NHL Offseason 2012: Jordan Staal Traded to Carolina Hurricanes

SportingNews has reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes have made a trade. The trade will send center and penalty kill specialist Jordan Staal to Carolina in exchange for center Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and the No. 8 overall draft pick in this year's draft.

The Pittsburgh Penguins selected Derrick Pouliot, defenseman from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, with the draft pick.

This news comes one day after Jordan Staal turned down a 10-year, $60 million contract from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The trade is really no surprise, and Carolina is a great fit for Staal. He will be able to play alongside older brother Eric Staal, and can finally step out of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's shadows.

The Penguins got a lot more than I believe many expected.

Brandon Sutter will not be able to replace Staal, but he is a suitable guy to fill the slot as the third line center. Last year with the Hurricanes, he had a respectable 32 points in 82 games.

Dumoulin, on the other hand, gives the Penguins a young defenseman that they can try to build up through their minor league system.

A side note of this story is that the Penguins now have enough cap space to go after Zach Parise, among other notable free agents, during the offseason.

TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie also confirmed the trade via twitter.