PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ trade on Tuesday afternoon was a shocker.
A day after the Pittsburgh Penguins traded depth defenseman Jack St. Ivany to the Winnipeg Jets for big defensive center David Gustafsson, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas moved quickly to add another righty on his blue line by acquiring Kaeden Korzcak, but did so at the expense of his top blue line pairing, giving up Parker Wotherspoon in return.
Wotherspoon, 28, was the Penguins’ top-pairing lefty defenseman for the entirety of last season and submitted a career season after signing a two-year free agent deal paying him only $1 million per season.
In 80 games, Wotherspoon not only properly balanced Erik Karlsson but also set a career high with 30 points, including 27 assists. Wotherspoon functioned as a No. 2 defenseman. He far exceeded expectations and also earned an invite to play for Team Canada at the World Championships.
Adding to the surprise, the Penguins also ate $500,000 of Wortherspoon’s salary.
Click here to read a full analysis of the trade on PGHHockeyNOW.
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