What I Think I Thought: I didn't care for it. Rutherford came in with an underwhelming history and it seemed to block the heir apparent in Jason Botterill. We'd all heard how valuable he was to Ray Shero and that he was viewed around the league as a rising executive. I had no idea what upper management felt he was lacking, but had doubts Rutherford was the guy to help him improve in whatever areas those were.
What I Think Now: Rutherford did a better job than I expected (as you'll see as you read further), but I still don't get the hire, especially from the Botterill angle.