Sources Say Kyle Dubas 'Kicking Tires' on One Specific Defensive Option for Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Saturday that defenseman Caleb Jones will miss approximately eight weeks with a lower-body injury he sustained in Thursday's victory over the Florida Panthers.

The Penguins are short on the left side of their blue line by his absence and prompted general manager Kyle Dubas to seek trade candidates for a left-handed defenseman, sources confirmed.

With Jones out, right-wingers Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba took the third pair's spot, although both played poorly in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to Columbus.

Rookie Harrison Brunicke, who became a steady player, was handed a night off following a string of off-balancing games.

Jones' absence leaves Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon as the only natural left-handed defensemen on the list.

Trade buzz has the Penguins unwilling to call up one of their three left-shot defensemen in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: Ryan Graves, Alexander Alexeyev, or high-end prospect Owen Pickering, all of whom didn't cut it in the NHL team out of training camp.

Considered to have been on the radar is Erik Gustafsson, 33, waived by Detroit recently and currently plays in the AHL with Grand Rapids.

The veteran has played more than 500 games in the NHL but has bounced around 10 teams over the last seven seasons.

The Penguins are 6-2-1, tied for third-best in the Eastern Conference. But with them starting a four-game road trek Tuesday in Philadelphia, Dubas is on the hot seat early to shore up the blue line before the strong start of the team begins to disintegrate at the seams.