If you’re a Penguins fan, you know the inevitable looms just ahead and around the corner. Eventually, the Pens are going to tear down the last vestiges of their Stanley Cup champions and begin a rebuild in earnest.
The once-mighty Red Wings succumbed to the forces of Father Time. So have the equally proud Blackhawks. Like our Pens, three-time Cup winners in the new millennium.
The plan in a nutshell? A reverse-Rutherford, if you will. Trade off any remaining veteran talent for draft capital, in the process hopefully snagging some lottery picks and if you’re real lucky, a budding franchise player (see McKenna, Gavin).