Hornqvist 'blindsided' but says waiving no-trade clause was 'easy'

Patric Hornqvist said he was caught off-guard when the Pittsburgh Penguins shipped him to the Florida Panthers on Thursday, but ultimately, his decision to approve the swap wasn't difficult.

"This came up and blindsided me because I had a no-move clause," Hornqvist said Friday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Matt Vensel. "But then I find out that Pittsburgh didn't want me and Florida really wants me, and it was an easy choice for me and my family. I'm super excited to go down there and help them win some games."

The deal, in which the Panthers sent defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour to the Penguins, was first reported Wednesday. However, Hornqvist had to waive his no-trade clause for the transaction to go through, and it wasn't finalized until Thursday.

"It's been obviously a little crazy," he added. "It was obviously a tough situation for me and my family, when you get blindsided a little bit. When you know you have a no-trade, you don't think this kind of question is going to come up. When it came up, I took my time to go through every scenario."

The 33-year-old spent the last six seasons with the Penguins - helping them win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 - after playing his first six NHL campaigns with the Nashville Predators.