Jim Rutherford never looked or sounded stronger.
Sure, the Penguins' general manager made his share of mistakes in his first season in Pittsburgh, and he invested much of his half-hour, season-ending press conference at Consol Energy Center candidly, almost casually, citing some of those one after the other.
Sure, he repeatedly referred to Pascal Dupuis as 'Du-pree,' while somehow avoiding so much as a snicker from the roomful of us reporter types, presumably because, hey, we'd all do well in life to be handling a job like his at age 66.
Sure, he had to address any senstivity he might have toward criticism, in light of his profanity-laced criticism of a Tribune-Review columnist last week that made headlines across the continent, beginning, of course, with one in the Tribune-Review.
And sure, it came across as far less than convincing when he said, near the end of it all: "I think we had a pretty good team. If we were healthy, I'd feel good with the moves that were made."
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