Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, even after the deal with the Arizona Coyotes for Rob Klinkhammer, isn't done looking for upgrades to the depth on his roster.
"The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to need to get healthy, and in the meantime, Jim Rutherford, the general manager, is scouring the league," TSN Insider Darren Dreger said while appearing on Edmonton's TSN 1260 as transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com. "He's looking for upgrades. He's not looking for guys who are going to replace, say, a Patric Hornqvist or anything like that, obviously. He knows Hornqvist is close."
Hornqvist, who came over from Nashville along with Nick Spaling in the trade for James Neal, has 11 goals and 14 assists so far this season playing mostly alongside Sidney Crosby. He's missed the last few games after suffering a head injury in a loss against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 4.
Rutherford is apparently looking for some forward depth to ensure that Hornqvist, upon his return to the lineup, isn't forced to move off one of the top two lines.
"He's looking for somebody who can take some of the heat off so that Hornqvist doesn't bounce from the Crosby line to the Malkin line. There's a lot of work still being done in Pittsburgh, but I don't think they have any offensive concerns when they look up the middle of the ice."
The Penguins are currently third in the league in goals per game, averaging 3.2 a contest. They're also first in power play conversion percentage at 29.1, so they're not hurting offensively by any means.
Rutherford, surely operating fairly securely in the knowledge that these Pens are postseason bound, isn't looking for deals to ensure the team makes the playoffs - he wants to make sure that when they get there, they can roll four strong lines and make some serious noise.
