The Washington Capitals acquired center Lars Eller from the rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2025 and a third-round pick in 2027.
The 2025 pick in the deal originally belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Eller, 35, spent parts of seven seasons with the Capitals from 2016-23 and won a Stanley Cup with the organization in 2018. The Capitals traded him to the Colorado Avalanche before the 2023 trade deadline, and he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in free agency that summer.
Eller has four goals and three assists in 17 games this season, his 16th in the NHL. The Denmark native has 409 points (182 goals, 227 assists) in 1,053 career games for five teams, including 208 points (87 goals, 121 assists) in 488 appearances for the Capitals.
Eller added nine goals and 22 assists in 59 career playoff games with Washington, including seven goals and 11 assists over 24 games the year the Capitals won their first Stanley Cup.
In a corresponding roster move, the Capitals loaned forward Mike Sgarbossa to AHL affiliate Hershey. Sgarbossa tallied one goal and one assist in three games for Washington this year.
