The Pittsburgh Penguins were short on assistant general managers for the upcoming season, but have decided to promote from within to fill the post. Patrik Allvin, who had previously served as director of amateur scouting for the club, has been promoted to assistant GM. GM Jim Rutherford explained the choice:
Patrik has made a lot of contributions during his 14 years with Pittsburgh, and has proven to be a valuable asset for us. We’ve been impressed with his hockey knowledge and work ethic, and I look forward to working more closely with him.
Allvin has been with the Penguins in various roles since 2006, coming over from the Montreal Canadiens under then-GM Ray Shero. He will continue to oversee the Penguins amateur scouting efforts, while also taking on new responsibilities assisting Rutherford in the hockey operations department.
Just recently, the Penguins decided to fire AGM Jason Karmanos. At that time, many speculated that former AGM Jason Botterill, recently fired by the Buffalo Sabres, could be on his way back to the Pittsburgh front office. As of now, that hasn’t happened, with Allvin taking up residence as an AGM instead. It still seems likely that another addition is to come however, given Karmanos was set to serve as GM of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, a responsibility that is not listed in the Allvin press release.
In another move, the team has announced that Sam Ventura will assume the role of director of hockey operations and hockey research, while Erik Heasley will continue his role as manager of hockey operations and AGM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
I suppose Allvin is the heir apparent to GMJR.