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Penguins acquire Kessel from Maple Leafs

Wednesday, 07.01.2015 / 2:38 PM / News

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Penguins acquire Kessel from Maple Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forwards Phil Kessel, Tyler Biggs, defenseman Tim Erixon and a draft pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday for Scott Harrington, Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Spaling and two draft picks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in a trade involving six players and draft picks.

Kessel, forward Tyler Biggs, defenseman Tim Erixon and a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft went to Pittsburgh for defenseman Scott Harrington, forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Nick Spaling, and first- and third-round picks in 2016. Toronto will retain $1.25 million per year of Kessel's salary.

Kessel, who had 25 goals in 82 games last season, is signed for seven more seasons with an $8 million NHL salary-cap charge, according to war-on-ice.com.

The Penguins were in the market for a top-six wing who could play with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Kessel is a five-time 30-goal scorer who has 227 goals in 668 games, including 181 goals with Toronto the past six seasons playing primarily with Tyler Bozak as his center.

Erixon split time between three teams last season, playing in 42 games for the Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks. He had two goals and seven points, and has two goals and 14 points in 93 regular-season games in four seasons.

Biggs, the No. 22 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, had seven goals and 39 penalty minutes in 57 games with the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, last season.

Kapanen, 18, was the Penguins' first-round pick (No. 22) in the 2014 draft. Harrington, 22, was Pittsburgh's second-round pick (No. 54) in 2011.

Harrington played in 10 games last season and had no points and a minus-10 rating. He had 12 points in 48 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. He played in eight games in the Calder Cup Playoffs and had an assist.

Kapanen had five points in seven games in the Calder Cup Playoffs with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. He had two points in four regular-season games after coming to North America following the completion of his season in Finland.

Spaling, 26, played in 82 games for the Penguins last season and had nine goals and 27 points. He had two points in the Penguins' Eastern Conference First Round loss to the New York Rangers in five games.

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