The Penguins announced earlier today that they traded defensive specialist Ric Jackman for offensive force Ossi Vaananen. Jackman left the team sporting a very impressive -19 plus/minus and 22 points. Vaananen comes from the struggling Blue Jackets yet still maintains a decent -2 plus/minus and 11 points on the season thus far. He also brings a strong physical package as he had 119 hits with Columbus.
The team has announced forward Vyborny and captain Kimmo Timonen will be out for the next game, leaving Vaananen a chance to play his first game in the top four, most likely suting up next to Mark Eaton. Vaananen is still only 27 years old and at almost the same salary as Jackman (Vaananen is about 70,000 cheaper) the Penguins are happy to have him with the team. Once Timonen is healthy, Vaananen will most likely spend the rest of the season on the 3rd pairing with Rusty Klesla.
Vaananen is the one throwing the hit