Penguins trade Derrick Pouliot to Vancouver for D Andrey Pedan, 4th round pick

The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally cut ties with Derrick Pouliot, sending the former 8th overall pick in 2012 to Vancouver for defenseman and a 4th round pick.

Pedan is a 24 year old defenseman who stands 6’5 and 215 pounds. Here’s his profile from The Hockey News, which could be a little outdated:

Assets: A huge physical specimen, he loves to play a physical brand of hockey at all levels. Also displays an ability to produce some offense at lower levels.

Flaws: Takes way too many bad penalties that place his team behind the eight-ball. Is a work-in-progress, defensive defenseman who lacks consistency.

Career Potential: Huge, physical defenseman with some upside.

Here’s his career path from Elite Prospects:

And here’s the team’s email release on the trade:

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Andrey Pedan and a 2018 fourth-round draft pick from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Derrick Pouliot, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

Pedan is signed to a two-way contract through the 2017-18 season, and he carries an average annual value of $750,000 at the NHL level.

Pedan, 24, spent last season with the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, posting 10 points (5G-5A) and collecting 100 penalty minutes in 52 games. The previous year in 2015-16, he played his first 13 NHL games with the Canucks, compiling 18 penalty minutes. That same year, Pedan produced 21 points (7G-14A) and a plus-17 in 45 AHL games.

A 6-foot-5, 213-pound native of Kaunas, Lithuania, Pedan was originally chosen by the New York Islanders in the third round (63^rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. Since then, he’s played the majority of his professional career in the AHL split between Utica and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 181 career AHL appearances, he has 60 points (20G-40A). He has also played in four AHL playoff contests.

Pedan played three seasons of junior hockey with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, where he posted back-to-back 40-plus point years to conclude his junior career. Overall, Pedan had 96 points (26G-70A) in 174 OHL games.

By acquiring a fourth-round selection, Pittsburgh once again owns seven choices in the 2018 NHL Draft, including its own pick in the first, second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. The Penguins traded their own fourth-round selection to the Tampa Bay Lightning last March in a deal that brought defenseman Mark Streit to Pittsburgh.

Pouliot has been mired as the 8th defenseman on the depth chart after another uneven preseason. He never really established himself under coach Mike Sullivan, though he did have some encouraging advanced stats earlier in his career under former coach Mike Johnston. He needed a fresh start, and now he’s got one.

As far as what the Penguins get? Well, it remains to be seen. Pedan won’t figure to be more than an 8th defenseman (if that) for this season, and a mid-round pick probably won’t move the needle for the future too much, and in fact is something that might even be traded in the future for more NHL help.

A disappointing end to Pouliot’s Penguins career that started with so much promise, but never could get on track.