According to Jim: Grading Jim Rutherford's Performance as Pittsburgh Penguins GM

With changes in the front office, behind the bench and on the ice, no team has undergone as much upheaval or as many personnel moves since last season as have the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After yet another disappointing finish to their postseason run, the Pens' ownership team decided that a new direction was needed and hired Jim Rutherford, a former Pens goaltender, to be their new general manager and he immediately went to work.

While the final grade on Rutherford's overall performance won't be known until the offseason, let's take a look at the grades for his decisions from the start of his tenure until now.

Coaching Change

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When the Penguins' ownership team decided to fire Ray Shero and retain head coach Dan Bylsma, at least temporarily, it meant that the decision on what to do with the head coaching position would be the first one the next general manager would have to make.

While many believe that Bylsma was retained temporarily simply to keep him from being hired by the Washington Capitals, there was never any real question that he would be replaced since, according to Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, ownership believed that he had "lost the room."

Once Jim Rutherford took over as general manager and fired Bylsma on June 6 of last year, the coaching search began in earnest but, after two weeks or searching and interviews, it was, in the words of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ron Cook, "in shambles."

Willie Desjardins, the front-runner for the job, surprisingly turned it down in favor of the Vancouver Canucks' vacancy and, despite rumors that he might be looking to move on from Detroit, Mike Babcock affirmed his desire to fulfill the final year on his contract with the Red Wings.

Forced to look elsewhere, Rutherford finally settled on a new head coach on June 25 in Mike Johnston of the WHL who was widely viewed by NHL observers as a good fit for the job.

While Johnston has been able to keep the Pens at the top of the Metropolitan Division, it remains to be seen if he can get them over that playoff hump that ultimately tripped up Dan Bylsma.

Grade: B+

Free Agency

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By the time the dust had settled at the end of free agency, the Penguins were a much different team than they were at the beginning of it.

With the departures of Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik to the Washington Capitals and Deryk Engelland to the Calgary Flames, the Pens were forced to replace half of their defensive unit while Jussi Jokinen, who had a team-high seven playoff goals, took his talents to South Beach and signed with the Florida Panthers.

To fill the holes and revamp his roster, Jim Rutherford wasted no time in targeting players that would make the Pens tougher, deeper and more balanced.

Rather than follow the league-wide trend of offering long-term contracts, Rutherford opted for a shorter outlook and signed Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff, Steve Downie, Blake Comeau and Thomas Greiss to one-year deals.

Although some might question the decision to allow nine current players to hit free agency this summer, it has created a sense of urgency on a team that many felt became complacent under the old regime.

While it remains to be seen if Rutherford has succeeded in putting together a team capable of making a deep playoff run, there's no doubt that the Pens have taken a step forward instead of backward as many believed they would.

Grade: B+

James Neal Traded for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling

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While there is no doubt that James Neal is a very talented player, there is also no doubt that, given his lack of postseason production and purportedly testy demeanor, it was time for him to part ways with the Penguins last summer.

Having scored 89 goals in 199 regular-season games with a 11.7 shooting percentage for the Pens, Neal could only find the back of the net 11 times in 38 postseason games and his shooting percentage was an abysmal 7.4.

To make matters worse, Neal often let his frustrations show in the playoffs and amassed 50 postseason-penalty minutes; some of which came at the worst possible times.

Ultimately, Neal became a microcosm of the Pens themselves; he had a lot of regular-season success but had repeatedly poor performances in the playoffs caused by an unwillingness to go to the net or to play a disciplined game.

Despite the adage that says whichever team gets the best player in a trade wins, the Pens, despite not getting more in return, are a better team for Jim Rutherford having made this deal as Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling have made the Pens deeper and more balanced.

Although he was the best player in the trade, Neal is on pace for his lowest points total since his rookie year and the worst shooting percentage of his entire career.

