The Pittsburgh Penguins have made one trade on deadline day as they have acquired forward Josh Jooris from the Carolina Hurricanes. In return, they give up Greg McKegg who played most of the season down in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the Penguins AHL-affiliate.
Penguins Acquire Josh Jooris From Hurricanes
Rumors had been swirling the past couple days that even with the acquisition of Derick Brassard, the Penguins wanted to add another forward. They ended up doing it right as the deadline struck in acquiring Jooris. He has been assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins but if recalled, Jooris would most likely play on the fourth line for Pittsburgh and sometimes rotate in and out of games. He would be rotating with Tom Kuhnhackl and Carter Rowney most likely.
Jooris can kill penalties and in 31 games this season for the Hurricanes, he had three goals and six points. He is not that far removed from his 12 goal, 24-point season from 2014-15 with the Calgary Flames. His CF% this season is 49.6% this season which is much higher than its been the previous two years. Last year, it was 44% and the year before that, it was 37.5%.
For the Hurricanes, they get McKegg who started out the season as the Penguins third line center before being sent down. He had two goals and four points in 26 games for the Penguins this season. He also had a 47.3 CF% up in Pittsburgh. Down in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he had five goals and 12 points in 28 games.
Jooris may not be recalled to the Penguins unless a forward or two get hurt down the stretch as they head towards the playoffs. Regardless, he adds depth to the center position that will be a “safety net” down the final stretch of the season and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
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