Penguins acquire Ron Hainsey, lose Trevor Daley for six weeks

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved fast on Thursday morning after losing a key defenseman to knee surgery.

Trevor Daley, who is second on the Penguins in average ice time at 20:18, will miss six weeks after arthroscopic surgery to his left knee. Daley last played just 8:34 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 21, after he was injured in the first period.

Defenseman Ron Hainsey played 24:09 in that game. Turns out it’s his last game with the Carolina Hurricanes this season, as Hainsey is now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

Hainsey was sent to Pittsburgh for a 2017 second-round draft pick and minor-league forward Danny Kristo, 26, who is in his fourth year in the AHL. The Charlotte Checkers will be his third AHL team this season, having played for both the Chicago Wolves and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2016-17. He’s a UFA after this season.

So is Hainsey, 35, which is one reason the Penguins snagged him, as well as the fact that the Hurricanes retained half his salary. (He makes $1.42 million against the cap.) Another is that GM Jim Rutherford was the guy who signed him with the Hurricanes in 2013, and apparently still obsessively collects players he previously acquired like he did as GM of the Hurricanes.

(Ironically, Rutherford signed Hainsey after losing Joni Pitkanen for the season to injury, and now acquires him to replace an injured Trevor Daley.)

But mostly, the Penguins needed a puck-moving defenseman who can eat minutes, which Haisney can do (22:19 TOI). The quality of those minutes is a point of debate: He has 14 points in 56 games, and is 20th on the Hurricanes in Corsi relative to his teammates (minus-3.6).

But desperate times call for Ron Hainsey trades. It’s a low-risk necessity for the Penguins, who obviously hope Daley is back in time for the playoffs. And for Hainsey, who has played the most games without a playoff appearance in NHL history … well, one assumes that streak will be broken.

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS