Will the Penguins target a defenceman going forward?

Following the game against the Winnipeg Jets the Penguins called up Cameron Gaunce to make up for the loss of Justin Schultz to a concussion with an indeterminable timetable and Olli Maatta for six weeks. Both have been key players for the Penguins this season, Schultz more-so and their absence causes problems due to the heavy reliance it puts on player more accustomed to playing in the AHL.

With Olli Maatta out for six weeks the Penguins have placed him on LTIR which means they will have an extra $4m to play with at the trade deadline, should they wish to trade for a new defender. Of course, they'd much rather have Maatta fit not just because he is needed but also as a potential trade chip. Outside of him they only really have Pouliot. Guys like Schultz and Daley are too important to trade away.

The Penguins don't need to go mad, they have a strong team and Maatta will hopefully return for the play-offs but signing an extra person for the bottom four would be helpful. Shattenkirk is a name that has been mentioned but I think the asking price would be too high and his cap hit of $4.25m means we'd be spending all our space on one player. Unless that player is someone who is going to be completely brilliant and have an impact from day one then I'd rather spread it.

The Penguins could with help on their forward core so I think they'll look to pick up two fairly cheap players to fill those holes. If they trade Fleury they could get a little extra in cap space but any trade is likely to be with the same cap going both ways, or close to. With a number of players coming off contracts next season there is a bit more freedom to go for players signed up for another year.

Nick Kypreos has mentioned before that the Flames are still interested in Fleury and the Penguins could solve two issues with one trade. However, the Flames are up against the cap with only $3.2m cap space. That space comes from Smid being on LTIR. Straight off the bat Giordano and Hamilton are unreachable to be traded and Jokipakka and Bartkowski are unlikely to attract interest.

That leaves ex-Penguin Deryk Engelland, TJ Brodie and Denis Wideman available. TJ Brodie is signed long term so I would expect they would rather trade Wideman or Engelland. If the Flames are interested in Fleury too then that would make a make a trade for Wideman much more likely than one for Engelland. It depends whether the Penguins want a defender who is better offensively or defensively. If the Flames trade for Fleury then it is a certainty that Brian Elliot will be coming back the other way.

I'm going to look at more players the Penguins could target going forward but it is likely that the Penguins will be involved in the deadline. Lets just hope we don't over pay.