TSN: Frank Seravalli said that Jim Rutherford is still on good terms with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization after resigning yesterday.
Bob McKenzie reported that the soon to be 72-year old is not retiring from hockey.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“In this case, this does not represent Jim Rutherford announcing his retirement. His decision is to step away from the Penguins and he will spend the remainder of this year, the final year of his contract with the Penguins evaluating his options in terms of whether he’d like to stay in the game moving forward.
Now, there will be no shortage of candidates lining up to get this coveted job in the NHL, and the Penguins announced on Wednesday that Patrik Allvin will take over in the interim role for the moment until the board search can begin. Allvin is actually the first Swedish native to be holding that GM title in NHL history.
But like we said, there will be plenty of candidates lining up from former Penguins general manager Jason Botterill, who was recently hired in Seattle to perhaps maybe New York Rangers assistant GM Chris Drury and a whole host of other candidates that will be in touch with the Penguins.
In short order to hire a general manager mid-season, just seven games in to this fascinating and unique 2020-21 pandemic season, Jim Rutherford leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins in surprising fashion.”
Ken Campbell: Jim Rutherford said on the phone that “it’s time to take it easy,” and that spend the rest of this season deciding whether to retire or return to the game with a different organization.
“In the next 4 or 5 months, I’ll decide whether I want to keep doing something or just retire.”
Sean Gentile of The Athletic: Looking at potential candidates for the Penguins GM position.
The Lemieux connection – Pat Brisson, Tom Fitzgerald, Pierre McGuire, Marc Bergevin, and Jason Botterill.
Jim Rutherford 2.0 – Ron Hextall, Peter Chiarelli, Dean Lombardi and Mike Gillis.
Up and comers – Patrik Allvin, Chris Drury, Chris MacFarland and Kevin Weekes.
The Bill Zito teir – Laurence Gilman, Mike Futa and Scott Mellanby.
