The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded two-time Stanley Cup champion Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour. The announcement was made on Thursday through a press release from the Panthers.
"A proven winner and champion, Patric brings a level of competition to our club," said Panthers General Manager Bill Zito through the release. "He is a talented veteran presence who plays with an edge and we look forward to what he can add to our group."
The championship pedigree refers to Patric winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017 with the Penguins. His most notable moment in those two appearances was the game-clinching goal in 2017 to secure the title for Pittsburgh over Nashville. Hornqvist was actually drafted by the Predators in 2005 before he was traded to the Penguins in 2014.
Since the 2009-10 season, the 33-year-old has scored 236 goals, the most among Swedish-born NHL players in that span. While he was with the Penguins, he racked up over 100 hits five times and led all Penguins forwards in that category twice, which included a team-best 227 hits in the 2016-17 season.
His most recent season in Pittsburgh saw him score just 17 goals, the fewest of his career since 2012-13, during the 52 games of the pandemic-shortened season.
"This is a hard one," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said, per ESPN. "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."
The 26-year-old Matheson tallied 20 (8 G, 12 A) points in 59 games last year for the Panthers, while Sceviour posted 16 points (6 G, 10 A).
