The Penguins acquired 36-year-old veteran forward Jeff Carter from the Kings in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in 2022 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2023, general manager Ron Hextall announced in the early hours of Monday.
The Kings will retain 50 percent of Carter's $5,272,727 cap hit through the duration of his contract, which runs through the 2021-22 season. His cap hit for the Penguins will be $2,636,363. The trade puts the Penguins at 49 contracts toward the 50-contract limit.
The Penguins are now just over $3.5 million over the salary cap upper limit of $81.5 million, dipping into the long-term injured relief pool of $12.68 million made possible by the relief gained from the injuries of Evgeni Malkin and Brandon Tanev. They have $9.15 million in cap space, but must retain space to activate Malkin and Tanev from long-term injured reserve if they come back in the regular season.
Carter, 6 foot 3 and 219 pounds, is in his 16th NHL season and was in his 10th with the Kings organization. He's a two-time Stanley Cup champion, lifting the Cup with the Kings in 2012 and 2014.
The trade reunites Carter with Hextall after both won the Cup together in 2012 during Hextall's tenure as assistant general manager with the Kings.
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Jeff Carter with the Kings this season.
Carter ranks sixth on the Kings in scoring this season with eight goals and 11 assists in 40 games. He's spent this season playing on the right side of either the second or third lines throughout the season, though he's played center in the past. He was playing on the Kings' second power play unit and was used at times in a penalty-killing role.
In the time since Carter broke into the league in 2005-06 with the Flyers, he ranks second among all players in game-winning goals with 83 and eighth in total goals with 390.
Carter has appeared in 120 playoff games in his career, recording a total of 39 goals and 35 assists in the postseason.
