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Pittsburgh Penguins’ general manager Jim Rutherford got some really good news today.
Didn’t have anything to do with a trade or free agent or draft pick.
Rutherford is going into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder inductee with the Class of 2019.
A three-time Stanley Cup winner (Carolina in 2006, Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017), Rutherford has been in hockey management since 1994 with Hartford (which turned into Carolina) and then shifted over to Pittsburgh in 2014. Rutherford won Executive of the Year in 2016 for his many moves (like acquiring Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin) that helped propel the Pens back to the Stanley Cup.
Congratulations on your induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame! #HHOF2019 pic.twitter.com/T4XzntgZnU
— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 25, 2019
Rutherford joins the class of this year’s inductees.
THE CLASS OF 2019: Congratulations to Guy Carbonneau, Vaclav Nedomansky, Jim Rutherford, Hayley Wickenheiser, Jerry York & Sergei Zubov, who have been elected for induction into the @HockeyHallFame - https://t.co/vjjwu2ZckN#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/W4SlTL73zc
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 25, 2019
Sergei Zubov also has ties to the Penguins, playing one season in Pittsburgh in 1995-96. Zubov didn’t mesh well on the ice with Mario Lemieux, so he was quickly traded to Dallas for the portion of his career that is most remembered.