That trade back in February worked out pretty well for both sides.
After acquiring winger Carl Hagelin midseason on an expiring contract, the Washington Capitals decided to lock him up with a four-year contract extension worth $11 million, the team announced Sunday.
Hagelin, 30, will make an average $2.75 million a year.
A regular Capital adversary when he played for the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, Hagelin bounced around the league in 2018-19 while recovering from an MCL injury.
After the trade, Hagelin, 30, recorded three goals and eight assists in 20 regular season games for Washington. He was better known for putting in quality minutes on the penalty kill unit, improving the whole unit once he got there.
The Capitals sent a 2019 third-round draft pick and a 2020 conditional sixth-round pick to the Kings to acquire Hagelin Feb. 21.
Hagelin is the first pending free agent to re-sign with the Capitals since the season ended. The move comes two days after the Capitals dealt defenseman Matt Niskanen to Philadelphia for defenseman Radko Gudas in a move that created $3.405 million in cap space.
“We are pleased to have signed Carl to a new four-year contract,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “Carl is a versatile player who can play on any line and is an excellent penalty killer. He is a proven winner and provides great leadership to our team.”
Hagelin would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The Capitals also have to make decisions about Brett Connolly, Devante Smith-Pelly and Andre Burakovsky, and they’re likely to sign Jakub Vrana to a long-term or bridge deal.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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