Report: Jim Rutherford out as GM when season ends

Is Jim Rutherford one-and-done as Pittsburgh Penguins GM? Pensblog thinks so

..we’ve confirmed that Jim Rutherford is out as GM the minute the season ends, unless the season somehow ends in a Cup run.

According to at least two people with knowledge of the situation, Rutherford will be asked to resign to avoid public perception that the Penguins will have fired their second GM in as many seasons.

It is believed that Bill Guerin is the lead candidate to fill the spot.

Rutherford’s mishandling of the salary cap down the stretch is reportedly one factor that has led to this situation.

Rutherford even in his introductory press conference last summer mentioned that he was only expecting to stay for "2 or 3 years" but everything about the Pens last 10 months has seemed directionless and meandering, coupled with the bad luck to suffer injuries with less than 10 games to go and the salary cap hell it created for the team.

Rutherford has also made the news when his verbal abuse of the Trib's Rob Rossi - a repeated critic of Rutherford's- hit the paper this morning from last night's Game 3 loss to the Rangers. You can google it or go to the Trib's website on your own to find that.

It remains to be seen how any of this effects the team on the ice as their series with the New York Rangers continues, but one would have to think it can't be a positive development, even though it probably shouldn't be a big deal for the players. They have enough to worry about with beating Henrik Lundqvist to worry about spats that management is having or the future direction of the team.