The Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins have completed a trade, though it isn’t as major as some had hoped. The Penguins will be sending Stefan Elliott and Tobias Lindberg to the Senators in exchange for Ben Sexton and Macoy Erkamps.
The deal will bring Lindberg back to the team that drafted him back in 2013, after quite the tour of the NHL. Traded originally to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Dion Phaneuf deal, Lindberg has since spent time in the Vegas Golden Knights and Penguins organizations. Despite bouncing around, the 23-year old forward still has just six NHL games under his belt, all with Toronto. Armed with good size and some keen offensive instincts, he still hasn’t been able to put it all together in the minor leagues and had just six points in 15 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Elliott meanwhile has much more professional experience, and plenty of success in the minor leagues. The 27-year old defenseman is a legitimate goal-scoring threat every time he touches the ice, and scored 19 times for the Lake Erie Monsters just a few seasons ago. After testing his skills in the KHL and SHL over the last two years, he resurfaced for the baby Penguins this season and has eight points in 20 games.
In return, the Penguins are likely mainly interested in Sexton, who can give them some more depth in the middle. The seventh-round pick from 2009 has just two NHL games under his belt, but has been a dependable two-way player in the minor leagues for several years. Erkamps on the other hand has spent this season exclusively in the ECHL, where he has six points in 21 games.
A flip of two-way contracts, neither team will add or subtract any cap hits unless one of the players is recalled. For now, all four will report to their respective minor league clubs.