Dylan Vogel, Staff Writer

As the 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline approached on Feb. 24, teams were looking to improve their lineup to make a playoff run for the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins are trying to chase down their Metropolitan Division rival Capitals while making some space between the rest of the pack in the division.  

     The Flyers, Islanders, Hurricanes and Blue Jackets are each racing to get points against the Pens for the second seed in the Metro.  Each one of these teams made moves to strengthen themselves.

The Capitals traded for Brenden Dillon, a well known and crafty defenseman, along with veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk.  The Hurricanes bolstered their defense by adding Sami Vatanen and Brady Skjei. They also added a young skilled center in Vincent Trocheck.  

The Flyers added forwards Derek Grant,  Nate Thompson and Nathan Noel to build depth to their roster.  The Islanders also got into the action by acquiring Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Senators.

While the Penguins’ divisional foes stack up with some talent, they got into the action early.  On Feb. 10, Pittsburgh traded for winger Jason Zucker from Minnesota. He seemed to make an immediate impact stepping up with Sidney Crosby on the top line to fill in for the injured Jake Guentzel.  

The Penguins did not stop there.  On the day of the trade deadline, Jim Rutherford traded for veteran forward Patrick Marleau from San Jose.  He also decided to bring back Conor Sheary.  

     Sheary had won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins before he was sent to Buffalo, but he is now back with the Pens.  In that trade, Pittsburgh also got forward Evan Rodriques.  

     The Penguins seem to be in the “win now” mentality as they have veteran star power up front, and after the trade deadline, some depth for the bottom lines. 

Overall, the Metropolitan Division looks to have gotten much more competitive, and the Penguins did their fair share in making their team better and more prepared as they chase down their 6th Stanley Cup in franchise history.