The Pittsburgh Penguins will be making changes this offseason
Josh Yohe: Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford: “There is something wrong. Changes need to be made.”
- Pierre LeBrun: Rutherford is a GM who is not afraid to make trades, “Buckle up.”
Pens Inside Scoop: GM Rutherford: “This could be a year where we try to get younger, but in a way that we feel we can still win. Bringing some new, young energy in. We’re going to have to make some changes because of the cap.”
Wes Crosby: Rutherford said that there are a few things that will need to be changed: “Different ideas. Different approach. Younger, determined players. … Fixing the power play. … It’s so frustrating to watch us go time and time again and not get good scoring chances.”
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: GM Rutherford will be looking at a variety of areas that may need a change.
“My concern is when things don’t go our way, we start to fizzle out and we don’t have that same drive and determination that we should have and need to have,” Rutherford said flatly. “Based on that, I’m looking at everything now.”
The Penguins third pairing of Justin Schultz and Jack Johnson gets a lot of heat from fans. Schultz is a pending UFA and Johnson has three years left.
“I know everybody picks on Jack and they have for a long time, but I think, in that pairing, Justin Schultz had a lot more to give,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford isn’t tipping his hand with which goaltender he’d rather keep – Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry. He did say that it won’t be easy to keep both goaltenders.
Penguins need to decide which first-round pick to send to the Wild
Pierre LeBrun: The Pittsburgh Penguins owe the Minnesota Wild a first-round pick in either 2020 or 2021 from the Jason Zucker trade.
They have seven days after the draft lottery to inform the Wild which pick they will send them.
The Penguins are leaning towards keeping their 2020 first pick, 15th overall. Rutherford will be meeting with Patrik Allvin, their head of amateur scouting before making a final decision.
Penguins will be looking to new assistant coaches
Pittsburgh Penguins: GM Jim Rutherford announced that the Penguins won’t be renewing the contracts of assistant coaches Sergei Gonchar, Jacques Martin and Mark Recchi.
“We are in the process of conducting a review of our organization because we have underperformed in the playoffs the last few years,” Rutherford said. “We just thought we needed to change the dynamic of our coaching staff. We have very high standards here in Pittsburgh, and we want to continue competing for Stanley Cups. The message to our fans is that ‘We are not rebuilding, we’re re-tooling.'”