Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford opted to shake up his dressing room on Wednesday, trading two-time Stanley Cup champion Carl Hagelin to the Los Angeles Kings for Tanner Pearson.

Rutherford said he elected to make the move to try to spark the Penguins, who have opened the season just 7-6-3 after a second-round playoff exit in the spring.

“I’m sure it will affect the chemistry. He was a very popular guy in the room,” Rutherford said of Hagelin, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “But I’m not sure how strong the chemistry is right now, based on what I’m seeing.

“I think we’re in a funk now. We’re a fragile team. We’re struggling, but, for the most part, I still believe in this team.

“I feel bad. I’m usually very patient, but my patience is running out.” 

Hagelin had one goal and three points in 16 games with the Penguins this season. Pearson has struggled this season, posting just one assist in 17 games with a minus-9 rating.

“He’s off to a slow start this year,” Rutherford said of newly acquired winger. “Maybe lost his confidence a little bit, but he’s had a good career. He’s able to play with their top guys.” 

Penguins veteran Patrick Hornqvist said he understood why Rutherford made the trade and said it should serve as a wake-up call for the team.

“This is part of the business,” Hornqvist said. “If you don’t play (well), it’s going to (create) changes, and that’s exactly what happened. For me, personally, too bad it was Hagelin.

“It’s been 16 games now. We might be playing five good games and a few average and seven or eight really bad ones. Tough business to be in, but this why we play. We want to win.” 

While Rutherford hopes the results will come for the Penguins, he didn't close the door on making more moves if the turnaround doesn't come soon.

“We’ll see how this goes here for a little bit,” Rutherford said. “The way things have gone here in the first part of the season, it’s obvious we had to change something up.

“We entered the season with a very good team, a team that should contend for the Cup. I believe we can still do that, but we have some work to do.” 

Pearson could make his Penguins debut on Thursday night as the team hosts the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. The matchup will be even tougher if the Penguins are without centre Sidney Crosby, who was being evaluated for an upper-body injury on Wednesday.