After Two Cups in Tampa, Rutta Looking for a Third in the 'Burgh
"The interest from Pittsburgh was really fast," he said. "They were one of the first (to reach out), so I knew the interest was there."
So a couple of weeks later, the Czech native decided to sign a three-year contract with an average annual value of $2.75 million to go from one contender to another, the only other team to capture back-to-back championships in the past quarter of a century.
"You guys know how it is, you win back-to-back too," Rutta said with a smile. "It was amazing, those two years. They meant so much, so I'm hoping to be on the other side again."
Before joining the Penguins, Rutta had spent the past four seasons in the Lightning organization, and is coming off a campaign where he recorded three goals, 15 assists, 18 points and a plus-25 - which ranked second on the team - in 76 games played.
The 32-year-old blueliner also tallied five points (1G-4A) in 17 playoff games during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the opening goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But Rutta said just from doing the simple math, he had a feeling it was going to be his last ride with that group considering Tampa's salary cap situation as they try to fit players around the likes of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman.
If any team understands that sort of crunch, it's the Penguins, who are still in the process of tinkering with their roster after re-signing the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, who obviously all played huge roles in those 2016 and '17 runs.
"When you look at the look at the core here, the group that's been part of all those Cup runs, you don't sign those players very often," Rutta said. "It's really special to have players of that stature of your organization. So it is similar. Whether you're comparing Sid to Kuch or Geno to Stammer, they're all great players, and it's just fun to be around those guys in the locker room and on the ice."
Tampa Bay's loss is Pittsburgh's gain, as the Penguins think very highly of Rutta. When management and the coaching staff sat down and evaluated the Penguins this past offseason, they wanted to get a little bit heavier on the back end, and targeted the 6-foot-3, 204-pound Rutta as a player who could help them do that.
So although there's currently nine NHL-caliber defensemen fighting for spots at training camp, it's pretty evident that Penguins general manager Ron Hextall sees Rutta as being part of the mix in Pittsburgh. The right-handed Rutta will likely fill the right side of their third D-pairing, behind Kris Letang and Jeff Petry on the depth chart.
"You look at Jan Rutta, he's hard to play against," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's a real good defender, he's a very good penalty killer, and so he brings that dimension to our team. Just having guys that bring more diversity to our defense core, I think, makes us a more formidable team."
There's certainly a lot for him to learn with his new team, but Rutta feels that as long as he stays true to himself, the adjustment process will be a smooth one.
"It's a new chapter, and I'm really, really excited," Rutta said. "The system here is a little different. I'm sure that we'll have more meetings and I'll get to know the system a little bit better. But I'm not looking to change a whole lot. Try to play hard, try to play simple, and just help the team and the stars to be even better."
