Kings trade Tanner Pearson to Penguins for Carl Hagelin

Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Kings have traded Tanner Pearson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Carl Hagelin.

Both franchises announced the trade Wednesday.

"Our team is obviously not in a position that we are comfortable with in terms of how we are playing," Kings vice president and general manager Rob Blake told reporters.

"This is a change to our line-up that gives us an additional amount of speed. With Carl Hagelin his number one asset is speed and getting to holes, and we think he will play a big role on the penalty kill for us going forward."

Pearson, 26, had 69 goals and 144 points in 325 games in his six seasons with the Kings. He had a career-high 24 goals and 44 points during his 2016-2017 campaign.

"He's able to play with their top guys [in LA]. I believe that a change will be good for him. He will be a good fit for us," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said, regarding Pearson. "He's a little bit younger than Carl -- he's a good all-around player."

Hagelin, 30, has three points in 16 games this season. He has 225 points in 504 games during his eight-year NHL tenure for the New York Rangers, Penguins and Anaheim Ducks.

The Penguins and Kings face off at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15 in Pittsburgh. Los Angeles battles the Chicago Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m. on Friday while Pittsburgh host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7 p.m. on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.