PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The pieces put in place with waiving Kasperi Kapanen and Brock McGinn, then the trading of center Teddy Blueger, the Pens add center Mikael Granlund.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now one of the first to confirm the Pens sending a second-round pick for the 31-year-old who has nine goals and 27 assists in 58 games with the Predators. The lefty shot also has a dozen power play points and signed through the 2024.25 season and carries an average annual value of $5 million. Between the Minnesota Wild and Predators, he's played in 729 games with 144 goals, 335 assists and 479 points.
"Mikael is a versatile forward, able to play either wing or center, and contribute offensively," said Hextall in a statement released by the team. "He has experience on both the power play and penalty kill and can add options to our lineup."
Set to be a free agent after the season after a two-year, $4.4 million contract, Blueger goes to Las Vegas for lefty-shooting defenseman Peter DiLiberatore and a 2024 third-round pick. The 22-year old DiLiberatore was the Golden Knights sixth-round pick in 2018. He has yet to play in the NHL and split time this season between the ECHL (18 games, 3 assists, 16 penalty minutes) and AHL (22 games, 3 assists, 0 penalty minutes). In three seasons at Quinnipiac, he had 15 goals and 45 assists in 101 games.
The 28-year-old Blueger scored his second goal of the season in the wild second period against Tampa Bay. He had played 45 games in 2022-23, 250 in his Penguins career with 33 goals and 59 assists.
"We are grateful for everything that Teddy has done for this team and the organization over the past 10 years," Hextall said in a statement released by the team. "He was one of our most reliable penalty killers and a consummate professional. We wish him nothing but the best going forward."
Earlier today, after clearing waivers, McGinn and defenseman Mark Friedman were assigned to the AHL.