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seestyle · 02-09-2023, 10:11 AM

Following a disappointing second round exit in the 2014 playoffs that saw them let a 3-1 series lead slip away against the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins started to make significant changes to their organization, with the biggest move being the firing of general manager Ray Shero. To replace him they turned to Jim Rutherford, the former long-time general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. Given the Hurricanes' lack of succe s in recent years, as well as the fact it seemed be a short-term solution, it was a curious move at the time. Things did not get any clearer during his first year on the job when the Penguins nearly mi sed the playoffs and were again knocked out of the playoffs by the Rangers. What a difference one year can make.Thanks in large part to Rutherford's complete overhaul of the roster in his two years in the front office, the Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2009 where they will take on the San Jose Sharks. When Rutherford arrived the hard part was already taken care because there was already a core of superstar players in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The challenge was finding a way to build a team around them that could complement them and help them get back to a championship level. Only Thomas Vanek Men Jersey seven players that skated in that 2014 playoff series remain on the roster today, and two of them (Marc-Andre Fleury and Beau Bennett) are not even playing a major role on this team. Here is how it happened as we take a look at how this current playoff roster was a sembled. Rutherford has only been in charge of two drafts for the Penguins and while a couple of players from those cla ses have had a brief look in the (Daniel Sprong, their second-round pick in 2015, appeared in 18 games this year, while Dominik Simon, their fifth round pick in 2015, played in three) nobody has really had a chance to make an impact. The biggest impact his two drafts have had is that their first-round pick in 2014 (Kasperi Kapenen) was used a trade chip in a major deal for Phil Ke sel (we will get to that in a bit). Overall, the Penguins have had 11 players appear in a playoff game this year that were originally drafted by the organization. Sam Reinhart Men Jersey Four of those players, and three of the most significant contributors, were selected by Craig Patrick (Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang in 2005, Evgeni Malkin in 2004, and Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003) during the franchise's down years in the early 2000s when they were consistently picking at the top of the draft. Here is a look at all of the draft pick contributions in order of what overall pick they were selected with. PlayerYearRound (Overall pick)2016 Playoff ProductionSidney Crosby20051st (1st)18 games, 6 goals, 9 a sistsMarc-Andre Fleury20031st (1st)2 games, .875 save percentageEvgeni Malkin20041st (2nd)18 games 4, goals, 11 a sistsDerrick Pouliot20121st (8th)2 games, 0 goals, 0 a sistsBeau Bennett20101st (20th)1 game, 0 goals, 0 a sistsOlli Maatta20121st (22nd)12 games, 0 goals, 3 a sistsKris Letang20053rd (62nd)17 games, 2 goals, 8 a sistsBryan Rust20103rd (80th)17 games, 5 goals, 3 a sistsOskar Sundqvist20123rd (81st)2 games, 0 goals, 0 a sistsMatt Murray20123rd (82nd)15 games, .924 save percentageTom Kuhnhackl20104th (110th)18 games, 2 goals, 3 a sistsTotal Production19 goals, 37 a sists, 56 pointsShero's draft record and player development was a big target for criticism during his time with the team, and a lot of it was justified. The Penguins made a habit out of trading multiple draft picks (or players they had already selected in previous drafts) for short-term rentals that rarely made an impact. That started a tough cycle where they never had enough draft picks to fully replenish their farm system, which meant they never had a chance to build a pipeline of young talent to fill out the roster, which forced Curtis Lazar Women Jersey them to keep trading for more rentals to fill those spots so they could try to capitalize on the prime years of Crosby and Malkin. But as you can see above the 2010 and 2012 cla ses produce some talent, the most important of which is Matt Murray, their third-round pick in 2012. That 2012 cla s also produced Pouliot (drafted with a pick acquired in a trade, which we will again get to) and Olli Maatta. Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnhackl, mid-round picks in 2010, have also been important depth players this season for the Penguins and have helped provide some secondary scoring. This current Penguins team has had little impact from free agency, which probably should not be much of a surprise. Given the amount of salary cap space the Penguins have invested in the top of their roster they are not going to be in a position to be Dale Hawerchuk Kids Jersey significant players in free agency other than role players. Only four players that have appeared in a playoff game this year were signed as free agents, and that includes Conor Sheary who was added as an undrafted free agent. The list.PlayerYear SignedOriginal TermPlayoff ProductionJeff Zatkoff2012two years2 games, .908 save percentageConor Sheary2014UDFA17 games, 2 goals, 5 a sistsMatt Cullen2015one year18 games, 4 goals, 2 a sistsEric Fehr2015three years17 games, 2 goals, 1 a sistTotal Production8 goals, 8 a sistsCullen is the big one here just because of the value he has provided. He has been a favorite of Rutherford going back to their days together in Carolina, and he brought him to Pittsburgh this summer on a one-year deal that pays him only $800,000. Nobody, probably not even Cullen or Rutherford, could have anticipated him making the impact that he has. The 39-year-old ended up scoring 15 goals during the regular season and has been a rock-solid addition to their fourth line. This is where Rutherford has made his impact on the Penguins. Two of the players on the roster were acquired in Zach Bogosian Jersey trades made by Shero. Chris Kunitz was acquired in 2009 on their way to the Stanley Cup in the deal that sent Ryan Whitney to Anaheim, while defenseman Brian Dumoulin was acquired at the 2012 draft in the trade that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina for the N0. 8 overall pick (Pouliot) and Brandon Sutter. Rutherford, of course, was of that deal. Over the past two years Rutherford has added eight players to this roster via trade. Player (Traded From)YearKey ExpensePlayoff ProductionChris Kunitz (Anaheim)2009Ryan Whitney18 games, 4 goals, 6 a sistsBrian Dumoulin (Carolina)2012Jordan Staal18 games, 1 goal, 6 a sistsPatric Hornqvist (Nashville)2014James Neal18 games, 7 goals, 4 a sistsBen Lovejoy (Anaheim)2014Simon Despres18 games, 1 goal, 3 a sistsIan Cole (St. Louis)2014Robert Bortuzzo18 games, 0 goals, 2 a sistsPhil Ke sel (Toronto)2015Kasperi Kapanen, first round pick18 games, 9 goals, 9 a sistsNick Bonino (Vancouver)2015Brandon Sutter18 games, 3 goals, 12 a sistsTrevor Daley (Chicago)2015Rob Scuderi15 games, 1 goal, 5 a sistsCarl Hagelin (Anaheim)2015David Perron18 games, 5 goals, 7 a sistsJustin Schultz (Edmonton)2015Third Round Pick9 games, 0 goals, 2 a sists