ST. LOUIS -- It's not a trade St. Louis Blues fans may have been expecting at this point of the season, but the team made a minor move on Tuesday morning.

The Blues announced they have acquired forward Akil Thomas from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Nikita Alexandrov.

Thomas, 25, will report to Springfield of the American Hockey League, where Alexandrov, 25, had been playing.

Thomas, a second round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 19 games for Ontario of the AHL; he has 106 points (50 goals, 56 assists) in 176 games in the AHL. He also has played in 32 NHL games with the Kings and had seven points (four goals, three assists).

Alexandrov, who was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft, had a couple different bouts with the Blues in 51 regular-season games, where he had nine points (three goals six assists). He had 143 points (61 goals, 82 assists) in 188 games with Springfield, including 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 18 games this season.

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