Pittsburgh Penguins trade Carl Hagelin to LA Kings for Tanner Pearson
In a swap of struggling forwards on struggling teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins have traded Carl Hagelin to the LA Kings for Tanner Pearson.
November marks the beginning of trade season in the NHL. Teams start looking to shake up their rosters if they’re underachieving. Arguably no team has underachieved as heavily as the LA Kings, as they’ve already gotten their head coach fired and are the NHL’s worst offensive team. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in a slump, having lost six of their last seven games, with five of those six losses coming in regulation.
The perfect storm for a trade was brewing, so it shouldn’t be surprising the two struggling teams made one. Both teams were looking for a shakeup. That’s what they’re getting, though the size of said shakeup is up for debate.
It’s a simple trade – the Penguins are getting Tanner Pearson while the Kings are getting Carl Hagelin. Two struggling forwards who have a combined four points this season, but each has a history of being productive.
Hagelin for Pearson. One for one. Done deal.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 14, 2018
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The Kings get a fast forward, something they’ve been looking to add. However, it’s a little bit too late for Hagelin to make a significant impact. His last tenure with a Western Conference team didn’t even last a full year, as he got traded from the New York Rangers to the Anaheim Ducks in the 2015 offseason and was later traded to the Penguins after 43 games for David Perron.
Hagelin will likely be flipped to another team at a later date unless the Kings pull off a massive comeback. The Kings are banking on him rebuilding his value with a change in scenery. Hagelin has been productive in the postseason, which should help his value. He’ll be a free agent after this season, so the Kings are saving future money with this trade as well.
Meanwhile, the Penguins are getting Pearson, who has picked up at least 40 points in each of the past two seasons and at least 30 in the past three. However, he has merely one point (an assist) so far this season on the struggling Kings. In 34 postseason games, Pearson has 15 points. 12 of those came during the Kings’ 2013-14 Stanley Cup run.
He has two years remaining on his deal after this one. But at 26 years old, Pearson is younger than Hagelin. The Penguins are hoping Pearson bounces back from his very rough start. They needed some scoring help at forward and he’s proven in the past he can do that.
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This trade makes some sense for the Pens, as they’re getting who they hope is the better player at a pretty reasonable price. However, it makes little sense for the Kings, though at least they can probably flip Hagelin for a decent price. One would have thought a team desperately needing to get younger like the Kings would have targeted a younger player than Hagelin, though.