There's been a lot of talk in recent weeks about issues rooted in the Penguins' decision to carry nine defensemen on the major-league roster.
You won't hear that from Jim Rutherford, though.
Not because he's unaware that his team has two more defensemen than teams generally keep on hand, but because he believes the Penguins' blue line is even more crowded than that.
His calculations include not only the nine guys available to be dressed every game night, but also Zach Trotman, who is recovering from sports hernia surgery during the offseason.
"He deserves to be counted," Rutherford said. "He's a good player."
So are his other defensemen, which is why Rutherford hasn't eased the logjam by assigning one or two of them to the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre. Rookie John Marino is the only one of the 10 who wouldn't require waivers to join the Baby Penguins, and Rutherford is skeptical that any would pass through unclaimed.
"We had to make some tough decisions about going with nine defensemen and not as many forwards (as usual on the roster) because we didn't want to lose somebody," he said.
That doesn't mean Rutherford plans to maintain the status quo, however. He has been trying to trade a defenseman for months and continues to explore the possibilities.
"My preference is to move one," he said. "At some point in time, that will probably happen."
There is, he said, a modest demand for defensemen around the league now. Trouble is, the Penguins aren't the only club interested in dealing one.
Until there is a trade or injuries, Chad Ruhwedel and Juuso Riikola figure to continue treading water on the depth chart. (Aside from those games in which Riikola is used on the wing, of course.)
"We're very, very fortunate to have a guy like Chad Ruhwedel, who knows his role," Rutherford said. "Great team player. Ready to play, (even) if he doesn't play for two months. We have a younger guy in Riikola, who wants to be playing but has not complained."
Of late, Mike Sullivan has shuffled Jack Johnson and Erik Gudbranson in and out of the lineup and apparently will continue to do so.
"What Sullivan is trying to do is to rotate Johnson and Gudbranson to keep them in," Rutherford said. "We want to keep Marino in most of the games, if not all of them. That's the plan going forward. We're fortunate that we have guys who are such good character, team players and understand the situation."
Even as Rutherford puts a lot of time and effort into trying to change it.