The Montreal Canadiens are trading defenseman Brett Kulak to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman William Lagesson and a second-round pick, reports TSN's Bob McKenzie.
More to come.
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Live, quick-hit analysis of big-league trades completed Monday, March 21.
Arizona acquires: F Jack McBain
Minnesota acquires: 2nd-round pick (2022, originally Vancouver's)
Consider this a typical transaction in the Bill Armstrong era in Arizona. Deep in a rebuild and about to start playing in a 5,000-seat arena, the Coyotes are in desperate need of young, cheap talent to fill their roster. McBain, a 2018 third-round pick by the Wild who never signed with Minnesota, fits the bill. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound center recorded 33 points in 24 games for Boston College this past season. He also played for Team Canada at the Olympics, pitching in two points in five games. You can assume McBain will sign with Arizona soon.
His name in the rumor mill for months, Jake DeBrusk inked a two-year, $8-million deal to stay in Boston - for the time being, at least. A league source confirms DeBrusk's long-held trade request has not been rescinded and the Bruins are still trying to find a trade partner prior to Monday's 3 p.m. ET deadline. While DeBrusk's production has dropped off the past couple of seasons, he has the physical tools to be an effective power forward. A change of scenery could help and he could help deepen a contender's middle-six.
Another bottom-feeding team extends its starting goalie, as Anton Forsberg and the Senators agree to a three-year deal with a $2.75 million average annual value. After stops in Columbus, Chicago, and Carolina, the 29-year-old Forsberg has found a long-term hockey home in Ottawa. He has a .918 save percentage through 31 games, saving 8.84 goals above average and 7.86 goals above expected, per Evolving Hockey. Pretty damn good. Most crucially, this deal brings stability to Ottawa's crease at a reasonable price tag.
Goalie Karel Vejmelka gets rewarded with a three-year contract extension that carries an AAV of $2.725 million. The right-catching, 25-year-old Czechia netminder has impressed in his first NHL season, posting a .906 save percentage in 36 games behind a woeful Coyotes squad. Arizona announced the extension a day after trading Vejmelka's partner, Scott Wedgewood, to the Dallas Stars for a fourth-round pick.
Pittsburgh acquires: D Nathan Beaulieu
Winnipeg acquires: 7th-round pick (2022, conditional)
This is Penguins management adding injury insurance to its back end, nothing more. Beaulieu, a 29-year-old left-shot defenseman, averaged 10:46 of ice time in 24 games for the Jets this year. He contributed four assists and posted terrible underlying numbers. A pending unrestricted free agent, Beaulieu makes $1.25 million against the cap. He's now been traded three times over his career, having previously been sent from Montreal to Buffalo in 2017 and from Buffalo to Winnipeg in 2019.
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The Arizona Coyotes signed goaltender Karel Vejmelka to a three-year contract extension that carries an average annual value of $2.725 million, sources told theScore's John Matisz.
Vejmelka, 25, is in the midst of a solid rookie campaign with the Coyotes. He owns a 10-23-1 record alongside a .905 save percentage and 3.35 goals against average. He has 2.68 goals saved above average and 6.87 high-danger goals saved above average.
Prior to joining the Coyotes, Vejmelka spent seven seasons playing in his native Czech Republic. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators.
The Coyotes traded goaltender Scott Wedgewood to the Dallas Stars on Sunday. The duo had been splitting starts evenly since Wedgewood was claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils earlier this season.
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The Winnipeg Jets are reportedly bringing back a familiar face.
The Seattle Kraken have traded forward Mason Appleton to the Jets in exchange for a 2023 fourth-round pick, according to The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark.
Seattle selected Appleton from the Jets' roster during the expansion draft in July. The 26-year-old has six goals and 11 assists in 49 games this season.
A sixth-round pick by Winnipeg in 2015, Appleton has 43 points in 138 career games as a Jet. He can become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this offseason after playing out the final term of a two-year, $1.8-million deal.
More to come.
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The Minnesota Wild are trading the rights to forward Jack McBain to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 second-round pick, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
The draft pick originally belonged to the Vancouver Canucks. The Coyotes still have four second-rounders in the upcoming draft.
McBain was a third-round pick by the Wild in 2018. However, he didn't intend to sign an entry-level contract with the team and would've become an unrestricted free agent instead. He just finished his NCAA career at Boston College, where he produced 19 goals and 14 assists in 24 games during his senior year.
The 22-year-old also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He tallied a goal and an assist in four games at the tournament.
McBain, a natural center, stands at 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds. The rebuilding Coyotes can likely offer him a faster track to the NHL than most teams.
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The Ottawa Senators have traded winger Nick Paul to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round pick, the team announced Sunday.
Ottawa will retain 44.5% of Paul's remaining salary in 2021-22.
Paul, 27, carries a cap hit of $1.35 million and is a pending unrestricted free agent. He has 11 goals and seven assists in 59 contests so far this season.
More to come.
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Mark Giordano is headed home.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the veteran defenseman, as well as forward Colin Blackwell, from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for two second-round picks and a third-rounder, the team announced Sunday.
Seattle is retaining 50% of Giordano's $6.75-million cap hit. The Toronto native will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end.
The second-rounders are in 2022 and 2023, while the third-round pick is in 2024.
Giordano has recorded six goals and 17 assists in 55 games while averaging 21:29 of ice time per contest with the Kraken in 2021-22. The 38-year-old's offensive game has declined with age, but he's still posting elite defensive metrics this campaign.
Giordano spent the first 15 years of his career with the Calgary Flames before the Kraken selected him in the expansion draft. He won the Norris Trophy in 2018-19 while playing alongside current Leafs blue-liner T.J. Brodie. If Toronto plans to reunite the pair, its blue line could look something like this at full health:
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Morgan Rielly | Ilya Lyubushkin |
| Mark Giordano | T.J. Brodie |
| Jake Muzzin* | Justin Holl |
| Rasmus Sandin | Timothy Liljegren |
*Currently injured
Blackwell, meanwhile, has tallied eight goals and nine assists in 39 games in a bottom-six role for the Kraken. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound winger has played in 119 career NHL games between the Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, and Seattle, registering 49 points. He's posted solid underlying numbers over the past three seasons.
Colin Blackwell, traded to TOR, is a defensive bottom six forward with an accurate shot. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/IemJNNqE0A
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 20, 2022
The 28-year-old carries a cap hit of $725,000 and will be a UFA at the end of the campaign. He projects to slot in on Toronto's fourth line.
The Maple Leafs cleared cap space to facilitate this deal by waiving Petr Mrazek and trading Travis Dermott to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
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