Penguins acquire Trevor Daley from Blackhawks for Rob Scuderi

The depleted Pittsburgh Penguins bolstered their blueline Tuesday night, acquiring Trevor Daley from Chicago for Rob Scuderi.

The winds of change continue to blow in Pittsburgh. Over the past week, the Penguins have said goodbye to the retiring Pascal Dupuis and fired head coach Mike Johnston. On Monday night, they traded defenseman Rob Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley.

Scuderi, 36, ends his second stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He started his career in the organization, was an integral part of their Stanley Cup run in 2009 and left for the L.A. Kings as a free agent the ensuing off-season. He was part of the Kings’ Stanley Cup victory in 2012 and returned to the Penguins for the past two-and-a-half seasons.

Daley, 32, only played 29 games as a Hawk. He arrived in the summer from the Dallas Stars as part of the Patrick Sharp blockbuster. Daley exploded for 16 goals last year but had none so far this season with the Hawks, with just six assists. He carries a $3.3-million cap hit for one more season after this one.

Scuderi, a stay-at-home blueliner, carries a $3.375-million cap hit through the end of next season, but the Penguins will pay one third of it, meaning his cap number in Chicago is $2.225 million. This deal is all about Pittsburgh earning some blueline mobility in Daley, who will get an opportunity to play much more significant minutes in Pittsburgh than he did in Chicago. Daley averages 14:46 of ice time per game this season after playing 22:53 with Dallas last year. The Pens have struggled defensively after letting Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff walk in free agency and are without No. 1 D-man Kris Letang, who is out about two weeks with an upper-body injury.

Matt Larkin is an associate editor at The Hockey News and a regular contributor to the thn.com Post-To-Post blog. For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, subscribe to The Hockey News magazine. Follow Matt Larkin on Twitter at @THNMattLarkin