When Jim Rutherford was tasked with rebuilding the Penguins, it took some time. It took some wheeling and dealing. Acquiring pieces of the Penguins core of the future would come little by little. Patric Hornqvist was an integral piece. But on July 1st, 2016, Rutherford made his move.
Phil Kessel was a Pittsburgh Penguin. This wouldn’t be Rutherford’s last move of the summer, either. Later on, he would deal Brandon Sutter to the Canucks in exchange for Nick Bonino. GMJR has his B and his K, little did we know he was just looking for that H.