Phil Kessel won't have to explain his every move in Pittsburgh.

Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said his new forward won't be held to the same media standards as he was in Toronto.

"Everybody has the right to approach (the media) the way they want," Rutherford told Jason Mackey of Trib Total Media. "Sometimes guys are just shy or they're not comfortable doing it. It's not that they dislike somebody or they're upset because somebody wrote something. Some guys are very comfortable with it, and some guys aren't. I don't think it's right as an organization that we tell someone that they have to do something."

Kessel, known as more of an introverted personality, didn't always mesh well with Toronto media and its intense hockey presence, and Rutherford isn't going to pressure Kessel into doing something he may not want to, according to Mackey.

"Although Rutherford has no problem talking to media, he said he doesn't think the notoriously quiet Kessel should be held to the same standard," Mackey wrote.

Kessel was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1 in a blockbuster six-player deal.