Mike DeFabo: Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford on if he’s done trading or if they could make another move before the February 24th NHL trade deadline: “I don’t know. The nice thing about making this deal now is we’ll get a look at our team for about 10 days… We’ll have to see how Dumoulin and Marino are coming along… Then we can make a decision at that time”
Rob Rossi of The Athletic: (written before the Penguins traded for Jason Zucker) The Penguins are without defenseman John Marino and Brian Dumoulin. GM Jim Rutherford said that it doesn’t change their trade deadline plans.
“We still have two weeks left to assess where our defense is at. We know we’re getting Marino and Dumoulin back at least after the deadline, and we’ll know by then how close those players are to coming back into our lineup.
“So, I’d say those last 48 hours before the deadline will be when we determine if we need to add another defenseman. And I’m confident we’ll have a good read on the situation by that point.”
League sources said that in the past couple of weeks the Penguins have shown interest in Zucker and Tyler Toffoli. Source also said that the Penguins asked the Montreal Canadiens about forward Max Domi and were told that he was not available.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Have heard that there have been several teams that have shown interest in defenseman Juuso Riikola. Teams still look at him as a prospect. He hasn’t been put in the greatest position in Pittsburgh. He should still hold some value.
The Los Angeles Kings or Anaheim Ducks could use someone like Riikola. If the Penguins were to move him, they’d need to get a veteran defenseman in return. He’ll likely remain with the team.
There has been some talk about defenseman Justin Schultz possibly being moved, but with their injuries to their blue line, he’s likely staying.
At least one team brought up Penguins goaltending prospect Emil Larmi.