Late-night trade call: Ducks trade Hagelin to Penguins for Perron, Clendening

Good morning! While you were sleeping, the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins made an interesting trade.

(Did you hear that? It’s Penguins fans gasping at the thought Jim Rutherford may have been fleeced by Bob Murray for a second time.)

This is one that will wait to be seen. The Ducks acquired left wing David Perron and defenseman Adam Clendening from the Penguins for left wing Carl Hagelin.

The rights to negotiate with the then RFA-Hagelin were acquired from the New York Rangers by the Ducks in the off-season for Emerson Etem. It took a while but Hagelin eventually signed a four year, $16-million total contract. With only 12 points (4-8=12) in 43 games, Murray was clearly unimpressed. Hagelin was expected to fill in the offensive holes left behind with the departures of Matt Beleskey and Kyle Palmieri.

Perron is entering the final year of his UFA contact which comes with a $3.183-million cap hit. When Pittsburgh acquired him from Edmonton, it was a big deal. Perron couldn’t stay healthy. He’s just slightly better scoring than Hagelin with 16 points in 43 games this season. He hasn’t scored a goal in 19 games. As for Clendening, has 5 points in 30 NHL games with 3 teams. He’s got a small cap hit of $761,250 with an RFA deal expiring at the end of the season. The Ducks might give him a shot with the big team or send him straight to San Diego.

Both Perron and Hagelin have been disappointing for their respective former teams. The winner of this trade will come down to which player turns it around. For the Penguins, they’re banking on Hagelin doing it because his modified no-trade kicks in next season for three years.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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