Pittsburgh Penguins sign general manager Jim Rutherford to extension

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a busy day, locking up general manager Jim Rutherford with a three-year extension just after he made a trade.

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they resigned general manager Jim Rutherford to a three-year extension, keeping him part of the organization until the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.

While the timing of the announcement is puzzling, given the team’s present situation, for the Penguins, the deal makes perfect sense.

Win-Now

More from Pittsburgh Penguins

• The Pittsburgh Penguins made a very smart front-office hire
• 3 reasons the Penguins won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• Penguins News: Carl Hagelin is now retiring from the NHL
• Where the Penguins could land in the Metropolitan Division standings
• Penguins: Grading how each team did in the Erik Karlsson trade

Given the competitiveness in the NHL, finding a general manager with the resume of Rutherford would prove to be an extremely difficult task. Especially when you factor in his two Stanley Cup titles in the past three seasons.

The signing signifies that Penguins will remain in a win-now mindset for the next several seasons. With their core players locked-up past Rutherford’s extension, it seems his main directive will remain the status quo, keeping the team competitive and providing them with the opportunity to remain in the Stanley Cup hunt.

Stir It Up

It didn’t take long for the outspoken Rutherford to stir things up. During his press conference, he announced the team had made a trade, but could not get into specifics of the deal, pending a trade call with the league.

Once the deal was announced, it was a one-for-one trade. The Penguins acquired forward Tanner Pearson from the Los Angeles Kings for forward Carl Hagelin. Pittsburgh will retain 6.25% of Hagelin’s contract.

Rutherford had discussed his willingness to shake the roster up if the Penguins remained in their present stagnant phase and kept to his word after the Penguins dropped a 4-2 contest versus the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday evening.

More Moves?

This could be the first of several moves the Penguins make to freshen up a roster that has seen its fair share of issues develop through their first 16-games. Rutherford has proven time and time again that he isn’t afraid to voice his concerns and doesn’t shy away from making trades to send a message to the team.

While some of his moves have been met with heavy criticism, most notably the Jack Johnson deal and Conor Sheary trade from this past summer, Rutherford will continue to shape the franchise in his vision, one of which he appears to share with the ownership group.