Penguins trade 2-time Cup winner Hornqvist

PITTSBURGH » Patric Hornqvist’s grit helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win a pair of Stanley Cups. To keep their championship window opened, they decided it was time to move on without him.

The Penguins traded the 33-year-old forward to Florida on Thursday in exchange for Mike Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour.

Hornqvist spent six seasons in Pittsburgh after being acquired in a 2014 trade that sent James Neal to Nashville. Known for his hard-nosed play around the net, Hornqvist scored 132 goals in 407 games for the Penguins and added 22 more in the playoffs, including 14 during Pittsburgh’s run to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

Hornqvist dealt with health issues — including concussions — near the end of his run in Pittsburgh. He was limited to 52 games during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and his

17 goals marked his fewest since 2012-13. He has three years left on a five-year,

$26.5-million contract extension he signed in February 2018.

“This is a hard one,” Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. “He was the first guy I acquired when I came to Pittsburgh and he’s played a big role in the success of the team over the years he was here, especially the two Stanley Cup years. He changed the culture.”

The 26-year-old Matheson and the 31-year-old Sceviour join a club smarting after a second straight abrupt postseason exit. The Penguins were stunned in four games by Montreal in the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup tournament and are 1-9 in their last 10 playoff games. While Rutherford insists the championship window remains open around the core of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the team needed to get younger and faster. Matheson satisfies both requirements.