The Vegas Golden Knights traded defenseman Kaedan Korczak to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

It is a one-for-one swap, as the Knights acquire 28-year-old defenseman Parker Wotherspoon. Pittsburgh is retaining 50 percent of his $1 million cap hit.

Wotherspoon scored a career-high 30 points for Pittsburgh last season and blocked a team-high 112 shots. He’s played 188 NHL games with three different teams

Korczak, 25, was a second-round pick of the Knights in 2019 who had 16 points in 78 games this season.

He signed a four-year, $13 million contract last July that was set to begin next season ($3.25 million average annual value).

It was Korczak’s first year as a full-time NHL player after playing 77 games the past four seasons. While there were signs of promise, Korczak fell out of the rotation during the playoffs.

He was benched for Dylan Coghlan during the second round against Anaheim. Coghlan never relinquished his hold on the third-pairing spot.

Korczak had two assists in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final and also played in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Wotherspoon fills an area of need and comes at a cheaper cost. The 28-year-old from Surrey, British Columbia, posted career-highs in goals and points while playing to the left of Erik Karlsson.

A fourth-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2015, Wotherspoon played a career-high 80 games last season.

But he’s not being brought in for his offense. Wotherspoon slides in as a third-pairing defenseman on the left side of the blue line. That will likely end any chance that Jeremy Lauzon is brought back when free agency opens at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

More importantly on the financial front, the Knights cleared $2.75 million in cap space. That gives them $7.375 million in room prior to defenseman Alex Pietrangelo going on season-ending long-term injured reserve.

That will give the Knights $16.175 million in room with nine forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders under contract.

The re-signing of Rasmus Andersson will cover roughly half of that — between $8 million and $9 million on his new contract — and still gives the Knights flexibility to fill out the rest of the roster.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.