Ex-Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist affecting positive change in Florida

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Patric Hornqvist trade was not popular in Pittsburgh when it was made.

Both of them.

Back in June 2014, the Penguins dealt dynamic 40-goal scorer James Neal to the Nashville Predators and got back an under-the-radar net-front presence in the form of Hornqvist as well as reserve forward Nick Spaling.

While plenty of online amateur general managers recoiled in horror over the Penguins dealing away a high-end goal-scorer in Neal, the Penguins didn’t necessarily make the maneuver strictly with each player’s on-ice attributes in mind.

“We were just trying to change the mix of our team and get a little different type of player,” former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said after the transaction.

Without getting into specifics, Rutherford wanted someone who offered more to the Penguins off the ice than the cantankerous Neal.

Two Stanley Cup titles and a wonderful nickname later, Hornqvist (aka “Horny”) — who scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in the 2017 Final against the Predators, of all teams — became one of the most beloved members of the team over his six seasons with the Penguins.

That’s why the franchise’s second trade involving Hornqvist was even less popular.

Roughly 13 months ago, Hornqvist was dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for puck-moving defenseman Mike Matheson and reserve forward Colton Sceviour.

It wasn’t well-received in Pittsburgh at the time. Or by Hornqvist.

After all, he had a modified no-trade clause in the five-year contract extension he signed with the Penguins in February 2018.

“Obviously, when you get traded, you get a little shocked and emotional,” Hornqvist said Thursday. “I had a no-trade (clause), so I didn’t think I was going to get traded.

“But I’m not living in the past. I’m living right now. Good things happened for me and for Pittsburgh. I’m happy to be here, and I’m happy to be playing them.”

Hornqvist faced the Penguins for the first time since that transaction Thursday as the Panthers opened the season with a 5-4 overtime win at FLA Live Arena. Hornqvist was held scoreless while generating two shots on three attempts.

The Panthers, seemingly in a never-ending rebuilding project for most of the franchise’s existence, appeared to take a legitimate step forward during the 2020-21 campaign when they finished one point short of first place in the Central Division, a temporary assignment because of the NHL’s scheduling limits during the pandemic.

This season, they are seen as a favorite to win the Atlantic Division thanks to the foundation they laid down last season.

Hornqvist might not be the foreman on that project, but he certainly poured some of the cement.

“I thought he had an immediate impact on the team, in the room and on the ice and in the gym,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “He brings that intensity that’s noticeable. He can test teammates in a real right fashion. But I thought that accountability from players to players was something that was appreciated from the coaching perspective, and I thought it helped our team grow as individuals and as teammates and as a team. Immediately, his presence was noticed.”

Added Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar: “A great teammate. He’s brought obviously a great leadership role into our dressing room. The biggest thing with ‘Horny’ is we took a big step forward kind of holding each other man to man, that accountability. He’s not afraid to — not give it you or put you down — but that constructive criticism. Horny was the guy to bring that to our locker room. That’s kind of how we took a step forward as a group. ‘Horny’ was the right guy to do that. He stepped up and made us all closer in that sense also.”

Hornqvist did much of that throughout his tenure with the Penguins, particularly for younger players such as defenseman Marcus Pettersson, a fellow Swede who joined the Penguins via trade in December 2018 during his second NHL season.

“When I got (to Pittsburgh), I was still young and learning my way in the league,” Pettersson said. “Having another Swede on the team was huge. We (Pettersson and his girlfriend) got to spent time with him and his family. We hadn’t gone through that before, to have a Swede help us (in North America). The kind of guy he is, the kind of veteran he is. He’s such a nice guy. That helped us a lot.”

At the same time, the Penguins realize the rambunctious entity that vexed just about every opposing goaltender and crease-clearing defenseman for their benefit is now a problem they’ll have to deal with any time they face the Panthers.

“I’m sure he’s doing the same thing for Florida that he did for us when he was in Pittsburgh,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He only knows how to play one way. He’s going to be a pain in the neck in front of our net. I know he is. We’re going to have a tiger by the tail. That’s ‘Horny’s’ game.

“That’s why we love him.”

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