Penguins acquire defensemen Lovejoy, Cole in deadline deals

Ben Lovejoy is returning to Pittsburgh a changed man.

On the ice, both he and general manager Jim Rutherford believe, his game has evolved in a way that will be beneficial to the Penguins in the playoffs.

Away from hockey, Lovejoy, 31, has outgrown his former North Shore loft and is the proud father of a 14-month-old daughter.

After he was traded to the Penguins Monday for defenseman Simon Despres, Lovejoy said he hadn't had much time to talk to his wife and plan the return trip.

But he doesn't think it will be much of a problem.

“We want a little bit more room,” Lovejoy said. “But we know the whole city and really like it there. This is not going to be a tough move for us.”

Rutherford gambled by trading Despres, a player who not only led the Penguins in hits this season but seemingly found his game after a few years of struggling to crack the lineup.

Coupled with an earlier acquisition of defenseman Ian Cole from St. Louis for Robert Bortuzzo and a seventh-round pick in 2016, the Penguins' moves at the trade deadline swapped physicality for a veteran presence.

“We felt to have a good run in the playoffs, we needed more experience,” Rutherford said. “That's why we made these two deals.”

Lovejoy and Cole, who will join the team in Colorado as the Penguins embark on their West Coast trip, found out about the trades in remarkable fashion.

Lovejoy explained that a few days ago he was reassured he wouldn't be traded.

“I had just been playing, not even thinking about it, actually,” he said.

Yet after practice Monday afternoon in Phoenix, Lovejoy got the news.

“I went and took my skates off, got undressed and looked at my phone,” Lovejoy said. “It had 15 messages from friends from Pittsburgh. From almost everybody I played with, trainers, my agent. … It was very cool.”

Cole, 26, a former first-round pick in 2007, arrived home from Vancouver after the Blues' Western Canada swing about 7:30 in the morning and was working on scant sleep when his phone rang.

“I was still groggy and out of it,” Cole said. “A nice five hours of sleep in the middle of the morning. It was a whirlwind.”

Lovejoy and Cole profile as bottom-four defensemen and play simple, puck-moving games.

They hit but not a lot. They rarely fight.

Lovejoy's Goals-Against Per 60 (GA/60) mark of 1.78 was the third-best among Ducks regulars, and Cole was a plus-16, the second-best rating for a Blues defenseman.

Coach Mike Johnston will have time to tinker and see who plays with Christian Ehrhoff, who plays with Rob Scuderi and whether Derrick Pouliot's recent strong stretch will continue.

“The way I'm going to play isn't going to be any different than what I did in St. Louis,” said Cole, who blocked 77 shots in 54 games. “Be a two-way defenseman. Tough to play against. A physical defender. Transition the puck quick.”

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Almost like what the Penguins saw from Lovejoy in Anaheim, in a role that took a cross-country move for him to flourish.

Now he's back in Pittsburgh, a city he said feels like home.

“I really felt like I embedded myself in the city. I loved it,” Lovejoy said. “Both my wife and I have a ton of friends from Pittsburgh who aren't even involved with the Penguins. We went out of our way to become Pittsburghers. The amount of love I've gotten since the announcement was made was pretty special.

“The team is very different from when I left, but it's cool to be wanted.”

Jason Mackey is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jmackey@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mackey_Trib.