Tue, Feb 27, 2007 at 4:00pm

KWIATKOWSKI TO PITTSBURGH

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman/winger Joel Kwiatkowski from the Florida Panthers for a fourth-round draft pick in 2007.

What does it give the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins needed a major upgrade on defense, but instead have to settle for Kwiatkowski--a versatile journeyman. He played a little forward for the Panthers this season, but will be asked to provide a little more stability along the blueline. He has played well in spurts at the NHL level, but has never shown enough consistency. Giving up a fourth rounder for Kwiatkowski appears to be a bit of a reach for the Pens, who were rumored to be after bigger names to help out their blueline brigade.

What does it give the Florida Panthers
Considering the fact the Panthers were using Kwiatkowski as a utility player, they did well to land a fourth rounder in this deal. Recently, Kwiatkowski was bypassed on the depth chart by both Steve Montador and Alexei Semenov. Therefore, he was living on borrowed time in South Florida. GM/coach Jacques Martin did well with this move.

Fantasy impact