After months of speculation that it was coming, Ian Cole has been traded to the Ottawa Senators along with goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson and a 2018 first round pick in exchange for Derick Brassard.
Such is the life for Cup contenders in the salary cap era, even more so when you have a cap crunch coming off of back-to-back Stanley Cup wins and have your eyes set on a third.
Ian Cole was a good soldier for the Penguins, a super intelligent hockey player, and a key cog in what it took to repeat as Champions.