Two underperforming teams swapped underperforming wingers late last night as the Pittsburgh Penguins shipped forward David Perron and blueliner Adam Clendening to the Anaheim Ducks for left winger Carl Hagelin.
The Penguins acquired Perron, 27, last season from the Edmonton Oilers for depth forward Rob Klinkhammer and the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
In 86 games with the Penguins between parts of two seasons, Perron scored 16 goals and recorded 38 points, including four goals and 16 points in 43 games in the 2015–16 season, and recorded a single assist in five playoff games last season. Spending time on all four lines, Perron never really found a permanent spot in the lineup and last scored a goal on Dec. 1 despite significant playing time with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
The Penguins packaged Clendening, 23, a blueliner with decent potential, with Perron. Clendening arrived as part of the Brandon Sutter trade with the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason and spent the majority of 2015–16 season as a healthy scratch, recording one assist in nine games with the Penguins and three assists in six games in a recent demotion to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The Ducks acquired Hagelin, 27, from the New York Rangers in the offseason, expecting to add speed to the lineup and strengthen the penalty kill. Hagelin, along with the rest of the Ducks lineup, struggled to produce offensively and finishes a 42- game stint in Anaheim with four goals and 11 points, but helped the Ducks boast the best penalty kill in the league at 89.4 percent.
The trade helps balance the Penguins lineup. Hagelin, plays left wing, while Perron preferred the right side and constantly battled with Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist and, when healthy, Beau Bennett, for playing time on the right side. Expect Hagelin to float between the second and third lines on the left wing and play a role on the penalty kill.
The Penguins play the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow at 3 p.m
