Hornqvist traded to Panthers by Penguins for Matheson, Sceviour

Patric Hornqvist was traded to the Florida Panthers by the Pittsburgh Penguins for Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour on Thursday.

Hornqvist scored 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 52 regular-season games and two points (one goal, one assist) in four postseason games. The 33-year-old forward has three seasons left on a five-year, $26.5 million contract ($5.3 million average annual value) he signed with the Penguins on Feb. 27, 2018, and played the past six seasons with them.

"It was obviously a tough situation for me and my family when you get blindsided a little bit," Hornqvist said Friday. "When you know you have a no-trade (clause), you don't think this kind of question is going to come up ... But when I find out Pittsburgh didn't want me and Florida really wants me, it was an easy choice for me and my family, and I'm super excited to go down there and help them win some games."

Selected by the Nashville Predators in the seventh round (No. 230) of the 2005 NHL Draft, Hornqvist has scored 480 points (238 goals, 242 assists) in 770 regular-season games with the Penguins and Predators, and 46 points (25 goals, 21 assists) in 90 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

RELATED: NHL Trade Tracker

Hornqvist won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

"I think [the Panthers] have a really [good group] of core young players who are on the way up, and what I can bring to the team is leadership and experience and some playoff hockey, obviously," Hornqvist said.

Matheson scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 59 regular-season games for the Panthers and no points in two postseason games. The 26-year-old defenseman has six years remaining on an eight-year contract with an annual average value of $4.875 million he signed with the Panthers on Oct. 9, 2017.

"[I'm excited] to be able to play for an organization like Pittsburgh and a hockey town like Pittsburgh," Matheson said. "I wish the season was starting tomorrow. It's tough to get news like this and then have to wait a couple months to get on the ice with everyone.

"[Penguins forward Sidney Crosby] was my favorite player growing up ... it's pretty impressive to be on the ice with a guy like that. My thought process now is I'm pretty lucky to think I'll be able to practice with him every day. I'll be trying to go against him every chance I get because there's no better practice than going against the best player in the world."

Selected by Florida in the first round (No. 23) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Matheson has scored 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) in 299 regular-season games and has one assist in seven postseason games.

"He can really skate," Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He plays the way that we like to play. He's got a good shot. He can skate. I feel that he'll fit into our system very nicely."

Sceviour, a 31-year-old center, scored 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 69 regular-season games and no points in two postseason games. A fourth-round pick (No. 112) by the Dallas Stars in the 2007 NHL Draft, he has one season remaining on a three-year contract with an annual average value of $1.2 million he signed with Florida on Feb. 12, 2018.

He has scored 141 points (59 goals, 82 assists) in 454 regular-season games with the Panthers and Stars, and has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 19 postseason games.

"I'm just excited because you look at the team and instantly you go, 'OK, that's a Stanley Cup contender,'" Sceviour said. "That's exciting any time you look at a team you're on. To be a part of that, and to be prepared for that, that's No. 1. For me, personally, I think I kind of can play up and down the lineup. I'm usually more of a depth guy that can help on the penalty kill. I think I can chip in offensively here and there when needed."

Sceviour was tied for second on Florida with an average of 2:30 of shorthanded ice time per game this season.

It is the first transaction for the Panthers under general manager Bill Zito, who was hired Sept. 2 after Dale Tallon left the organization Aug. 10 after 10 seasons. The Panthers, who lost to the New York Islanders in four games in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, have not won a playoff series since 1996, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final and were swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Penguins, who lost their qualifier series to the Montreal Canadiens in four games, traded forward Nick Bjugstad to the Minnesota Wild on Sept. 12 for a conditional pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and they acquired forward Kasperi Kapanen for a first-round pick (No. 15) in the 2020 NHL Draft in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Aug. 25.

It was not an easy decision to trade Hornqvist, Rutherford said.

"There's no question we will miss his leadership and we will miss him," the GM said. "He is one of the very top character players in our league with his leadership. And that's why Florida wanted him. They've made some changes there and they want to change their culture, similar to what I talked about when I first came to Pittsburgh (in June 2014)."

NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin and independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report