Carl Hagelin previously played for the New York Rangers and went up against the Penguins regularly so the team know what he is about. He is a fast skater, who is golden for breakaways and is someone who can battle physically as well with his 186lbs, 5'11 frame.
Hagelin was a fairly successful player for the Rangers during his time there. He was drafted by them in 2007 draft in the 6th round, 168th overall. He spent four seasons comitted to the University of Michigan in the NCAA before making his debut with the Rangers against the Washington Capitals on the 25th November 2011. He started that season by recording points in four straight games.
Hagelin's rookie season with the Rangers was actually his best season statistically as he finished with 14 goals and 24 assists in 64 goals. The closest he came to matching it in a full season was in 2014-15 when he finished with 17 goals and 18 assists. After playing 266 games with the Rangers and scoring 58 goals and 62 assists he was traded.
The Rangers were unable to sign him due to his good performances and their cap position at the time. They traded him to the Anaheim Ducks for Emerson Etem and a 2nd round pick in 2015. His first season in Anaheim has been a struggle and it seems the Ducks didn't want to hang around. He only had 4 goals and 8 assists on the season through 43 games before behind traded.
Hagelin and Perron have similar seasons in that they have both been inconsistent in their production. Hagelin is on a good spell at the moment with 4 points his last 5 games but he had just 5 in his first 20 games. Perron had a period between the 28th October and 25th of November where, through 12 games he scored 8 points. But apart from that good patch he has been ineffective, his last goal was against the St.Louis Blues on the 1st December.
Clendening was also included after struggling to break through the Penguins system. He was originally traded to the Penguins as part of the Sutter deal but he will find it likely just as hard to break through in Anaheim. He will most certainly spend a lot of time in San Diego with the Gulls. It is a shame that the Penguins didn't get a good look at him before trading him.
Hagelin's contract is fairly big at $4m but for the rest of this season it will be pro-rated and the Penguins will have enough space to sign other players in the summer. If the Penguins do need to clear some cap space there are some candidates available so it isn't something that should be worrying people.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Hagelin can do and I hope that after the disappointment of Perron he can fix that. I hope as well that Perron can find his game again as he is a talented player but it just wasn't going to work in Pittsburgh any more.
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