In a way, it was all-too-fitting that former GM Craig Patrick served as an in-studio TV analyst for Thursday night’s Penguins game.
At the trade deadline some 34 years ago, Patrick engineered what is widely regarded as the finest trade in franchise history, acquiring Hall-of-Famer Ron Francis and backline thumpers Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from Hartford for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker.
Well, move over Craig. Your handiwork just might have some company. Namely, Kyle Dubas’ extracting a pair of Con(n)ors, Dewar and Timmins, from the Maple Leafs at the recent trade deadline for a lone fifth-round pick.