Pens GM Jim Rutherford snaps at beat writer after Game 3

[sureLoss]

http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/...#axzz3XqkauRDR

Crisis is supposed to reveal true character, right?

General manager Jim Rutherford lost his cool after the Penguins' 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday night to fall within two defeats of a first-round elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

After exiting a media elevator and while walking with other reporters to the Penguins' dressing room, Rutherford addressed this columnist, a frequent critic since his hiring last June, in an obscenity-laced diatribe.

“Thanks for your support,” Rutherford said repeatedly.

“You're a (expletive) jerk,” Rutherford said repeatedly.

Rutherford followed the jerk comment with a suggestion to “go sell ice cream now,” then a challenge to look him in the eye, which I did while explaining my role as Trib Total Media's lead sports columnist.

My role is to provide opinion.

“Well, your opinion is (expletive),” Rutherford said.

As (expletive) as my opinion might be, it remains that Rutherford has botched an attempted retooling of the Penguins. If this unfortunate incident is any indication, he lacks the poise necessary to move that project foward.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/robrossi/...#ixzz3XudcZtJC
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[Wastedyouth]

He's made a mess of a decent team. I hope he's gone after this season because he sucks.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Don't understand how he got another job after the mess he left in Carolina

[MRCboicgy]

They let Ray Shero go for this guy?

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I like Rossi. Apparently I like him more than Rutherford does.

[Ashasx]

I guess this brings some solace to the idea that having a generational talent guarantees you Stanley Cups.

Poor management will out.

[Machiavelli]

Series ain't over.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Do we know that this reporters opinion isn't expletive?

[flames_fan_down_under]

Rutherford and Johnston will be gone after this series is over. Johnston has taken away all the creativity from Crosby and Malkin and has turned them into a dump and chase team, truly sad to see. Rutherford is not a good GM.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

Series ain't over.

This series was over before it started. Pens are lucky they won a game at all. Total mismatch.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I remember when the role of media was to report, and not to provide opinion. Those were the days. Now everyone has an editorial section within each article.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

I remember when the role of media was to report, and not to provide opinion. Those were the days. Now everyone has an editorial section within each article.

The sports pages have always been full of the opinion of columnists. Hint: If there's a picture of the author, it's a column, not a news story. Eric Duhatskek is a columnist. George Johnson is a columnist. Stephen Brunt is a columnist. How many people even read the straight game stories anymore, when they can get the highlights in a couple clicks?

People read opinion columns. They sell papers and page views. News outlets are in the business of entertaining and selling newspapers and page views. If 'news' stories (really, sports is hardly news at all, it's entertainment) were what the viewers wanted, that's what they would get.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

@ Cliff Fletcher; I grant you all that. My problem is that there's very little actual reporting of information, or even the use of simple data, to back up those opinions. The story is written based on the information you present the audience with. What you have these days is writers who have a particular agenda or preconceived story that colors everything they report. It's bush league.

I'm not saying this is what's happening with this reporter, but you do see it with some of the advanced stats guys who refuse to gather all the pertinent data or interpret things in a new way when presented with new information, and they just stick to their rhetoric instead of approaching every article with an unbiased perspective.

[SuperMatt18]

Hasn't Rutherford only been there a season.

Most of the problems with this team are issues of past management, and that with a Salary cap it can be hard to have depth with $18 million spent on 2 players.

If I am the Pens I don't over react. They are without 3 or 4 of their top 6 dmen down the stretch which has caused the issues and the collapse.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

The main move he is criticizing there is the Ehrhoff signing. I thought that was a great signing at the time; maybe the best of the offseason. It hasn't worked out, largely because of injuries and IMO the coach using him improperly, but that doesn't mean the idea was poor.

[Erick Estrada]

I don't blame Rutherford for accepting the job. Mario and Co. really did botch things last offseason with extremely underwhelming hires. Rutherford is a guy that should have been removed from running any NHL team at least five years prior to this season. This is on Mario and his advisors for firing Shero and Blysma and downgrading at both positions. He's the guy that has overseen the wasting of Crosby and Malkin's prime years.

[Northendzone]

a few weeks ago elliot f was commenting on the fan about how the pens are seemingly fragile and really seem to get derailed if they get a call or two against them - perhaps it is an organizational mindset

[dash_pinched]

Based on the feedback I've read from several Penguins fans, Rob Rossi is the Pittsburgh equivalent of Eric Francis. That said, I'm not a big fan of Rutherford.

[Poe969]

I honestly hope the pens beat the rangers because I dislike the rangers more than I dislike the pens. That being said, if the pens go out in the first round, I really hope the team makes some drastic changes.

[Huntingwhale]

As (expletive) as my opinion might be, it remains that Rutherford has botched an attempted retooling of the Penguins. If this unfortunate incident is any indication, he lacks the poise necessary to move that project forward.

Ah, the classic ''he treated me like crap so he must be crappy at all other aspects of his job'' excuse. I think Rutherford is a poor GM and the Pens should go hard after Chiarelli (so Edmonton can't), but I'd take what that reporter says with a grain of salt. As dash-pinches said, he's their Francis. He has the luxury of sitting at a computer and preparing his piece to suit his story.