Alexei Kovalev Traded to Penguins

In the aftermath of Monday's trade that saw the Penguins send Alex Goligoski to Dallas for James Neal and Matt Niskanen, Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero made it pretty clear he would still like to add another forward to his roster. On Thursday, he did just that by sending a conditional draft pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for veteran forward Alexei Kovalev. According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the draft pick is a conditional seventh-round pick that would turn into a sixth-round selection if the Penguins advance beyond the first round of the postseason.

Kovalev's name had been connected to the Penguins in trade speculation for a couple of months, and on Thursday the speculation finally became reality. The Russian winger spent parts of five seasons with the Penguins between 1998 and 2003, recording some of his most productive seasons to date. He scored 149 of his 426 career goals in his first stint with the Penguins, including a career-high 44 during the 2000-01 season.

Will a return to the city and team that hosted his best days rejuvenate the 38-year-old Kovalev? For the price Pittsburgh paid -- next to nothing -- it's certainly a gamble worth taking, especially with a roster that has been ravaged by injuries for much of the season and is in desperate need for some quick, short-term offense. Playing without some combination of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Mark Letestu, Dustin Jeffrey, and Eric Tangradi (as well as recently injured defenseman Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik), the Penguins have scored more than three goals just once in their past 16 games, and have dropped three in a row and seven of their past nine.

If nothing else Kovalev should give the Penguins power play a bit of a boost as six of his 14 goals this season have come on the man advantage. He comes into Pittsburgh riding a bit of a hot streak, scoring six goals in his last 10 games.

For the Senators, it's simply the latest move in their mid-season roster purge that's seem them flip a number of veteran players (and soon-to-be free agents) for draft picks. Kovalev spent a season-and-a-half in Ottawa, scoring 32 goals in 131 games.