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Former Penguins assistant General Manager Jason Karmanos who spent six seasons as Jim Rutherford’s right hand man, is a candidate for the Penguins GM opening and officially interviewed on To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

The twist in the story here is that it wasn’t the Penguins after all that forced Rutherford to fire Karmanos in late October, which was assumed by many due to how close Rutherford and Karmanos had been for years.

Multiple sources close to the situation confirm the Karmanos firing was Rutherford 100% driven due to a blow up [hide] between the two that’s been categorized as an out of nowhere falling out between Karmanos and Rutherford.

As the Penguins plan to begin second interviews on Monday for select candidates and also mull bringing more candidates in for interviews (considered likely) that weren’t officially part of the first wave, Karmanos is firmly in the mix and a consideration at this point.

Viewed as a rising star in NHL ranks by some, Karmanos had earned a strong reputation in the organization for his ability to evaluate talent and combine that evaluation with analytics, something members of the Penguins brass, namely Team President David Morehouse who feel analytics will need to continue to be an evolving part of the organization moving forward. [/hide]