Rumor: Multiple trades brewing in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Penguins have gone 9-7-3 through their first 19 games this season, and while that isn't a bad record, it's certainly not where the Stanley Cup champions of the last 2 years expect to be.

After allowing Marc-Andre Fleury to be taken in the expansion draft by the Vegas Golden Knights, the Penguins find themselves struggling to find the right 1-2 punch in net. 

Matt Murray is the goalie of now and the future in Pittsburgh - but who backs him up? 

Antti Niemi was signed this summer to fill that role, but was absolutely awful and was subsequently placed on waivers. Tristan Jarry, the team's top goaltending prospect, is currently with the team, but Jim Rutherford would rather he develop as a starter in the AHL for now.

So that begs the question: Who backs up Murray? 

“He’d much rather have him in Wilkes-Barre [in the AHL] and find an NHL-experienced goaltender to backup Matt Murray," said Nick Kypreos on Sportsnet Saturday night.

The need for a veteran or 2 also exists up front and on the backend. The Pens lost Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Chris Kunitz, and Ron Hainsey over the summer, and their absences seem to be weighing down hard on the team.

Sidney Crosby is in an 11-game goal drought, one of the worst of his career, and is a career worse -14 on the year. The team as a whole is -18, which is third worst in the NHL.

"There's a lot of concerns [in Pittsburgh]" Kypreos added.

It was reported by Elliotte Friedman that Rutherford tried to swing a last-second deal for Matt Duchene before the Ottawa Senators got their hands on them, so it's clear that he is actively looking for impact players.

From the looks of it, he's in the market for a couple veterans, an impact player, and a veteran backup. Expect several trades before February.