[KootenayFlamesFan]

Rutherford taking some shots from his former boss.

In speaking to reporters in Raleigh, N.C., Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. directed incendiary comments at Rutherford, his former general manager and team president, as well as the Penguins.

“Jim liked to talk about the fact that we're a budget team. I'm not sure what that ever meant,” Karmanos said. “Every team has a budget. That means that we had a budget until Jim needed a player, and I said, ‘OK.' Then we would have a different budget.”

Karmanos called current GM Ron Francis “more inclusive” than Rutherford and said Francis is “far more astute on the financial end of the game.”

“Pittsburgh has no first-round picks anymore,” Karmanos said. “They traded their first round pick from the year before. They traded their first-round pick this year, and they traded their first-round pick for next year. But they do have Kessel, who may score as many goals as Alex Semin did. All right? And I don't have to take credit for that.”

Karmanos also saw it fit to address the Penguins' ownership situation.

“I think they'll sell that team for between $700 (million) to $800 million in Pittsburgh,” Karmanos said. “The cupboard will be pretty bare by that time.”

http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/...#axzz3ejo4Edoq