Jim Rutherford is on a transaction hot streak, from the shrewd moves he made during the offseason (trading a sixth rounder for John Marino) to the swaps that he didn't make (keeping goalie Tristan Jarry amid a salary cap and roster crunch). But even a Hall of Fame GM with three Stanley Cups on his resume occasionally makes a dud of a trade.
Instead of returning to the offensive heights reached during his early NHL tenure, Alex Galchenyuk -- picked up from the Coyotes along with defense prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph in exchange for Phil Kessel -- dragged down the Penguins' scoring attack while playing ineffective, disinterested defense. On a team that's largely dominating puck possession, the former third overall pick in the NHL draft was arguably Pittsburgh's least valuable player.
But Rutherford is not one to stubbornly stand by his previous moves. When something isn't working, he acts. He did just that on Monday by shipping Galchenyuk, defensive prospect Calen Addison and a protected first-round pick to the Minnesota Wild for winger Jason Zucker (reportedly part of Rutherford's preferred trade package for Kessel last offseason, before Phil nixed the deal).
What made Galchenyuk such a poor fit in Pittsburgh?
Let's break down his LVP performance.
To continue reading, log into your account:
