The Pittsburgh Penguins, not wanting to be left out of the trade deadline action, obtained Rickard Rakell from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
In exchange, the Ducks received left wing Zach Aston-Reese, centre Dominik Simon, goaltender Calle Clang and a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
The Penguins are a top-five team in the standings yet middle-of-the-pack when it comes to goals per game, so adding a scoring punch in the form of Rakell should help the roster down the stretch and into the post-season.
The 28-year-old right-shot winger is on pace for his first 20-goal season since his back-to-back 30-goal campaigns in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The Sundbyberg, Sweden native is in the final year of a six-year contract that carries a cap hit a shade less than $3.8 million. The pending unrestricted free agent has 16 goals, 12 assists and only eight penalty minutes in 51 games with the Ducks this season.
The Penguins added some defensive depth earlier in the day, acquiring Nathan Beaulieu in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets.
Meanwhile, the Ducks had been one of the busiest teams in the lead-up to the deadline, also trading Hampus Lindholm, Nicolas Deslauriers and Josh Manson in the past week.
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