One of the best traits of former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was his quality of being an open book. He wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind and what he planned on doing with his team. Now that he is out of the NHL spotlight, he joined The Athletic Josh Yohe's show titled 2 For Talking Podcast.
Rutherford had many interesting things to say, one being about Penguins franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury.
During that part of the podcast, Rutherford went into detail about how Fleury navigated through many ups and downs during his final season in Pittsburgh, which ultimately led to him going to Vegas during the expansion draft. The Penguins faithful have dearly missed the beloved goalie, and it turns out that he almost returned. Rutherford shed light on a trade that almost landed a reunion with the goaltender.
"I tried to get him back after he was in Vegas for a little bit," Ruther admitted. "We actually got to a point that it got real close but it never happened."
Looking back at a timeline here and it's clear that this would have been during the 2021 offseason. The Golden Knights were having cap issues, and the Penguins were in need of a netminder. Bringing Fleury back to Pittsburgh would've been a terrific story to follow. Sadly, that fairytale never happened and the trade fell through, which eventually led to Fleury getting dealt to the Blackhawks.
Ex-Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford exposes failed trade reunion with Marc-Andre Fleury
Back in 2021, the Penguins were still expected to be a playoff team, but you could tell that their Stanely Cup aspirations were starting to go by the wayside. They hadn't been strong contenders since 2018, and their veterans were aging. With all of that said, Jim Rutherford was still a trade happy general manager and someone who was willing to invest heavily into the goalie position.
The Golden Knights placed Marc-Andre Fleury on the trade block after four years of solid play for their expansion team. They were suffering a severe cap crunch, and Robin Lehnr eventually took over the top job in Vegas. It made Fleury an easy contract to move during that offseason. Pittsburgh came calling, but they weren't the only ones. Chicago was where the veteran landed that year.
This story by Rutherford will always have fans wondering what if.
Having a blockbuster trade reunion with Fleury would've been a terrific story. In actuality, if this move happened, odds are not much would've changed. Tristian Jarry was still the young up-and-coming goalie for the club. Perhaps Fleury would've ran a solid duo with him, but it would've provided better insurance come playoff time.
Bringing the band back together one last time from those franchise cornerstones was a good thought, but it never materialized. If the Penguins had brought back Fleury, it's just something that would have gotten them good press, but not back into the championship caliber realm. Fans will be sad to hear this reunion almost happened and failed at the end, but Fleury will always be an icon.
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