Jim Rutherford drew tons of criticism for his moves at the trade deadline. Clearly feeling the heat, the venerable GM felt compelled to defend the deals in an April 14 interview with Jason Mackey of the Tribune Review.
While promising Simon Despres may prove to be the fish that got away, JR partly redeemed himself by plucking Ian Cole from the banks of the Mighty Mississippi for Robert Bortuzzo.
Indeed, Cole looks like a keeper. Following a rocky start (minus-3 in his first nine games with the Pens), he’s emerged as one of the team’s better defensemen.