Penguins Promote Allvin to AGM; What it Means

Amidst U.S. Presidential Election chaos, the Pittsburgh Penguins promoted a set of hockey eyes to their front office on Wednesday when the team elevated Director of Amateur Scouting Patrik Allvin to Assistant General Manager, according to GM Jim Rutherford.

Allvin has made a mark on the Penguins prospect pool with an eager dive into European prospects, especially Finnish players, including a pair of Scandanavian goalies with the Penguins second and third-round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft.

“Patrik has made a lot of contributions during his 14 years with Pittsburgh and has proven to be a valuable asset for us,” Rutherford said. “We’ve been impressed with his hockey knowledge and work ethic, and I look forward to working more closely with him.”

Rutherford began a front-office shakeup last Monday when he fired long-time associate and assistant GM Jason Karmanos and hired Trevor Daley to a Hockey Operations Advisor position.

Allvin is a native of Falun, Sweden, and has been with the Penguins for 14 seasons. He originally joined the club as a European scout beginning in 2006-07. He will assist Rutherford in all aspects of hockey operations. He will continue to oversee the Penguins’ amateur scouting efforts in both North America and Europe in addition to his new duties.

I finished my bachelor’s in finance in Sweden. Working with good people here over the years, they’ve involved me in contracts, techniques, and negotiations,” Allvin said. “But I got to learn a lot here. Moving forward with Jim, I’m eager to learn from him, Sam Ventura, and Erik Heasley.”

Former CMU grad-student Sam Ventura will assume the role of Director of Hockey Operations and Hockey Research. According to the Penguins, he will work closely with Allvin on the salary cap, CBA, and the overall hockey operations budget. Erik Heasley will continue his role as manager of hockey operations and assistant general manager of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

Interestingly, Allvin’s internal promotion was as much of a promotion as it was as re-organization. The Penguins essentially added duties to Allvin’s job description and didn’t bring in another person.  The move could also save the Penguins against hiring additional personnel.

PHN is not yet sure what the Allvin promotion means for the potential of hiring former Florida Panthers, GM Dale Tallon. Monday evening, the National Hockey Now network reported that industry sources believe Tallon may have several other interested teams.

However, the internal promotions of Allvin and Ventura also mean the Pittsburgh Penguins nor the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have a fresh set of eyes in the front office, except Daley who accepted his first job after his playing career ended last week. He’ll need to learn the business before being counted as a significant addition.