The Pittsburgh Penguins have completed a trade early Saturday, sending defenseman Adam Clendening and winger David Perron to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for left wing Carl Hagelin.
Perron, who becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, is set to join his fourth team since the 2012-13 season. He was acquired by Pittsburgh almost a year ago in exchange for the Edmonton Oilers' first-round draft pick and defenseman Rob Klinkhammer.
The other player sent to Anaheim, Adam Clendening, is a defenseman acquired by the Penguins over the summer during the Brandon Sutter trade. The 23-year-old never seemed to gain the trust of two different head coaches in Pittsburgh, and he only managed to play in nine games, CBS Sports noted. The fact that he took five penalties in less than two hours of ice-tie also did not help him.
In return for those two, Pittsburgh hopes to add some much-needed speed in the form of Carl Hagelin. The former Ducks left wing had an assist in Anaheim's 4-2 home victory over Dallas Stars on Friday. However, he had been struggling offensively in his recent plays. The Penguins are supposedly expecting him to return to the form he showed back when he was with the Rangers, when he was a fast, 17-goal scorer who was tough for opposing defenses to contain.
Both the Penguins' and Ducks' moves are seen as strategies to kick start their lineups, which have underperformed on offense. The Penguins are 10th in the East and are 24th in league scoring, only averaging 2.37 goals per game. Anaheim, meanwhile, is last in the league regarding scoring, averaging just 1.95 goals per game. They are also 11th in the Western Conference standings.
In other Penguins lineup updates, center Nick Bonino has been confirmed to be out for at least one month due to the hand injury he sustained in Tuesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He will be placed on injured reserve for the duration of his recovery.
While Bonino had a disappointing scoring of just 3 goals and 7 assists this season, he is also one of just three forwards to average 2+ minutes a night short-handed; the other two being Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen. The 27-year-old center was drafted 173rd overall by the San Jose Sharks back in 2007 and has played in a total of 304 NHL games. He recorded 51 goals and 131 points. During his stint in Pittsburgh, the Hartford, Connecticut native has recorded three goals and 10 points in 40 games played so far.
"He's going to be missed in a lot of areas. He's a real smart player. He's been a big part of the penalty kill. He's a guy that you can lean on to take face-offs in the defensive zone when you need him to," coach Mike Sullivan explained. "I think offensively, his game was really starting to come. He played on one of the power-play units. He's played in a lot of key situations for our team."
