The Minnesota Wild hit one of the big blows of the trade deadline with the acquisition of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks.
In return for the 37-year-old goaltender, the Blackhawks get a second-round pick in the next draft. That pick could become a first-round pick if the Wild reach the Western Conference Finals and Fleury earns four or more wins in the first two playoff rounds.
The Hawks acquired Fleury from the Vegas Golden Knights last July.
Fleury, who won the Vezina and Jennings Trophies for the first time last season with the Knights, is 19-21-5 with a .908 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average with the Hawks, who are under reconstruction.
In 928 games including 772 NHL starts with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Golden Knights and Hawks, Fleury was 511-297-87 with a 2.57 GAA and .913 save percentage.
The Wild also acquired defenseman Jacob Middleton from the San Jose Sharks in return for goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen and a 2022 fifth-round pick.
The team also earned a second-round pick in the upcoming Arizona Coyotes draft for prospect Jack McBain, who represented Canada at the Beijing Olympics.
Leddy in St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues also pulled off a nice catch by getting the veteran defenseman from the Detroit Red Wings.
The Missouri team also acquires right winger Luke Witkowski.
In return, the Wings get defenseman Jake Walman, right winger Oskar Sundqvist and a 2023 second-round pick.
Leddy is a 12-year NHL veteran with the Blackhawks, New York Islanders and Wings. In 831 games, he scored 66 goals and added 286 assists for 352 points.
Beaulieu to Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins added depth to their defense by securing Nathan Beaulieu from the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets received a conditional seventh-round pick in this year’s draft for Beaulieu, who is in the final year of his contract.
The Manitoba squad also sent center Bryan Little and prospect Nathan Smith to the Coyotes in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft.
Little, who hasn’t played since November 2019 after being hit in the head by a puck that left him with a perforated eardrum and bouts of vertigo, still has two years left on his contract, with an average annual value of 5 US$.29 million.
A few hours later, the Jets acquired right-winger Zach Sanford from the Ottawa Senators for a fifth-round pick in the summer.
Johansson back home
Marcus Johansson will return to Washington. The left-winger was acquired by the Capitals from the Seattle Kraken for forward Daniel Sprong and a 2022 fourth-round pick and 2023 sixth-round pick.
The Kraken will pay half the salary of Johansson, who was a Caps first-round pick in 2009 and spent his first seven seasons in the US capital.
The Caps also acquired center Johan Larsson from the Coyotes for a 2023 third-round pick.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
– The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded defenseman Alex Biega to the Nashville Predators in return for future considerations. The Preds then traded defenseman Frederic Allard to the Kings in return for left winger Brayden Burke;
– The Boston Bruins have acquired defenseman Josh Brown and a 2022 seventh-round pick from the Ottawa Senators in return for forward Zach Senyshyn and a seventh-round pick in the next draft;
– The New York Rangers acquired defenseman Justin Braun from the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2023 third-round pick;
– The Blue Shirts were active before the transfer window ended. They added left-winger Tyler Motte from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2023 fourth-round pick, and traded defenseman Anthony Bitetto to the Sharks;
– After acquiring Artturi Lehkonen from the Canadiens, the Colorado Avalanche added depth by securing forward Andrew Cogliano from the Sharks for a 2024 fifth-round pick.