Stability in the front office is a hallmark that every organization, in all of the major sports, tries to achieve.  The Penguins, perhaps somewhat under the radar, have been fortunate enough to accomplish just that over the past three decades with their General Managers.

These men have built championship teams through shrewd drafting, strategic trades, and creative contracts. I thought it’d be interesting to go back and compare what the team accomplished under each of the last three GMs and what each of their signature moves were, both good and bad.

Craig Patrick

Tenure: 1989 to 2006

Accomplishments: Two Stanley Cup Championships, Five Division Titles

Signature Successful Move: Arguably, Patrick’s marquee move occurred on March 4, 1991, when he traded John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings. Many questioned the trade since Cullen was the fifth leading scorer in the NHL at the time. However, as the season unfolded it became clear that it was a brilliant trade, as all three players played key roles in catapulting the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 1991 and 1992.

Notable Unsuccessful Move: While the Penguins were overflowing with offensive talent in 1996, Patrick felt that talented winger Markus Naslund was expendable and sent him to Vancouver for rugged forward Alek Stojanov. Unfortunately for Patrick, Naslund went on to have 12 successful seasons with the Canucks, eight of which he served as the team’s captain. At the time of his retirement he was the franchise leader in both goals and points. His retired number currently hangs in the rafters of GM Place. As for Stojanov? He played just 107 career games, recording seven points (two goals and five assists). To be fair, Stojanov was badly injured in a car accident following the 1995-96 season and never fully recovered from it, playing just 35 more games for the Penguins during the 1996-97 season before being sent to the AHL for the 1997-98 season and then being released in 1998.

Ray Shero

Tenure: 2006-2014

Accomplishments: One Stanley Cup Championship (2 appearances), Three Division Titles

Signature Successful Move: At the trade deadline of the 2007–08 season, Shero solidified a roster that would reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, winning it in 2009. The deadline deals he made sent Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito, and a future draft pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for star forward Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. While Hossa left for Detroit the following season, Dupuis developed a strong chemistry with Sidney Crosby for several seasons before having to retire for health reasons.

Notable Unsuccessful Move:  After the 2009 championship, Shero seemed as though he was trying to assemble an all-star team rather than addressing needs. This was never more prevalent than when he traded for the highly-coveted Jarome Iginla. Shero out-negotiated the Bruins and sent their first-round selection at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and college prospects Kenny Agostino and Ben Hanowski to Calgary in exchange for Iginla. While the prospects lost never amounted to anything, what made the move unsuccessful is that he, apparently, never spoke to head coach Dan Bylsma as to how he planned on utilizing Iginla. During his brief tenure with Pittsburgh, Iginla often found himself playing on a third line and/or playing on the left wing, instead of his customary right wing, which he had played for the first 16 seasons of his career. It was moves like this one, acquiring the big name rather than addressing the team’s needs, that led to the Penguins being eliminated by a lower seeded opponent in each of the final five seasons of Shero’s tenure.

Accomplishments: Two Stanley Cup Championships

Signature Successful Move: This is a tough one because there have been many. Trading James Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling comes to mind, but many would agree that his signature trade was acquiring Phil Kessel from Toronto. On July 1, 2015 Rutherford shipped Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, Spaling, and conditional first-and third-round draft picks to Toronto for Kessel, Tyler Biggs, Tim Erixon, and a conditional second round draft pick. Perhaps the most amazing part of this deal was that he also got Toronto to retain 15% of Kessel’s contract, $1.2 million, for its duration of all seven seasons. Kessel has gone on to be a key cog in the Penguins’ back-to-back championships, so much so that some felt he should have won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2017.

An honorable mention signature move that, at the time, went under the radar was hiring Mike Sullivan as head coach of the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2015. Rutherford had an inkling that then head coach Mike Johnston might not be the right fit for the Penguins and had the foresight to have Sullivan waiting in the wings in Wilkes-Barre.

Notable Unsuccessful Move: Rutherford has made more good moves than bad, but he has had some transactions that just didn’t work out. Trading for David Perron in exchange for Rob Klinkhammer and Pittsburgh’s first round pick in the 2015 draft was probably the worst. Perron only recorded 38 points in 86 games for the Penguins while registering a minus 21 rating. Rutherford was able to salvage something from Perron when he traded him in 2016 to Anaheim with Adam Clendening in exchange for speedy forward Carl Hagelin.

While the tenures of Patrick and Shero ended due to ineffectiveness, as time passes the successes of championships will be the prevalent memories that remain. The reign of Rutherford has already yielded such success that he might just get to write his own ending to his time in Pittsburgh, on his own terms. One thing is for sure, these three men have masterminded trades, drafts, and free agent signings that have led to an unprecedented level of success that no other NHL franchise has seen in the past three decades.