When the Penguins sought a new general manager in the spring of 2014, there were plenty of obvious candidates.
The names of Julien BriseBois and Jeff Gorton were some of the most prominent attached to the vacancy. And they made sense. At the time, they were assistant general managers of the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, respectively, and were rising executives who carried ample respect around the NHL for how they evaluated the sport.
(Today, each of those men are the general managers of those franchises.)
So when they hired a 65-year-old Jim Rutherford, who was gently removed from his previous role as the Carolina Hurricanes general manager following several lackluster seasons, it didn’t make sense, at least on the surface.
(Nearly, seven years since Rutherford took over the Penguins, the two most recent Stanley Cup banners that hang from the rafters of PPG Paints Arena provide all the sense required for evaluating that hiring.)
It’s important to look through that prism while trying to figure out who the Penguins’ next general manager will be in the wake of Rutherford’s surprising resignation on Wednesday.
There are plenty of obvious candidates. But the men who hired Rutherford in 2014 could very well go off the board once again to find his replacement in 2021.
With that, here is a look at five people the Penguins could consider to become their 11th full-time general manager:
Patrik Allvin – Installed as the interim general manager upon Rutherford’s departure, Allvin has put in a lot of work with the franchise. Initially joining the Penguins as a European scout in 2006, he has slowly worked his way up the organization’s hierarchy. In 2012, he became the director of director of European scouting then was promoted again in 2017 as the director of amateur scouting. This past November, he was installed as assistant general manager.
There are few people who command more respect within the Penguins’ hockey operations department than Allvin, the first Swedish-born general manager in NHL history.
There are legit questions about his experience. His background lies primarily in talent evaluation and he has little history with aspects of roster management such as trades, waivers, free agency or even the minutiae of the collective bargaining agreement.
But Allvin’s encyclopedic knowledge of the organization and work ethic makes him a leading candidate for this position.
Jason Botterill – Perpetually viewed the “next” general manager during his time with the Penguins as Rutherford’s top lieutenant, Botterill became the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres in 2017 but was dismissed in 2020 after three poor seasons under chaotic ownership.
On. Jan. 5, Botterill resurfaced as the assistant general manager of the expansion Seattle Kraken franchise under another former Rutherford protege, general manager Ron Francis.
Had the timing between that hire and Rutherford’s resignation been aligned differently, Botterill might have finally become the Penguins’ general manager (absent a brief stint in 2014 in the interim prior to Rutherford’s hiring).
That said, considering the paint is still drying in Botterill’s new office, him jumping to a new job, even if it is a promotion, could be professionally awkward for all parties concerned.
Botterill knows the collective bargaining agreement almost as if he wrote the document himself and knows how to stretch every dollar allotted under the salary cap. Given how uncertain the NHL financial landscape is due to the pandemic, having someone that ensconced in the granular details of the league’s small print in a chaotic time would be a huge asset to any franchise.
Chris MacFarland – As assistant general manager of the Colorado Avalanche since 2015, MacFarland has had a significant role in restoring that franchise into being one of the NHL’s deepest and most talented outfits.
In 2017, MacFarland was directly involved in piecing together a complicated three-team trade that moved disgruntled star forward Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for prized defensive prospect Samuel Girard from the Nashville Predators and the fourth-overall selection in the 2019 draft from the Senators, a pick used on another star defensive prospect, Bowen Byram.
While franchise icon Joe Sakic has final say on all decisions as general manager, MacFarland handles all the granular details as they pertain to the salary cap and collective bargaining agreement.
Last year, MacFarland interviewed for the New Jersey Devils’ vacant general manager position.
Pat Brisson – Any time a general manager position is open, Brisson, one of the NHL’s leading player agents, always seems to be a candidate.
Considering he represents captain Sidney Crosby and has a relationship with owner Mario Lemieux, Brisson might not have greater ties to any one NHL franchise than the Penguins.
Given Brisson’s current vocation, he has a pretty intricate knowledge of how to maneuver within the confines of the collective bargaining agreement and it’s probably fair to say he has some history with contract negotiations, albeit from the other side of the table.
Tom Fitzgerald – A key figure in the Penguins’ resurgence as a Stanley Cup contender during the mid 2000s, Fitzgerald is currently the Devils’ general manager. But there’s little to suggest he has a surplus of job security as he reportedly is working on a one-year contract.
As one of former general manager Ray Shero’s top lieutenants, Fitzgerald was retained and promoted upon Rutherford’s arrival in Pittsburgh. A year later, he went to New Jersey as an assistant general manager when Shero took the general manager position. In six seasons under Shero, the Devils made the playoffs only once, resulting in his dismissal by January of 2020. Fitzgerald took over on an interim basis then was promoted to full-time status by July.
Bringing back Fitzgerald in-season might be near impossible, but the Penguins are more than comfortable with him personally and professionally. They might be willing to ride things out for the remainder of the 2020-21 season with Allvin on an interim basis while bringing on an advisor to aid him through duties such as inquiring about potential trades or other aspects of roster management.
That would allow the team to pursue a reunion with Fitzgerald in the 2021 offseason.
All of these names make a lot of sense for various reasons. But then again, Rutherford didn’t make much sense, at least externally, when he got the job in 2014.
There’s little to suggest the Penguins won’t go with an unlikely replacement once again.
Follow the Penguins all season long.
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
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