The Penguins tried to trade for Matt Duchene. Is a trade on its way sooner than later?

We all wanted the Penguins to try and trade for Matt Duchene. Maybe not all of us, but this is my story for the moment and I wanted it to happen, so for now, we all did.

How close were they? Clearly they weren’t close enough.

But per Sportsnet, the Penguins did make a last-second offer to try and land Duchene.

“I think when it was uncertain if the Nashville-Ottawa-Colorado three-way [trade] was going to get done, I think Pittsburgh made a last-second offer to try and get Duchene,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday. “Obviously it didn’t work and the three-way happened.”

While the Penguins missed out on Duchene, they will still be working the phones before the trade deadline. According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the two highest priorities for Rutherford are an experienced backup goalie and some more veteran skaters.

This reminds me of a few summers ago when Brandon Saad was in the process of being dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jim Rutherford at least tried to throw his hat into the ring to see what could be offered and maybe if he could enter the conversation. Can’t hurt, right?

Kypreos added that team captain Sidney Crosby, who entered Saturday on a 10-game goalless streak, was missing some of the veterans who left during the off-season. Citing specifically Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen and Chris Kunitz, Kypreos said the Penguins will be looking to replace some of their free agent losses in the trade market.

“Certainly it’s been noted by Jimmy Rutherford that between now and the trade deadline, maybe a little bit more experience and leadership could come back in,” he said.

According to my calendar, today is November 13th. We’re quickly creeping in on Rutherford’s favorite time to make a deal — December.