The defining philosophy isn't necessarily educated players, but skill over grit.
Rutherford has rebuilt the Penguins the same way he built the Hurricanes.
Big time emphasis on skill over brawn.
Look at that D-core in the playoffs.
Dumoulin
Hainsey
Maata
Schultz
Cole
Daley
Justin Schultz is the player on that defence with the most penalty minutes through the regular season. JUSTIN SCHULTZ.
Let that one sink in.
Up front its the same thing. Sheary (5'7") was a good signing for them. They have been fortunate that a couple of old draft picks in Guentzal and Rust happened to pan out at the same relative time.
I mean clearly its working for the Penguins. I find this philosophy is really enjoyable to watch as well. Up tempo, offensive style. What's not to like for a neutral fan?
I don't think it's necessarily the perfect model. I mean the Hurricanes struggled for years after winning the Cup despite the same philosophy.
How Rutherford has went from hero to zero and back to hero really shows that the difference between genius and incompetent is a fine line at the NHL level, and good fortune can have as much an impact on success as anything else.
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