The trade deadline looms for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Josh Yohe of The Athletic Pittsburgh: One very important detail emerged from Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Washington Capitals. Jim Rutherford scheduled to fly out to the West Coast last night but instead is staying put. That move indicates perhaps a trade or two is on the way. Usually when a general manager stays “home”, something is brewing.
What could it be? No one knows. However, Pittsburgh has been poking around for a few depth players and maybe a gritty forward.
Pittsburgh Penguins looking at Wayne Simmonds?
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey NOW: After Thursday’s Vancouver trade for Simmonds fell through, somewhere Jim Rutherford’s ears perked up. Since then, Pittsburgh scouts were seen at New Jersey’s game Saturday against Washington. Also, there was active chatter over the weekend about Simmonds.
There are enough Pittsburgh and New Jersey connections still to make a trade happen. One of the big things will be salary retention. New Jersey expects to have to retain (maybe up to 50%) to facilitate a move.
The other question is can Simmonds skate fast enough to keep up? Lower-body injuries have slowed the big forward down some but he is only playing 15 minutes a night in New Jersey. That may be enough to keep him well preserved for a playoff run.
Growing chatter around the Pittsburgh Penguins
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey NOW: Jim Rutherford blew a gasket over the weekend and his flight plans changed. So what is next? The name floating around the most is Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck is a Pittsburgh-area native after all. Rutherford looked at several players on downswings that could provide upside this week. It is not a surprise he is trying to buy low.
There are no trades for a defenseman expected. This means the injury news is positive on that front. After that, a few possibilities exist. Dominik Kahun may be expendable due to inconsistency. Again, how mad is Rutherford? Does he wait until the summer to acquire a Trocheck or does he now?