NHL Trade: Golden Knights Add Wotherspoon From Penguins & Free Up Cap Space
The Vegas Golden Knights have traded Kaedan Korczak to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Parker Wotherspoon at 50% retained.
— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) June 30, 2026
Korczak’s four-year extension had not yet kicked in. The Golden Knights free up another $2,750,000 in cap space.
The Golden Knights send out Kaedan Korczak and his four-year deal with a $3.25 million cap hit, while receiving back Pittsburgh's top-pairing d-man Parker Wotherspoon. The Penguins are retaining 50% ($500K) of his $1M cap hit for next for the remaining year on his deal. Overall, a $2.75 million savings of cap space for Vegas.
That leaves them with $7.375 million in room under the cap.
As for the Penguins, they trade the left-shot Wotherspoon after his breakout season that saw him residing on their top pairing with Erik Karlsson for much of the year, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per night. He notched 30 points and a plus/minus rating of +17. He also added 162 hits and 112 blocked shots. He was, as noted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "one of the primary unsung heroes of last season’s return to the playoffs."
It seems like an odd swap for the Pens, as Korczak also comes in as a right-shot D, leaving an imbalance on the blueline. But he's three years younger than Wotherspoon, and about to begin his new contract, offering some affordable cost certainty and term. Perhaps he offers more upside as well, but Wotherspoon and his puck-moving will be missed in Pittsburgh. He will, however, be in for a big raise, and likely longer term, when his current affordable deal expires next summer.
