton were among the most important attached to the vacancy. And they made sense. At the time, they were assistant general managers for the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, respectively, and were rising executives who carried a lot of respect in the NHL for how they rated the sport.
(Today, each of these men is the CEO of these franchises.)
So when they hired a 65-year-old Jim Rutherford, who was gently removed from his previous role as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes after several lackluster seasons, it didn’t make sense, at least on the surface.
(Almost seven years after Rutherford took over the Penguins, the two most recent Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters of PPG Paints Arena provide all the sense needed to assess this hire.)
It’s important to look through that prism while trying to determine who will be the next Penguins general manager following Rutherford’s surprising resignation on Wednesday.
There are a lot of obvious candidates. But the men who hired Rutherford in 2014 could very well quit the board again to find his replacement in 2021.
With that, here’s a look at five people the Penguins might consider to become their 11th full-time GM:
Patrik Allvin – Installed as interim managing director from Rutherford, Allvin has worked extensively with the franchise. Initially joining the Penguins as a European Scout in 2006, he slowly worked his way up the organizational hierarchy. In 2012, he became Director of the Director of European Scouting and was then promoted again in 2017 as Director of Amateur Scouting. Last November, he was installed as deputy general manager.
There are few people who are more respected in the Penguins’ hockey operations department than Allvin, the first Swedish-born general manager in NHL history.
There are legitimate questions about his experience. His background lies primarily in talent assessment and he has little history with aspects of roster management like trades, waivers, free will, or even collective agreement details.
But Allvin’s encyclopedic knowledge of organization and work ethic makes him a top candidate for the job.
Jason botterill – Perpetually considered the ‘next’ GM during his time with the Penguins as Rutherford’s top lieutenant, Botterill became general manager of the Buffalo Sabers in 2017 but was fired in 2020 after three poor seasons under chaotic ownership.
Sure. On January 5, Botterill resurfaced as deputy general manager of franchise expansion Seattle Kraken under another former Rutherford protege, general manager Ron Francis.
Had the timing between that hire and Rutherford’s resignation been lined up differently, Botterill might have finally been able to become general manager of the Penguins (without a brief stint in 2014 in the interim before Rutherford was hired).
That said, since the paint is still drying in Botterill’s new office, jumping to a new job, even if it’s a promotion, could be professionally inconvenient for all involved.
Botterill knows the collective agreement almost as if he wrote the document himself and knows how to stretch every dollar allocated below the salary cap. Given the uncertainty of the NHL’s financial landscape due to the pandemic, having someone settle into the granular details of the fine print of the league in a time of chaos would be a huge asset to any franchise.
Chris MacFarland – As the assistant general manager of the Colorado Avalanche since 2015, MacFarland has been instrumental in restoring this franchise to one of the deepest and most talented outfits in the NHL.
In 2017, MacFarland was directly involved in reenacting a complex three-team trade that transferred disgruntled all-star forward Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for prized defensive prospect Samuel Girard of the Nashville Predators and the fourth selection in the 2019 Senators Draft, a pick used on fellow defensive prospect Bowen Byram.
While franchise icon Joe Sakic has the final say on all decisions as GM, MacFarland handles all the granular details when it comes to the salary cap and collective agreement.
Last year, MacFarland interviewed for the vacant general manager position of the New Jersey Devils.
Pat Brisson – Whenever a GM position is opened, Brisson, one of the main players’ agents in the NHL, always seems to be a candidate.
Given that he represents captain Sidney Crosby and has a relationship with owner Mario Lemieux, Brisson may not have greater ties to any NHL franchise than the Penguins.
Given Brisson’s current vocation, he has a fairly complex knowledge of how to maneuver within the confines of the collective agreement and it is probably fair to say that he has a background in contract negotiations, although on the other side of the table.
Tom fitzgerald – A key figure in the Penguins’ resurgence as a Stanley Cup contender in the mid-2000s, Fitzgerald is currently the general manager of the Devils. But there is nothing to indicate that he has a surplus of job security because he would have a one-year contract.
As one of former general manager Ray Shero’s high lieutenants, Fitzgerald was retained and promoted when Rutherford arrived in Pittsburgh. A year later, he went to New Jersey as an assistant general manager when Shero took over as general manager. In six seasons under Shero, the Devils made the playoffs only once, which resulted in his dismissal in January 2020. Fitzgerald took over on an interim basis and was promoted to full-time status in July.
Bringing Fitzgerald back into season might be almost impossible, but the Penguins are more than comfortable with him personally and professionally. They might be willing to cycle for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season with Allvin on an interim basis while bringing in an advisor to help him with tasks such as inquiring about potential trades or other aspects of management of the list.
This would allow the team to continue a reunion with Fitzgerald during the 2021 offseason.
All of these names mean a lot for various reasons. But then again, Rutherford didn’t make much sense, at least on the outside, when he got the job in 2014.
There is no reason to believe that the Penguins will ever go with an unlikely replacement.
Follow the penguins all season long.
Seth Rorabaugh is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Seth by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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Penguins / NHL | Sports
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