Pens trade for Harry Zolnierczyk

If your team is out of the playoffs (tear), they can make trades, and the Pittsburgh Penguins did that today, announcing they've acquired Harry Zolnierczyk from Anaheim for minor league defenseman Alex Grant. From the team:

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Harry Zolnierczyk (ZOHL-ner-chuck) from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Alex Grant, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero.

Zolnierczyk, 25, split the 2012-13 campaign between the Anaheim and Philadelphia Flyers organizations. He played in seven NHL games with the Flyers, recording one assist and 36 penalty minutes.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Zolnierczyk spent a majority of the ’12-13 season in the American Hockey League with the Adirondack Phantoms and Norfolk Admirals, collecting 11 goals and 19 points with 68 penalty minutes in 61 games between the two teams.

Zolnierczyk, to this point, is probably most famous to Penguin fans for getting beaten up by Joe Vitale in April 2012 as the Pens and Flyers were spirialing out of control with crazy games. He also got beaten up and Rock Bottom'd by Tyler Kennedy back in 2011.

What does it mean in the future? We'll have to see. (Hopefully a Tanner Glass buyout). For the Penguins it's not a big loss, Grant (a former 4th round pick) has been in the minors for the past four seasons and is quite buried on the organization's depth chart even before the bluechip pipeline of prospect defensemen is about to kick guys like Scott Harrington, Olli Maatta and Derrick Pouliot into the system in the coming months/years. Grant's been a good AHL defenseman and isn't a bad player, but his chances of ever amounting to much in Pittsburgh's organization just weren't rosy. He'll get a new start and the Pens will get some forward depth that they badly need.