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The Washington Capitals have acquired forward Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks. In return, the Ducks get back the fourth-round pick the team traded to the Capitals last year in exchange for forward Mathieu Perreault.
The 31-year-old has a $2 million deal set to expire at the end of the season and gives the Caps a veteran with his name on the Stanley Cup twice. Penner enjoyed a rather productive season with the first-place Ducks as he had 32 points in 49 games.
It's a relatively easy deal for the Ducks to make. Penner wasn't a key factor in the Ducks' success this year and allowed the team to move some salary to take some more in.
Moving Penner also frees some room for the Ducks to make other moves, like acquire one of the big-name trade chips available ahead of the deadline to supplement the scoring load carried by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
The Caps could use a veteran with some quality postseason experience, but it still doesn't address some of the defensive issues ailing the Capitals presently. It's still a low-cost addition.
So in a lot of ways, it's what every trade should be, a win-win.
