PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was so quintessential Jim Rutherford as he was talking to reporters as he enters the Penguins Hall of Fame for his role as general manager for a pair of Stanley Cup championship teams.
Rutherford would tell it as he saw, but had a wicked sense of humor. He displayed that in one answer to a question about what he means to be a Hall of Famer with this franchise.
“I love Pittsburgh,” Rutherford said. “This is a real honor for me. Pittsburgh is such a great sports town, to be able to be on that wall (with the name of other Penguins Hall of Fame members) over there with the people who are already up there.”
Then he mentioned that there are people who are going to be added over the years.
“Is Sid going to get in?”
He said it so deadpan there was a moment for the dozen or so reporters to take in what he was saying about wondering if Sidney Crosby would be in the team Hall of Fame someday. After a few seconds of laughter, Rutherford responded.
“Good.”
Rutherford had taken over a franchise that previously won a Stanley Cup with it’s core four players (Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury), but had floundered in the playoffs with a wild loss to Philadelphia, swept where they couldn’t score against Boston and other misses.
“I just played the role that I had,” Rutherford said. “At the end of the day, the players do it. The new players that came in, there seemed to be a special chemistry. That obviously starts with Sid, the guys that were here.”
“The guys that we added were important guys, some of those-Hornqvist, guys like that, all real character guys.”
Larry Murphy joins teammates in Pens Hall of Fame
Along with Patrick Hornqvist, a blockbuster trade for Phil Kessel, adding the speed of Carl Hagelin, now current assistant coach Nick Bonino, plus Justin Schultz and Ben Lovejoy.
“I would say I played a small role,” Rutherford said. “I was just happy to have the opportunity.”
Now he joins a list of some of the best players in hockey history in a Pens Hall of Fame class with Marc-Andre Fleury and Larry Murphy.
Jim Rutherford items in Penguins Hall of Fame93.7 The Fan
“A lot of fun,” Rutherford described his time in Pittsburgh. “It’s always fun winning. With the group that we had, the run that we had. Two of those years were just a dream come true.”
