A growing sect of Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been calling for wholesale changes within the organization over the last few seasons. Those folks have probably seen more roster revisions than they thought possible since Jim Rutherford came on board in early June, and the last month and some change only marks the beginning of a new chapter in Steel City.
Since the franchise won its third Stanley Cup in 2009, a team that appeared to be a dynasty in the making has been surpassed by rivals like the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings.
The mantra of "patience is a virtue" caved this summer, and tough personnel choices were made following a second-round loss to the eventual Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers. That Game 7 failure seemed to be a tipping point for Mario Lemieux and Co., and they gutted the front office before hiring ex-Carolina Hurricanes GM Rutherford, who then fired longtime head coach Dan Bylsma.
Within a week of taking the job, the 65-year-old "good ol' boy" started retooling the roster while keeping an eye on advanced metrics. Math has its fingerprints all over the current shape of the roster, which will likely ch ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Franklin Steele
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