How they were built: Pens Edition

GM Rutherford has had to make some hard decisions since taking over the reins.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
How they were built: Pens Edition
Keystone Press

While Nashville Predators general manager David Poile hogs all the headlines for his success in building a contender through trade, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has done just as masterful a job at negotiating the trade market. In fact, while most of the Penguins top players are homegrown talents, they boast a large number of players acquired via trade or free agency.

Here’s how the Pens roster breaks down:

Drafted

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Evgeni Malkin
3. Marc Andre Fleury
4. Kris Letang
5. Olli Maatta
6. Matt Murray
7. Jake Guentzel
8. Tom Kuhnhackl
9. Bryan Rust
10. Josh Archibald
11. Scott Wilson
12. Brian Dumoulin
13. Derrick Pouliot

Trade

1. Phil Kessel
2. Patric Hornqvist
3. Chris Kunitz
4. Carl Hagelin
5. Nick Bonino
6. Ron Hainsey
7. Trevor Daley
8. Ian Cole
9. Justin Schultz
10. Mark Streit

Free Agency

1. Matt Cullen
2. Conor Sheary
3. Carter Rowney
4. Chad Ruhwedel

Sure, the Pens biggest stars are mostly the result of hitting homeruns in the NHL Draft Lottery, but big time impact players like Kessel, Hornqvist and game 7 hero Kunitz were acquired through savvy transactions. Rutherford can only claim credit for the Kessel transaction, as the other two predate his history with the club, but the deal may prove to be the most important of all. Despite not originally fitting alongside Crosby or Malkin like the team had hoped, Kessel’s presence on the team’s third line gives the Penguins elite level scoring talent throughout their entire lineup. Something no other team is able to match. 

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