By Reid Urban
Tanner Pearson has had his struggles this season but it looks like those struggles may have cost him his tenure in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, the day after the Los Angeles Kings lost 5-1 to the Maple Leafs, the Kings traded Pearson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Carl Hagelin. Pittsburgh is expected to retain about 6.25% of Hagelin’s contract, which amounts to $250K.
While the Kings certainly get rid of a player who hasn’t done much for them this season, they do get a speedy forward, who should be an upgrade over what Pearson brought.
General Manager Rob Blake said about the trade, “Our team is obviously not in a position that we are comfortable with in terms of how we are playing. This is a change to our line-up that gives us an additional amount of speed. With Carl Hagelin his number one asset is speed and getting to holes, and we think he will play a big role on the penalty kill for us going forward.”
In addition to that trade, the Kings have also recalled Matt Luff from the Ontario Reign.
Hagelin is likely to get his first action with the Kings on Friday when they play in Chicago.
