There are many people who deserve credit for the Penguins’ rise to the Eastern Conference final, but none more than general manager Jim Rutherford. Not for the reasons that you think, though.
Sure, the moves he made since the end of last season to change the roster, make the team deeper, faster and grittier are all a big part of the story.
But to me, the thing that Rutherford did that deserves the most credit is that he showed a little bit of humility and corrected a mistake he made last year.
Mike Johnston, by all accounts, is a really good guy, a straight shooter and a thoughtful, intelligent hockey mind with a lot of great ideas.