Grade: B

Resigning Marc-Andre Fleury to an Contract Extension

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When Jim Rutherford was tabbed as the Penguins' next general manager, many observers figured that it marked the beginning of the end of Marc-Andre Fleury's time in Pittsburgh.

Following a strong regular season, Fleury was better statistically during the postseason but his epic puck-handling gaffe at the end of regulation and soft goal in overtime in Game 4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets simply affirmed the notion to many that he was no longer a franchise goaltender.

Entering the final year of his contract, Fleury seemed destined to play out the final year of his contract and hope that he performed well enough to earn an extension

However, with three shutouts within the first month of the schedule, he quickly impressed his new boss and earned a four-year, $23 million extension.

With his future in Pittsburgh now secure, Fleury has been stellar this season and is on pace to set career bests in save percentage, goals-against per game and shutouts and seems to have put his postseason struggles behind him.

Grade: A-

Philip Samuelsson Traded for Rob Klinkhammer and 2016 5th-Round Pick

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Sometimes when teams have a wealth of talent at one position, they tend to undervalue a player at that position and that seems to be the case with the Penguins and Philip Samuelsson.

Drafted in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Samuelsson was viewed as a solid two-way defenseman and had seen his first action last season for the Pens.

Unfortunately with top prospects Derrick Pouliot, Brian Dumoulin and Scott Harrington waiting in the wings, Samuelsson, already 23, seemed to be a victim of numbers so, rather than run the risk of eventually losing him through waivers, Jim Rutherford decided to deal him to the Arizona Coyotes.

In return, the Pens acquired a fifth-round pick in 2016 and Rob Klinkhammer who tallied one goal and two assists in 10 games and was shipped off in a later trade.

Ultimately, the decision to deal a defensive prospect is understandable considering the Pens' organizational depth at the position, but, given Samuelsson's upside, the return that the Pens got was smaller than it should have been.

Grade: C-

Rob Klinkhammer and 2015 1st-Round Pick for David Perron

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While the need to get talented wingers for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has been one of the biggest priorities for Penguins front office in recent years, the loss of Pascal Dupuis for the second straight season made the need even more pressing.

Instead of going the safe and low-cost route with players such as Lee Stempniak and Brian Gibbons as his predecessor Ray Shero did last year, Rutherford chose to be bold and shipped the recently acquired Rob Klinkhammer and the Pens 2015 first-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for David Perron.

A three-time 20-goal scorer, Perron had shown impressive offensive skill with the Oilers despite being surrounded with inferior talent and promises to be the type of dynamic puck handler that the Pens haven't had since Alexei Kovalev.

In his first four games with the Pens, Perron, who ironically idolized Kovalev, has been a perfect fit alongside Crosby with three goals and an assist.

At just 26 years of age and with another season to go on his current contract, Perron has been an instant upgrade for the top line and, given the age and injury history of Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, he figures to be a fixture with the Pens for the foreseeable future.

Grade: A

Mark Arcobello Claimed off Waivers

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During their failed playoff run last year, the Pittsburgh Penguins' biggest liability was their bottom two lines which, outside of Brandon Sutter, produced just two goals in 13 games and were outplayed by their counterparts most of the time.

To address this, Jim Rutherford made a concerted effort to strengthen the Pens' bottom-six forward and the latest move to do so was the claiming of Mark Arcobello off waivers from the Nashville Predators.

Listed at just 5'8" and 166 pounds, Arcobello won't add size to the mix but, with eight goals and five assists this season, he definitely adds skill and already has more goals than 10 other players who seen extensive time on the bottom-two lines.

Known as a hardworking player with some offensive upside, Arcobello might be able to help the fourth line contribute offensively as Craig Adams isn't getting any younger and Zach Sill has the dubious distinction of playing the second most games in NHL history (48) before recording his first career point.

While it remains to be seen how Arcobello fits into the current roster and performs in the Pens' system, anyone who saw Brian Gibbons in the playoffs last year knows that speed and work ethic can still be effective in the NHL and this no-risk signing can only make the Pens a deeper team.

Grade: B