from Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Rutherford had a chance to reflect a bit on all that has transpired since he succeeded Ray Shero as GM May 6, and he clearly is satisfied with what has been accomplished so far.

"I feel very good about what's happened," he said.

He seemed particularly pleased with the hiring of coach Mike Johnston, even though Johnston got the job only after Willie Desjardins (and perhaps Bill Peters) accepted offers elsewhere.

He's happy with the trade that brought forwards Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling from Nashville for James Neal because the Penguins "added two players who can play a little different style."

And Rutherford is flat-out delighted to have gotten top-four defenseman Christian Ehrhoff as a free agent after Buffalo bought out his contract.

"I feel we've improved ourselves at all positions," he said.

He acknowledged the impact of defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik leaving via free agency, but said: "Our younger defensemen are getting better, and the addition of Ehrhoff makes us stronger."

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