Penguins GM Jim Rutherford turns attention to centers

CHICAGO — With the draft completed, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford will turn his focus toward his NHL roster.

The deal that brought in tough winger Ryan Reaves on Friday night cost Rutherford young center Oskar Sundqvist. After Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the depth chart thins out down the middle for the Penguins with uncertain futures for Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen, who will be unrestricted free agents.

“(Center is) the priority,” Rutherford said Saturday. “We have to see what Nick is going to do. We've been talking to him and his agent. Hopefully we can figure out something there, but if not, we have some options that we'll be comfortable with.”

Rutherford plans on a busy week before the free-agency period opens July 1.

“We're going to have to be fairly busy because we've got some holes to fill,” he said. “I'm going to check back in and see where these (unrestricted) guys are at. If I don't know for sure by July 1, we're going to have to look at our options. We've put a plan together, got a list of players, but it will be a busy week trying to fill it all in.”

Cullen's future is also unclear, and Rutherford is not sure whether the 40-year-old veteran will retire.

“I'm not making any assumptions,” Rutherford said. “I'm not sure what to think about that.”

Depending on how the roster shakes out this summer, one possibility for an expanded role is Carter Rowney, who played center and right wing during the second half of last season.

“He can play both (positions), and that's a real advantage,” Rutherford said. “We like him at center, and if he ends up being our fourth-line center, we're happy with that.”

However, Jake Guentzel is not a possibility to play center.

“We'd prefer him to play the wing,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford also has at least one hole to fill on defense with Trevor Daley and Ron Hainsey headed to unrestricted free agency.

“It depends what happens with Daley,” Rutherford said. “That could be a possibility, a trade or a free agent, depending on where we think he is going to end up numbers-wise.”

One aspect of the lineup that Rutherford is content with is team toughness after the addition of Reaves.

“It takes the pressure off to go in that direction,” Rutherford said. “If a player comes along that has that, then that's fine. But I don't feel any pressure to add any more. That guy can take care of a lot.”

One carrot Rutherford can offer his pending free agents is an opportunity to play for a team that will pursue its third consecutive Stanley Cup next season — but that's useful only up to a point.

“You'd like to think it helps because it's fair to say they all want to come back,” Rutherford said. “But they've worked hard for a big payday, and when you're in a cap system, as much as you'd like to bring them back, you might not be able to.”

“They're going to do what they think is best for themselves.”

Patrick Williams is a freelance writer.