Penguins GM on Kessel: 'He doesn't have to be the guy here. We have a bunch of them'

The Pittsburgh Penguins want Phil Kessel to go out and play, nothing more.

Acquired Wednesday in a blockbuster deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the goal-scoring winger fills a specific need for the club in a huge way.

Related: Maple Leafs trade Phil Kessel to Penguins in 6-player deal

And as far as general manager Jim Rutherford is concerned, Kessel could benefit from focusing purely on hockey, free from bearing the weight of the NHL's biggest market.

"I’ve done a lot of homework on this and I’ve talked to a lot of people," Rutherford said Wednesday, "and I do believe a fresh start, getting out of Toronto - where he went under the microscope from Day 1 and he was always the guy; he was a guy that was blamed when things weren't going well - (will benefit him).

"He doesn't have to be the guy here. We have a bunch of them. So I believe that he’s going to fit in very well."

With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin clearly implanted as the Penguins' franchise players, Kessel was targeted by Rutherford with a view to adding speed and scoring to the mix, which he can bring in bunches.

Since joining the NHL in 2006-07 as a member of the Boston Bruins, Kessel has averaged 30 goals for every 82 games played, with a career-high 37 scored in 2011-12 with the Maple Leafs.

Adding a player of that ilk - and placing him alongside the likes of Crosby or Malkin - can only help a team looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2009, says Rutherford.

"It’s hard to score goals in this league, and when you play a lot of one-goal games - to get a pure goal scorer, that’s going to give you a better chance to win games," he said. "We got the best player in the trade, so it usually works out the best for the team that gets the best player."

Rutherford reiterated lack of concern about Kessel while addressing the media Thursday:

In short, the Penguins simply need Kessel to score, and there's no telling how many he can reel off - and set up, for that matter - while lining up with either of the Penguins' superstar centers, and no longer underneath the big microscope at the center of the hockey universe.