Jim Rutherford decided last week that the Penguins would hold onto their first-round pick in the 2020 draft.
He just didn't say for how long.
And while Rutherford, who has used just two of the team's two No. 1 choices since replacing Ray Shero as GM in 2014, isn't aggressively soliciting offers for his top pick, he won't rule out parting with it if the right offer comes along.
"I'm open to all options on it," he said Monday. "We decided to keep that pick because we felt there are players there that we like, so that's one option, obviously. ... I'll keep options open. If something makes sense to move the pick, whether it's to move down (in the draft order) and get more picks or whether to move it to get a player, those options will be open. That's why we kept the pick."
The Penguins had been scheduled to send their first-round to Minnesota as part of the Jason Zucker trade, but Rutherford had it lottery-protected, so the Penguins could retain it if they failed to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That was virtually unthinkable at the time the trade was finalized, but after the coronavirus pandemic led to the NHL suspending operations March 12, the league devised a postseason format that pitted the Penguins against Montreal in one of eight qualifying-round series.
The losers of those series were to join the seven clubs excluded from postseason play in the lottery field and, when the Canadiens upset the Penguins, keeping their first-rounder and sending the Wild their No. 1 in 2021 suddenly became possible.
Rutherford decided to follow that course, cognizant that if the Penguins fail to get into the playoffs after next season, Minnesota could end up with an earlier choice in Round 1.
"There are some risks to taking it this year, compared to next year," Rutherford said. "If things really went bad next year, that could be a better pick going to Minnesota. We recognize that, but you don't bet against yourself."
Although it took an improbable sequence of events for the Penguins to hold onto their top choice this year, Rutherford said nothing that happened complicated things for the amateur scouts whose input will shape the Penguins' selection.
"We prepare as if we're drafting first (overall)," he said. "Our scouts are very well-prepared for anything. They don't have to go back and do any (additional) work. It's already done."
• Firing Mike Sullivan was not considered, even though assistant coaches Mark Recchi, Sergei Gonchar and Jacques Martin did not have their contracts renewed after the Montreal series. "We didn't feel a complete overhaul was in order," Rutherford said. "(Sullivan) was the head coach here (when the Penguins) won two Stanley Cups. That was never a consideration. We feel he has a lot to offer going forward."
• Rutherford reiterated that ownership has given him clearance to again spend to the salary-cap ceiling. "It doesn't mean that I want to," he said. "I would prefer not to. I would prefer to leave some room (under the ceiling). I would prefer to be $2 million or $3 million under it going into the season, and have that flexibility going forward, knowing that John Marino is coming the following year (to be re-signed). But I have that direction (to spend to the ceiling)."
• The Penguins are aggressively pursuing a college free agent, although Rutherford did not identify him. "We thought he was going back to school for another year," he said. "With the uncertainty of college hockey now, he's decided not to. This is a player we've followed for the last couple of years, and we like him." He added that the Penguins were interested in one of the 21 prospects from around the league who qualified for unrestricted free agency over the weekend but, "It sounds like we are probably not in the hunt for him. He has his mind set on another team."
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