Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford addressed the media on Monday afternoon following the trade deadline. Pittsburgh acquired defenseman Erik Gudbranson from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Tanner Pearson in their biggest move of the day. To add depth they also grabbed defenseman Chris Wideman from the Florida Panthers for Jean-Sebastien Dea, with Wideman reporting to the AHL.
“We have issues on defense with injuries,” Rutherford’s first comments were after formally announcing the trades. “I don’t know some of the statuses of these guys,” he said, referring to Olli Maatta (out indefinitely with a badly separate shoulder), Brian Dumoulin (concussed on Saturday) and Kris Letang (believed to suffered a neck injury on Saturday).