It turns out former Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is part of the reason Mikael Granlund likely isn’t going to get bought out this offseason.
New president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas said during his media availability in Cranberry Friday that he sees buyouts as a “last resort,” in part because of the deal Rutherford made with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel in 2015.
“We had that situation in Toronto, on a retention trade to Pittsburgh,” Dubas said. “You’re looking at it, seven years down the road, and you still have that space, in a hard salary cap environment, limiting you.