The deadline has come and gone and the Pittsburgh Penguins have decided not to make any further moves. Between few teams around the league completely out of the playoff race, and high prices for available players, there simply weren't any deals that Pens GM Ray Shero was interested in making.
Shero did his work earlier in the week, when he acquired James Neal, Matt Niskanen and Alex Kovalev in two separate trades. In return, the Pens only dealt away Alex Goligoski and a 6th- or 7th-round pick (depending on conditions), which makes for a pleasant ratio of "imports" to "exports" from the roster.
The Penguins will seem to receive reinforcements the old-fashioned way, as injured players slowly return to health. Defenseman Paul Martin is a fairly reasonable bet to return next game against Toronto on Wednesday, and he should be followed shortly by Chris Kunitz. Centers Mark Letestu and Dustin Jeffrey have already returned. Longer-term prognoses remain for Brooks Orpik, Arron Asham and Eric Tangradi, while Sidney Crosby's status is still indefinite from his lingering concussion symptoms.
Still, the Penguins benefited today by not selling off future assets like draft picks and prospects in exchange for NHL level players in a seller's market. The message from management has been sent- they believe in the players currently on the team and hope for some health and luck as the Pens head down the stretch of the regular season.
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