Rutherford’s retooled roster and midseason coaching change spurred the Penguins (48-26-8, 104 points) to a sizzling regular-season finish and a playoff run that carried them to the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history. In his second season in charge, Rutherford used the trade and free-agent markets to add veteran forwards Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Eric Fehr and Phil Kessel over the summer plus forward Carl Hagelin and defenseman Trevor Daley during the campaign. The club surged when he hired Mike Sullivan, who went 33-16-5 after taking over as head coach on Dec. 12, highlighted by a 14-2-0 record in Pittsburgh’s final 16 games of the regular season.

Pts. (1st-2nd-3rd)
1. Jim Rutherford, PIT 90 (10-12-4)
2. Brian MacLellan, WSH 56 (6-7-5)
3. Jim Nill, DAL 55 (7-3-11)
4. Dale Tallon, FLA 50 (7-3-6)
5. Doug Armstrong, STL 39 (4-5-4)
6. Doug Wilson, SJS 38 (3-7-2)
7. Steve Yzerman, TBL 17 (2-1-4)
8. Stan Bowman, CHI 10 (1-1-2)
9. Ron Hextall, PHI 3 (0-1-0)
10. Don Maloney, ARI 1 (0-0-1)
Bob Murray, ANA 1 (0-0-1)

Year Winner Team
2016 Jim Rutherford Pittsburgh
2015 Steve Yzerman Tampa Bay
2014 Bob Murray Anaheim
2013 Ray Shero Pittsburgh
2012 Doug Armstrong St. Louis
2011 Mike Gillis Vancouver
2010 Don Maloney Phoenix