The Detroit Red Wings fanbase is getting thrown curveball after curveball. Back in June, team captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade from the team, where he only provided four teams on his wishlist. General manager Steve Yzerman was playing hardball when it comes to moving Larkin, expressing that he wouldn't trade him if he didn't get a strong enough offer. But then, Yzerman stepped down as general manager, and now, the Red Wings are looking for his replacement.
Red Wings fans are curious whether the team will explore an outside the box hire, or if they will go the route of the usual general manager candidates. One name had surfaced as of late in the Red Wings serach, and that was former goalie and ex-Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vancouver Canucks executive Jim Rutherford. But now, he appears to be a non-option.
During a recent episode of The Sheet podcast, Jeff Marek said he's heard that Rutherford is not part of the Red Wings' process to find a new head of hockey operations.
Jim Rutherford is not an option for the Red Wings front office
Given how common names get hired across the NHL, it wouldn't have been a shock if Rutherford was under consideration for the Red Wings.
Rutherford is a familiar name in the league, as he had been in the league for quite some time, where he won Stanley Cups with the Hurricanes in 2006 and the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a team builder.
Before his executive career, Rutherford previously played for the Red Wings as a goalie. In 10 years with the Red Wings, Rutherford recorded a 97-165-43 record, 3.69 goals allowed average, and a .876 save percentage in 314 games (305 starts).
Jim Rutherford wouldn't have been an ideal choice to run the Red Wings front office
Red Wings fans may want a fresh face running things, maybe an individual who doesn't have an affiliation to the organization. But when it comes to Rutherford's most recent stint as president of hockey operations for the Canucks, he wasn't going to be the most ideal candidate.
After being hired in 2021, the Canucks didn't have much success, overall. Vancouver made it to the playoffs just once back in 2023, where they reached the second round before getting eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers. The team then entered a downward spiral. There was the notable beef between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, where Rutherford said to the media that the two could not be on the same team anymore. Then, there was the decision to trade away defenseman Quinn Hughes this past season. The Canucks finished dead last in the entire league, yet failed to win the NHL Draft Lottery.
So, Rutherford didn't have the most positive tenure in Vancouver. Let's not forget that Rutherford also signed Pettersson to what might well be one of the worst contracts in hockey, as he carries an $11.6 million annual cap hit through the 2031-32 season. Now, with Pettersson's production notably falling off of a cliff, it's a contract that cannot be traded for a good return.
While Rutherford does have the history with the Red Wings, along with multiple Stanley Cup titles on his resume as an executive, his tenure with the Canucks wasn't that great. We'll see who the Red Wings come up with to lead the front office, but Rutherford is not an option.
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