Mike Sullivan Far From Blameless
Pittsburgh Penguins' general manager Jim Rutherford has taken quite a beating this off-season when it comes to criticism of his transactions, and deservedly so. Rutherford's signing of Johnson, giving away assets like he's Michael Jackson, and constantly moving guys in and out of Pittsburgh even led to some of the players on the team criticizing him anonymously. And while I agree that Rutherford is at the forefront when it comes to blame, he's far from alone. The players have a share, since they are the ones actually playing, but also we need to look at Penguins' head coach Mike Sullivan as well. Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston as head coach about 1/3 through the 2015-2016 season and instantly turned things around. Not only did the Pens have the best record in the league from the date Sullivan was hired until the end of the season, they steamrolled their way to a Stanley Cup, then won it all again in 2017, while using two goalies, and playing without their numb