Pens' lineup changes reignite intense trade rumor!

When Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ian Cole was a healthy scratch for a third straight game on Monday, and his agent was reportedly told to look around on the market for interested clubs, trade chatter exploded about the quality defender being available. 

Then, speculation amongst media members who cover the team mentioned that  there is some sort of personality rift between Cole and coach Mike Sullivan.

Then, Pens GM Jim Rutherford denied that rumor, saying the team was not shopping Cole, but that as usual, Pittsburgh remained interested on the market, and was still looking to possibly add an offensive boost to the lineup, while keeping an eye out on netminders now that Matt Murray is sidelined for weeks to come. 

And then comes Friday night, when the Penguins face off against the Buffalo Sabres and Pens fans see this: 

Sure, fans are excited to see forward Evgeni Malkin return to action, but the addition of Cole in the lineup might hint at the Pens trying to show him off to other teams to see if one club will make an interesting offer to land Cole. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers were said to be amongst teams looking to bolster their back end and possibly wanting to call about Cole. They might take a closer look at tonight's game to see what needs to be put on the table to acquire the 28-year-old blue liner.