The Pittsburgh Penguins have a new left wing. Burning the midnight oil in the wake of last night’s 5-4 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, general manager Jim Rutherford swapped underachieving forward David Perron and spare defenseman Adam Clendening to Anaheim for left wing Carl Hagelin.
Impetus for the deal? Struggling offenses and disappointing overall performance. The Pens presently are ranked 26th in the NHL in goals; the Ducks a league-worst 30th. With virtually identical records, each team is lagging in the chase for a playoff berth.
Seeking to remedy his team’s paltry production from the port side (14 goals), Rutherford hopes to catch lightning in a bottle with the 27-year-old Hagelin. The speedy Swede should see lots of ice time beside superstar centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Following consecutive 17-goal seasons with the Rangers, Hagelin faltered out west, tallying just four goals in 43 games with the Ducks. Regarded as a capable if somewhat streaky scorer, the 5’11” 186-pounder also is an excellent penalty killer. A key factor, no doubt, given the recent injury to Nick Bonino.
On the heels of a red-hot start after his arrival last January (nine goals in his first 16 games), Perron struggled to justify the trade that saw Rutherford surrender a No. 1 pick to Edmonton. Prone to extended dry spells, the Quebec native managed a meager seven goals over his last 70 regular-season games—far below his expected output. While the feisty winger found other ways to contribute (105 hits this season), he failed to click with either Crosby or Malkin on a consistent basis. Nor did he live up to his hefty $3.8 million cap hit.
Acquired over the past summer in the trade that sent Brandon Sutter to Vancouver, Clendening skated in nine games for the black and gold. Although he registered an assist and flashed occasional promise, the former AHL and collegiate all-star never was able to break into the Pens’ defensive rotation full-time. A shaky outing during a shootout loss to the Oilers on November 28 caused Clendening to slip behind prospect Derrick Pouliot and retread David Warsofsky on the depth chart.
One thing the trade won’t provide? Long-term cap relief. Hagelin inked a four-year, $16 million deal with the Ducks in August. Perron (UFA) and Clendening (RFA) are slated to be free agents this summer.
The deal marks the second swap between the Pens and Ducks in the past ten months. In one of the most unpopular trades in franchise history, JR sent young defenseman Simon Despres to Anaheim for veteran Ben Lovejoy on March 2.
Sheary Recalled
The Penguins recalled forward Conor Sheary from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton yesterday. The diminutive winger suited up last night against Tampa Bay and was caught flatfooted in the neutral zone on the Lightning’s first goal. He finished the game minus-1 (with one shot) in 3:37 of ice time.
For the season, Sheary’s collected two points (1+1) and is a minus-6 in 11 games with the Penguins. The Massachusetts native currently leads the Baby Pens in scoring with 33 points (7+26) in 28 games.
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