PENS ON 11: Pens trade Kristo for Carolina's Hainsey

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Ron Hainsey from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 2017 second-round draft pick and minor-league forward Danny Kristo, Penguins executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford said in a news release Thursday.

Hainsey carries a salary cap hit of $2.83 million and he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Carolina will retain 50 percent of Hainsey's remaining salary, the news release said.

Hainsey, 35, was in his fourth season with the Hurricanes. He has suited up for all 56 games played this season, producing 14 points, including his 200th NHL assist against the Penguins on Jan. 20.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound left-handed-shooting blueliner sat third on the Hurricanes in time on ice and second overall in shorthanded minutes. His 79 hits led club defenders, and his 92 blocked shots placed third.

A native of Bolton, Connecticut, Hainsey served as an alternate captain for Carolina during the previous two seasons. The dependable blueliner joins the Penguins having skated in 347 of a possible 350 games since 2012-13, the news release said.

Originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round in 2000, Hainsey has 250 points in 891 career games played with Carolina, Winnipeg/Atlanta, Columbus and Montreal. Since playing his first full-time NHL season with Columbus in 2006-07, Hainsey has played in 804 of a possible 842 games.

Hainsey, who played two years at the University of Massechusetts-Lowell, becomes the 16th current Penguin with college hockey experience. Only Matt Cullen and Trevor Daley have more NHL regular-season playing experience.

Hainsey, an alumnus of the United States National Team Development Program, represented the United States at the 2009 World Championship, where he was an alternate captain, and was named one of the "top three" players on the team by the media. He also skated in the 2000 and 2001 World Junior Championship, leading all defenders with five assists in 2001.

The Stadium Series showdown on Saturday will mark the 315th game between the Penguins and Flyers. It has been 50 years of fiery fandom, fights and fantastic hockey between the Penguins and the Flyers. It’s a rivalry centered on viciousness, with a cast of villainous characters, heroes and underdogs. It's a series that brings out the best and worst of two teams, with confidence that the best is yet to come.

Game time is set for 8 p.m. on WPXI-TV Channel 11.

Cox Media Group