Mark Madden: Count on GM Jim Rutherford to get defensive depth the Penguins need

Mike Tomlin is a strong candidate for NFL Coach of the Year.

But jabroni quarterback Duck Hodges throwing 38 times in a losing effort vs. Buffalo didn’t help. Neither did Hodges tossing four balls to the wrong team. OK, so the Bills had eight men in the box. Is the Steelers offense that easily steered to its weakness?

But the Steelers might make the playoffs. If that’s done with Ben Roethlisberger injured, that’s extraordinary. That might get Tomlin coach of the year.

That brings us to Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford.

The Penguins are in the Eastern Conference’s top wild-card spot and just four points out of second place in the Metropolitan Division. Not bad considering Sidney Crosby hasn’t played since Nov. 9 and an injury list that brings to mind a Biblical plague.

There’s lots of hockey to be played, but Rutherford seems an early front-runner for NHL Executive of the Year. That’s not long after being a lightning rod for Twitter criticism because of sins real and (mostly) imagined, primarily Jack Johnson’s contract.

But, since Jan. 1, Rutherford has:

• Traded for Dominik Kahun, John Marino and Jared McCann.

• Signed Brandon Tanev out of free agency.

• Promoted Teddy Blueger and Tristan Jarry from the Penguins’ minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

• Sent Phil Kessel to Arizona, which permitted the Penguins to be born again systematically and defensively.

Not everything went perfect. Rutherford also acquired Nick Bjugstad and Alex Galchenyuk. Both have disappointed.

But while Johnson’s contract is still a bit long and a bit expensive, he is coming good this season. He’s not Bobby Orr, but he’s a very competent regular defenseman.

Rutherford didn’t merely rebrand, like the Pirates. He rebooted.

It’s a whole new Penguins team in terms of speed, grit, desire and energy. It’s as fast as their Stanley Cup winners in 2016 and ’17. Most GMs couldn’t do that in five years. Rutherford did it inside of 12 months.

The Penguins don’t have any gaping holes that won’t be plugged when the injured list dwindles. But trading for a depth defenseman would be advisable.

Justin Schultz is too often hurt. (That and Marino’s presence make it easy to let Schultz walk via free agency at season’s end.) Schultz is week-to-week. Brian Dumoulin is out until February after undergoing ankle surgery.

Chad Ruhwedel isn’t a defenseman you want playing every game, and especially not every playoff game. The coaching staff seems to have lost confidence in Juuso Riikola, and he has not been overly impressive when he does play.

The Penguins won the Cup in ’17 thanks to defensive depth. Ron Hainsey was acquired a week before the trade deadline. He ended up playing all 25 playoff games. Spare parts Ruhwedel (six games) and Mark Streit (three games) saw postseason action. With Kris Letang out, the Penguins used eight defensemen in those playoffs.

You can never have enough solid defensemen. The Penguins could use one more.

Rutherford will get one. When he sees a problem, he fixes it.

Forget NHL Executive of the Year. Rutherford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last month. Rutherford’s 2019 reflects his qualifications.