Following the Penguins’ inglorious qualifying round defeat at the hands of bottom seed Montreal in August, general manager Jim Rutherford made his direction for the offseason crystal clear.
“This could be a year where we try to get younger but in a way that we feel that we can still win,” Rutherford said. “Bring that new, young energy in.”
It took a while to discern exactly how the venerable GM planned to implement that strategy. But with the makeover complete and the Pens roster more-or-less set, the results are plain to see. JR’s plan was to acquire or sign former high draft picks who, for whatever reasons, hadn’t panned out thus far.