Pens trade defenseman Ryan Whitney to AnaheimThe Penguins have traded defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for winger Chris Kunitz and [Eric] Tangradi.
Whitney, 26, left the Penguins Wednesday to attend to a family emergency. He was in the second year of a six-year contract that totaled $24 million — a $4 million per year cap hit.
Kunitz, 29, is a 6-foot left-handed shot who has scored 81 goals in parts of four NHL seasons with Anaheim and Atlanta. He has 16 goals and 35 points in 62 games this season. He is signed through 2011-12 at a cap hit of $3.725 million.
Tangradi is a 20-year-old forward born in Philadelphia. The 6-3 left-handed shot was the 42nd player taken in the 2007 draft. He has 38 goals, 87 points and 57 penalty minutes in 52 games with Belleville of the OHL.
This man is good at what he does. He dumped a soft, turnover-prone defenseman for a gritty top line forward and a decent prospect and actually freed up a bit of cap space in the process. I don't know if it will be enough to salvage this season, but the future is looking slightly better.
Posted by CD on February 26, 2009 06:13 PM | TrackBack