After six years and two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Swedish winger Patric Hornqvist is off to a new challenge. Entering the new NHL season, Hornqvist will suit up for the Florida Panthers, who acquired him from Pittsburgh in a multi-player trade on Thursday.
Penguins confirmed the trade on social media, revealing that they received defenseman Mike Matheson and center Colton Sceviour in exchange for Hornqvist.
Hornqvist arrived in Pittsburgh back in 2014 and won over the fan base with his resilience and gritty play. He contributed 132 goals and 132 assists in 407 regular-season games in the past six years, while also helping the franchise to two Stanley Cup wins.
“This is a hard one,” said Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. “He was the first guy I acquired when I came to Pittsburgh, and he’s played a big role in the success of the team over the years he was here, especially the two Stanley Cup years. He changed the culture.”
After another early playoff exit this season, Pittsburgh looked to get younger and find a way to surround Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with more energy and speed. Bringing in Matheson and Sceviour does exactly this, so sacrificing Patric Hornqvist might not look so painful in a year or two.
Panthers, on the other hand, get a player who is a culture changer and can galvanize his teammates. He is also on a reasonable contract, having three years left on the five-year, $26.5 million deal he inked back in 2018.
