After the Penguins narrowly made it to the playoffs during his first season as general manager, Jim Rutherford was very active during the summer of 2015.
In addition to his blockbuster trade for Phil KesselJR acquired center (and current assistant) Nick Bonino from Vancouver and signed a pair of experienced free-agent forwards, Erik Fehr and 39 years old Matt Cullen.
He further strengthened the team with smart mid-season acquisitions of speedy, puck-hunting forwards. Karel Hagelin and puck-moving defensemen Trevor Daley And Justin Schultz.
Taken together, these moves paid enormous dividends and helped transform a flabby, underperforming group into back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
Rarely has a GM done a better job.
Fast forward to the present. As I watched our shocking early season success and turnaround (getting the most points in the NHL), a thought popped into my head.
Did Kyle Dubas have a Jim Rutherford summer?
I certainly didn’t think so at the time. To be honest, I was definitely not impressed with his work.
But now?
Almost all of his signings as a free agent ended up being straight bull’s-eyes. Power forward Justin Brazeau And Anthony Mantha have joined forces with a revival Evgeni Malkin to form a deadly and, dare I say, almost unstoppable second line.
After a strong season in his native Sweden, Philip Hallander has done very solid and perhaps underappreciated work on the first and third lines. In my eyes, our former second-round pick always seems to follow the right course and play responsibly.
Not announced Parker Wotherspoon has served as an extremely effective partner for Erik Karlssonallowing the former Norris Trophy winner to do what he does best: freelance to his heart’s content. The former Bruin and Islander also provide an unexpected offense.
Caleb Joneswho has toiled in the AHL for most of the past two seasons, has been a quietly effective partner for Harrison Brunicke. In fact, the rookie’s progress has stalled since Jones was hit the shelf with a lower-body injury.
Returning to an earlier signature, Ryan Shealike Jones buried in the AHL behind the Stars’ stacked defensive corps, has emerged as one force on the backend while you collaborate with Kris Letang. With his wheels and new-found assertiveness, Shea was downright dynamic at times.
Fast and professional Tommy Novak and spicy Connor Dewarboth acquired at last season’s deadline, have done decently in the bottom six roles.
In retrospect, every move seems pre-planned and meticulously executed, as if the players themselves were designed specifically for their current role. So much so that I started to wonder about Dubas’ trial.
He has stated for the record that he is targeting players with underrated talent who may not have been given a fair chance elsewhere. Dubas is also heavily into analytics and would be a driving force behind the selection of a hot-shot rookie Ben Kindel 10 slots ahead of the projections. A bet he clearly won.
It’s interesting to note that Brazeau, Jones, Mantha, Novak, and Wotherspoon have surprisingly impressive JFresh WAR charts for players considered on the fringe.
There is another, perhaps overlooked, aspect that has fueled their collective success. Every player Dubas has brought in, including the goalkeeper Arthur Silovhas something to prove. There is a palpable hunger. It’s built for an incredibly motivated, competitive team. Even if the pins stop working, they are never completely out. Like the Energizer Bunny, they keep coming, and coming, and coming…
I’ve mentioned this before, but this group reminds me a lot of the original Vegas ‘Misfits’. They seem to really enjoy playing with and for each other. It looks like they’re having a lot of fun, to boot.
To borrow from the Tool song: Schismat this point the pieces fit.
Hats off to Dubas for a job well done.
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