The Los Angeles Kings traded Jeff Carter to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional pick in the third round in 2022 and a conditional pick in the fourth round in 2023, the teams announced Sunday night.
Los Angeles will retain 50% of Carter’s salary, which lasts through the 2021-22 season and amounts to a cap of $ 5.272 million.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings, in 2012 and 2014, Carter ranks 10th on the franchise list in everyday goals and is ranked No. 1 in overtime goals.
He has spent the past nine plus years of his 16-year NHL career in Los Angeles. He also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers, which ranked him 11th overall in 2003 when Ron Hextall, the current general manager of Penguins, was the director of player personnel at the Flyers. Hextall has also been an assistant GM at the Kings for seven seasons, including their 2012 Stanley Cup winning season.
Carter, 36, has scored eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points in 40 games this season. His departure leaves only four members of the Kings’ two Stanley Cup teams still in the franchise – captain Anze Kopitar, forward Dustin Brown, defender Drew Doughty and goalkeeper Jonathan Quick.
The Kings, who lost seven of nine games before Saturday’s win over the San Jose Sharks, are currently six points from a playoff game with 16 games left.
The Penguins, at 27-13-2, are third in the Eastern Division, but just two points behind the division leaders, the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.