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Jim Rutherford talks about leaving Pittsburgh and his good fit in Vancouver |
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With the news around the Canucks very quiet at the moment, I'd like to direct your attention to an article that came out of Pittsburgh about a week ago.
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette caught up with Jim Rutherford, who spoke about why he chose to step away from the Penguins in January of 2021, then sign on with Vancouver ten-and-a-half months later.
It's an interesting peek inside the mind of the Canucks' new top dog.
He explained that his departure from Pittsburgh was set against the backdrop of Covid-19, with a good deal of isolation as he worked pretty much exclusively from his home office.
"James (his now 14-year-old son) didn't go to school or play hockey," Rutherford said. "I was one of the higher-risk people at the time. We didn’t have vaccines. We didn’t have anything to treat Covid. It was a tense time. As a family, we didn’t leave the house for 10 or 11 months.
"I was working on a regular basis, just as hard as if I was in the office because I was on the phone every day. But at the same time, that period of my life and my family's life was difficult. It certainly had an effect on me — had an effect on all of us, but had an effect on me that led to my decision."
He found himself in a headspace that is probably relatable to many of us.
"I don't want to suggest I had mental health issues," Rutherford told Mackey. "The way I would describe it is I wasn't mentally as strong as I should have been to be myself and continue to do that job. I was starting to react to things differently than I normally would, which led to where I got to."
Beyond that, he chose not to go into specifics. At the time of his departure, there were rumours of possible rifts with his bosses, whether that was owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, or team president and CEO David Morehouse. There was also chatter that he may have been vetoed on making a big trade.
Of course, we also know now that there were major organizational changes going on behind the scenes in Pittsburgh. Last November, just a couple of weeks before Rutherford signed on in Vancouver, the Penguins announced that Fenway Sports Group would be purchasing a controlling interest in the team. By April, Morehouse had resigned from his position.
Rutherford downplayed any ongoing bad blood with any of his superiors.
"I can tell you, I’m not mad at anybody," he said. "It's actually the opposite. I'm thankful for the way I was treated by Mario, Ron and David. It's not a hard-feelings thing from my point of view."
Now 73, Rutherford's age is part of the reason why he was so cautious about Covid-19. It's also part of the reason why he wanted to shift his job description from a full-time general manager to the president's role that he now has in Vancouver. It was something he proposed in Pittsburgh, but the Penguins were against it — even though Brian Burke stepped into a similar position after Rutherford's departure.
"It was just something that I had suggested a few times and was told there wouldn't be that role with the Penguins," Rutherford said. "But it had nothing to do with my departure. I have no issues over it."
By the time Francesco Aquilini knocked on his door with the Canucks job offer, Rutherford has used his time to get back into a healthier headspace.
"I got away from the game and got away from the pressure," he said. "We spent time in Pittsburgh, then we ended up moving back to Carolina. Just got rejuvenated because we got back to normal as a family. We got out. We started doing what we normally do, and things got back to normal. I started to feel better about everything.
"Francesco, when he came and met with me, it was just a good meeting. He really did a good job on selling me on why this would be a good fit in Vancouver, and that's what it has been. It's been a real good challenge."
And while he may not have been able to remake the Canucks' roster as quickly as anybody would have liked, Rutherford has been lauded for his progressive approach to building his front office. He has also revamped some of the work processes around hockey operations and, at the end of last season, promised some facility upgrades including a new media workroom at the beginning of this season.
"It's part of the reason I’m still in this business," he said. "If you don’t stay current, everything passes you by. I'm a believer in the things that we're doing. I, quite frankly, think it makes our job easier."
Rutherford also tells Mackey that he's happy to be back in his native Canada, getting a chance to work with a team in a passionate hockey market north of the border for the first time in his career. Even as a player, the only Canadian affiliation of his 13-year career as a goaltender came during an 18-game stretch with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1980-81 season, near the end of his goaltending career.
Post-pandemic, the Canucks boss is doing his best to keep Vancouver's hospitality industry thriving.
"The restaurants here are phenomenal," he said. "Any kind of food. We found an Italian place in our neighborhood last night. Man, it was really good."
As an NHL general manager, Rutherford has a perfect record when it comes to delivering a Stanley Cup to his employers — but it doesn't happen overnight. He started with the Hartford Whalers in the 1994-95 season, and the championship didn't come until 2006, nine years after the franchise made the move to Carolina.
Results came more quickly in Pittsburgh. He joined the Penguins for the 2014-15 season, and the club then won its back-to-back championships in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Again, while the Canucks' roster and salary-cap issues continue to dominate conversations, the club has been successful since Rutherford arrived on December 9, four days after Bruce Boudreau signed on.
From the date of Rutherford's hiring, the Canucks went 30-15-10 for 70 points in 55 games and had a .636 points percentage — good for 13th overall in the NHL and better than four playoff teams: Edmonton, Nashville, Dallas and Washington.
They were 12th in scoring (3.31 goals per game), sixth in defending (2.75 goals per game), third on the power play (26.1%) and 11th on the penalty kill (80.4%).
There's room for improvement, certainly. But the potential exists for the Canucks to climb over the playoff bar in the Pacific Division in the 2022-23 season.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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