The Penguins have had their share of big offseason trades.
In this list I'll rank the five offseason trades that had the biggest impact - for better or worse - on the organization.
5. July 1, 2015: Penguins acquire Phil Kessel from Maple Leafs
The Penguins acquired Phil Kessel, prospects Tyler Biggs and Tim Erixon, and a second-round pick (used to select Kasper Bjorkqvist) in the 2016 draft from the Maple Leafs in exchange for Nick Spaling, prospects Scott Harrington and Kasperi Kapanen, a conditional first-round pick, and a third-round draft pick.
Kessel was one-third of the "HBK" line -- along with Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino -- that found success together in the 2016 Stanley Cup run, and Kessel led the team in postseason scoring with 10 goals and 12 assists in 24 games. He fell three voting points shy of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy awarded to Sidney Crosby
“It was a great job by Jim and Mike and the coaching staff to build the group around them that they needed to build," Mario Lemieux said following the win in 2016. "That all started with getting Phil Kessel, as everyone got to see. And then adding Carl Hagelin and the young guys, it really changed the way we played. With Sid and his leadership all season, especially in the playoffs, everything came together.”
Kessel finished third in playoff scoring in the Penguins' 2017 run, scoring eight goals and 15 assists in 25 games.
The impact of the trade continues to grow. Bjorkqvist, the forward drafted with pick that was acquired in the trade, is viewed within the organization as one of the team's top prospects, and one of the closest to being NHL-ready.
4. June 16, 1990: Penguins acquire Joe Mullen from Flames
The Penguins acquired forward Joe Mullen from the Flames in exchange for a second-round pick in a draft-day trade.
"I knew I was going to an excellent organization," Mullen later reflected on the trade. "Bob Johnson was there and he had a lot of influence on getting me to Pittsburgh. Craig Patrick, too. They wanted me on their team and that was a great shot in the arm for me. I knew they had a good nucleus for a great team."
“I’d go to war with Joe Mullen," said Johnson, who had coached Mullen in Calgary.
Mullen was a big piece in the two Stanley Cup runs that followed. In 1990-91, he recorded 17 goals and 22 assists in 47 regular-season games, and finished fifth on the team in scoring in the playoffs with eight goals and nine assists in 22 games, including three goals and five assists in the Stanley Cup Final.
Mullen finished third on the Penguins in scoring in the 1991-92 season with 42 goals and 45 assists in 77 games, trailing only Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens. His postseason was cut short due to injury after scoring three goals and one assist in nine games.
Mullen remained in Pittsburgh for the next three seasons, recording 177 points in 199 games, before leaving as a free agent to sign with the Bruins. He returned to Pittsburgh after one year for one final season before retiring.
3. June 27, 2014: Penguins acquire Patric Hornqvist from Predators
The Penguins traded James Neal to the Predators in exchange for Patric Hornqvist and Spaling. It was Jim Rutherford's first move as general manager of the Penguins, and he made it right on the floor of the 2014 draft.
"We like Hornqvist a lot," Rutherford said following the trade. "We just think he's a complete player, an all-around player, a guy that plays with an edge and is going to be good in the playoffs."
Rutherford would further explain his reasons for the trade when reflecting on the move in 2017. It was about a culture change.
"We were looking for that type of passionate player, a good team guy, good in the locker room," he said.
Mike Sullivan spoke about what Hornqvist brings to the team's culture during the Penguins' 2018 postseason.
“I just think his personality is so contagious," said Sullivan. "I think our players love it when he’s on our bench, when he’s in the lineup. He’s just so passionate. He loves the playoff atmosphere and everything involved with it.”
Hornqvist was instrumental in the Penguins' back-to-back Stanley Cup runs. He recorded a hat trick in a 5-2 win in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, and recorded nine goals and four assists in 24 games. He scored the insurance empty-net goal in the Cup-clinching game in San Jose.
Hornqvist tallied five goals and four assists in 19 playoff games in the 2017 run, but his last point was his biggest. He banked the puck into the net off of Pekka Rinne's elbow with 1:36 remaining in the game to break a scoreless tie and clinch the Penguins' second Stanley Cup in as many years.
That goal alone made enough of an impact to secure this trade's spot on the list.
2. July 11, 2001: Jaromir Jagr traded to Capitals
The Penguins traded Jaromir Jagr and defenseman Frantisek Kucera to the Capitals for prospects Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk.
Jagr was the No. 2 scorer in franchise history and coming off of his fifth league scoring title at the time of the trade.
General manager Craig Patrick was "delighted" by the return on the trade, called Beech a potential franchise player and compared him to Ron Francis. Beech recorded 10 goals and 15 assists in 79 games in his first season in Pittsburgh, then spent the majority of the next three seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Sivek played only 38 games in Pittsburgh, spending most of his three seasons in the organization in Wilkes-Barre. Lupaschuk played four seasons in Wilkes-Barre, and only three games in Pittsburgh.
Still, the trade was inevitable. Jagr wanted out. The Penguins were struggling financially, and Jagr was set to make $20.7 million over the next two seasons.
The bad deal had a silver lining: The Penguins remained bad enough over the next several seasons to be able to draft Marc Andre-Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. So, it all worked out.
1. June 21, 2003: Penguins trade up for No. 1 overall pick
The Penguins traded up in the 2003 draft, sending the No. 3 overall pick and their second-round pick to the Panthers in exchange for Florida's third-round pick (Dan Carcillo), and the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, used to select future franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
''We're in a real building mode,'' Patrick said of the trade. ''We decided that the best place to start building is in the goal.''
''To trade up and take a great prospect in Marc-André Fleury, who has a chance to be a franchise goaltender, makes this an exciting day for the Penguins," Mario Lemieux said. "This is another important piece in our rebuilding process.''
I'm not sure that it's possible to sum up Fleury's impact in just a few short paragraphs. But looking back at that trade now, calling him an "important piece" in a rebuild ended up being a huge understatement. He was the first step toward a new era of Penguins hockey.
He's the Penguins' all-time leader in games played by a goaltender (691), wins (375), and shutouts (44). He's one of five Penguins to have won the Stanley Cup as a player three times.
No offseason trade has had a larger impact on the Penguins' organization than the one made to acquire Fleury.
