Former Blackhawks defenseman Jan Rutta lifted the Stanley Cup after the Lightning’s 2-0 win against the Stars on Monday night in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
The 30-year-old Rutta had one assist in five postseason games for Tampa Bay, which won its second title in franchise history and first since 2004. He was a healthy scratch for Game 6.
Congrats to my boy @JanRutta on winning the Cup with Tampa .. winning is never an accident and to see where you were only a few years ago and to watch you hoist the cup tonight is unbelievable!! Lots of hard work and much deserved!! #Honza #DJRutes pic.twitter.com/iX0OYe5M0d
— Brett Skinner (@BrettSkinner4) September 29, 2020
Chicago signed Rutta as a free agent in June 2017 after he scored 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 46 games for Piráti Chomutov in the Czech Republic’s top league. In 80 games, he scored 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in parts of two seasons.
The Blackhawks traded him along with a 2019 seventh-round pick to the Lightning for defenseman Slater Koekkoek and a 2019 fifth-round pick on Jan. 11, 2019. Chicago used the pick from Tampa Bay along with forward Dominik Kahun to acquired two-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Olli Maatta from the Penguins on June, 15, 2019.
Rutta isn’t the first former Blackhawks defenseman to win a Cup since Chicago’s last title in 2015. Trevor Daley won back-to-back championships with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 then Michal Kempny won the Cup with the Capitals in 2018.