Every time you think Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is finished, he jumps right back into the NHL trade deadline fray.
After pulling off deals for David Perron, Daniel Winnik and Maxim Lapierre to bolster Mike Johnston's group, many in the NHL world assumed Rutherford had finished tinkering with the Pens lineup and was ready to roll into the NHL playoffs with the roster as-is.
That thinking would, reportedly, be wrong.
ESPN's Pierre LeBrun revealed that Rutherford is eyeing a depth defenseman - something that has been rumored for some time - ahead of the NHL trade deadline at 3 p.m. today.
Of course, salary cap concerns could very well hamper any chance Rutherford has of actually pulling off a deal - the Leafs had to retain 50 percent of Winnik's cap hit in order for that deal to work - so the choices for upgrade may be limited.
The market is also drying up quickly - Jeff Petry, Braydon Coburn, Keith Yandle and Zbynek Michalek have already been dealt. A lower-end player most likely won't cost much to acquire and may not be expensive from a financial standpoint, but with the Penguins up against the salary cap ceiling, any trade is going to require some deft maneuvering by Rutherford.
