Jim Rutherford has staked his reputation as one of the NHL’s shrewdest negotiators and architect of some of the biggest blockbuster trades in recent memory. That’s to say nothing of being an executive of the year and a three-time Stanley Cup champion, the only manager to win the Cup with two different organizations in the post-1967 expansion era.
But like every GM, especially one with a quarter century-long paper trail, there have been more misses than hits in the NHL Draft. That said, Rutherford has certainly had his share of great picks and even mined some gems in the later rounds.
Here are Rutherford’s 15 best draft picks dating back to his time with the Hurricanes, nee Hartford Whalers (Note: though all have come with his former team that could change as Daniel Sprong and Dominik Simon and others develop):
1. ERIC STAAL
2003: First round (second overall)
After Rutherford’s current team traded up to take Marc-Andre Fleury, the Hurricanes gladly scooped up Staal at No. 2. That proved to be the right call as Staal helped Carolina to the Stanley Cup in ‘06 in his second season and is still going strong in Minnesota. He is third all-time in games played and is second only to Ron Francis ("Ronnie Franchise") in goals (322), assists (453) and points (715) in Hurricanes history.
2. ANDREW LADD
2004: First round (fourth overall)
Ladd spent two-plus seasons in Raleigh where he was a good — averaging .55 points in 137 games — but hardly All-Star caliber player. He was later dealt to Chicago in 2008 for Tuomo Ruutu and went on to help the Blackhawks to the Cup in 2010. He then went on to score 139 goals in six seasons for Atlanta/Winnipeg, where he was captain.
3. JEFF SKINNER
2010: First round (seventh overall)
Despite playing on some bad Hurricanes teams and yet to play a postseason game, the highly-underrated Skinner is in the top 20 in goals scored in the league since 2016-17. He is currently Carolina’s longest-tenured player but that could change soon as he’s a UFA at the end of 2018-19. The 26-year-old is already the seventh-leading scorer in team history with 379 points.
4. JEFF O’NEILL
1994: First round (fifth overall)
O’Neill played nine seasons for the Hartford/Carolina franchise and helped the Hurricanes to the 2002 Cup Final against Detroit. A heart and soul player, O’Neill ranks sixth in both goals (198) and assists (218) and is fifth in points (416) in Carolina history.
5. ERIK COLE
1998: Third round (71st overall)
Cole was drafted out of Clarkson and emerged as one of the better power forwards of the early 2000s. He played two stints with Carolina, scoring 265 goals in his career and helping the Hurricanes to two trips to the Cup Final. Cole played just the final two games of the ’06 Final after suffering a broken neck from a Brooks Orpik hit in March.
6. JACK JOHNSON
2005: First round (third overall)
Sidney Crosby’s friend and former Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammate was selected two spots after the Penguins captain. Though Johnson never played a game in Carolina — he was dealt to Los Angeles for Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason in August of 2005 — Johnson has gone on to play 13 distinguished seasons and has represented the U.S. in international play, including the Olympics.
7. JUSTIN FAULK
2010: Second round (37th overall)
Selected out of Minnesota-Duluth, Faulk has represented the U.S. in the World Junior and Olympics. He’s been selected to the All-Star Game three of the past four seasons and is one of the better offensive defensemen in the NHL, averaging 14 goals over the past four seasons.
8. SAMI KAPANEN
1995: Fourth round (87th overall)
The speedy, diminutive Finn played eight seasons in the Hartford/Carolina organization while averaging 0.28 goals per game and is ninth all-time in franchise history with 203 assists. He helped the Hurricanes to the 2002 Cup Final and was dealt the following season to Philadelphia, along with Ryan Bast for Pavel Brendl and Bruno St. Jacques. In 2014, Rutherford drafted his son, Kasperi Kapanen, with the 22nd overall pick for the Penguins.
9. CAM WARD
2002: First round (25th overall)
Ward's fist career start came Oct. 7, 2005 with a shootout win over the Penguins when he stopped Mario Lemieux, Ziggy Palffy and fellow rookie Crosby, who was playing his second career game. Ward served as the backup to Martin Geber that season but took over the net in the playoffs and went on a magical run, posting a 15-8 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.14 GAA to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Though he's had his ups and downs over the years, Ward is still the No. 1 goalie 13 years later.
10. BRIAN DUMOULIN
2009: Second round (51st overall)
Rutherford drafted the defenseman out of Boston College, then traded him three years later before playing a game for the Hurricanes. They reunited in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2014 and went on to win a pair of Stanley Cups with the Penguins. By the time he calls it a career in another decade or so, Dumoulin could be much higher on this list.
11. FREDERIK ANDERSEN
2010: Seventh round (187th overall)
The tall Dane was a very raw talent when originally drafted by the Hurricanes but could never come to terms on a contract with Carolina. Andersen remained in Europe playing for Frolunda in Sweden and re-entered the draft in 2012 where was selected in the third round by Anaheim. Andersen led the Ducks to the 2015 Western Conference Final but was dealt a year later to Toronto. He was traded in part for the Maple Leafs' first-round pick (30th overall) which was acquired from Rutherford's Penguins in the Phil Kessel trade.
12. J-S GIGUERE
1995: First round (13th overall)
Giguere is best known as the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy winner with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, one of just five players to win the award on a losing team. But his career started in Hartford, where he played just eight games as a rookie. Two years later he was dealt to Calgary in a trade that yielded Gary Roberts and Trevor Kidd.
13. CRAIG ADAMS
1996: Ninth round (1996)
A Harvard product, Adams is the answer to the trivia question: Who was the last player drafted by the Whalers to reach the NHL? Adams played 951 games in his career and was a valuable contributor as a defensive specialist on the Penguins’ 2009 championship team.
14. BRANDON SUTTER
2007: First round (11th overall)
Coming from a long lineage of hockey excellence, Sutter played four seasons in Carolina, including a 40-point campaign in 2009-10 in a bottom-six role. In 2012 he was dealt to Pittsburgh along with Dumoulin in exchange for Jordan Staal. Sutter has played a decade in the league, the last three for Vancouver.
15. JACCOB SLAVIN
2012: Fourth round (120th)
And underrated puck-moving defenseman, Slavin has averaged 28 points in his first three seasons and is an integral part of one of the best and fastest young defense corps in Carolina. The 24-year-old hasn’t even entered his prime.