Penguins deal Rob Scuderi to Blackhawks for Trevor Daley
Rob Scuderi was on the ice at CONSOL Energy Center for warmups before the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals Monday night. He didn’t play and a few hours later he was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Penguins announced during the third period that Scuderi had been dealt straight up to the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL’s first player-for-player trade this season.
Both players are signed through the end of the 2016-17 season. Scuderi carries a $3.375 million cap hit, while Daley will count $3.3 million against Pittsburgh’s cap.
They key here, as TSN’s Bob McKenzie notes, is that Pittsburgh will retain one-third of Scuderi’s salary, which means the Penguins will keep $1.125 million on their cap and the Blackhawks free up about $1 million on theirs.
The Blackhawks could also end up buying out Scuderi in June, thereby freeing up a bit more cap space, as War on Ice shows.
It’s a slight upgrade for the Penguins, replacing a soon-to-be 37-year old defenseman who’s been a liability in the backend posting poor possession numbers with a 32-year old Daley who didn’t find his role in Chicago and, like Scuderi, has watched all of his numbers head in the wrong direction.
Slight, of course. Nothing dramatic, but certainly not the answer to Penguins GM Jim Rutherford’s search for an impactful puck-moving defenseman.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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