Penguins acquire Kaedan Korczak from Vegas for Parker Wotherspoon

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Kaedan Korczak #6 of the Vegas Golden Knights passes the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins at T-Mobile Arena on March 07, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Penguins made their first big transaction of the off-season by trading out defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to Vegas for Kaedan Korczak.

The Penguins have acquired defenseman Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Parker Wotherspoon.

Details: https://t.co/JDAkhmBVXHpic.twitter.com/MC2AykOei1

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 30, 2026

From the team:

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Parker Wotherspoon, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.

Korczak, 25, is signed through the 2029-30 season and carries an average annual value of $3.25 million. Pittsburgh is retaining 50% of Wotherspoon’s contract.

The 6-foot-3, 206-pound defenseman has spent the last five-plus seasons in the Vegas Golden Knights organization. Last season, Korczak recorded three goals, 13 assists and 16 points in 78 games with Vegas and notched three assists in 13 games en route to the Stanley Cup Final.

In 155 career NHL games, Korczak has tallied four goals, 33 assists, 37 points and a plus-31 and added another three assists in 14 career playoff games. The defenseman spent parts of his first four professional seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League and tallied 39 points (7G-32A) in 134 games.

The Yorkton, SK native has represented Team Canada at the 2021 World Junior Championship and 2019 World Under-18 Championship, winning a silver medal in 2021.

Korczak was originally drafted in the second round (41st overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by Vegas.

The move has cap implications, the Pens are retaining half of Wotherspoon’s already reasonable $1.0 million salary for Vegas to gain as much space as possible. Korczak carries a $3.25 million cap hit and as mentioned above is signed for the next four seasons on an extension that doesn’t kick in until tomorrow.

One of my radio broadcasts last season was in Vegas. This was the gist of what I gleaned on Kaedan Korczak, the 6-3, 206-pound defenseman: "Intelligent two-way defender who loves to mix it up. Bigger guy who can skate."

— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) June 30, 2026

The right shooting defenseman averaged just under 16 minutes per game for Vegas last year. He fits right in the wheelhouse of what the Penguins have sought after in terms of age, 25, and showing some good metrics that the team will hope can flourish stepping up a level.

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Wotherspoon performed well for the Penguins, in a first pairing role on the left side on a pair with Erik Karlsson. This move could be a harbinger of things to come as Pittsburgh remakes their blueline now that the already weak left side loses a key member and certainly looks like a place the team will need to add to this summer in another trade or by signing a free agent.

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