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The five biggest challenges for Ron Hextall, Brian Burke with the Pittsburgh Penguins

The last time the Pittsburgh Penguins announced a new general manager they shocked the hockey world by hiring Jim Rutherford, the long-tenured Carolina Hurricanes executive who introduced himself by saying he only expected to be in Pittsburgh for about three seasons.

Three seasons later, Rutherford was raising his second Stanley Cup with the Penguins.

After he stepped down in January for unspecified, non-health related reasons, Pittsburgh certainly felt the pressure of an encore. The Penguins are at a crossroads as a contender, as they were when Rutherford was hired.

On Tuesday, they shocked the hockey world again.