New Favorite Emerges for Penguins GM Position

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their search for a new GM after long-time executive Jim Rutherford stepped away from his position for personal reasons. The vacant position has generated a ton of buzz regarding the Penguins' future, and from all accounts ownership would like to get the position filled as soon as possible. 

While a list of names were linked to the job early on, it's now a 'three-horse' race with one of the candidates appearing to have an inside track on the role. 

The Penguins have been granted permission to interview to the likes of New York Rangers assistant general manager Chris Drury, Colorado Avalanche assistant GM Chris MacFarland, and Boston Bruins director of player personnel John Ferguson Jr., TSN's Frank Seravalli reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."

Drury appears to be the favorite. The long-time two-way forward played 12 NHL seasons before retiring after the 2010-11 campaign. The Connecticut native joined the Rangers as their director of player development in 2015 before being promoted to assistant GM in 2016. He's also been the GM of the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack since 2017. His experience with Hockey USA has also been taken into consideration and some around the league expect him to win the position.

Rangers AGM Chris Drury will interview with Penguins for GM vacancy. He was on shortlist, but Penguins were under impression Drury had been denied permission. They’ve been told Rangers will not hold Drury back if he is serious candidate, which he is.
(TSN first reported.)

— Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) February 2, 2021

Photo credit:   Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire

***UPDATE***

Scratch NYR AGM Chris Drury as a candidate for the vacant PIT GM job. While he was viewed as a top prospect for the job, and the Penguins had asked for permission to talk to him, Drury informed PIT today he isn’t interested in leaving NYC or the Rangers at this time.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 3, 2021