The eyes of the hockey world are locked on the 3:00pm eastern trade deadline - and of course the minutes that follow as deals get announced.
Their course feels more uncertain than it’s been since about this time at 2015 when they also had significant injuries and were in a battle to scrape into the playoffs. That was general manager Jim Rutherford’s first season in Pittsburgh. He made a couple of minor deals around the deadline - acquired bust Daniel Winnik for a second and fourth round pick, flipped Robert Bortuzzo for Ian Cole in a nice upgrade of bottom-pair defensemen, and controversially traded away promising but inconsistent youngster Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy.