Wild Acquire Pontus Aberg From Ducks

The Wild have acquired winger Pontus Aberg from Anaheim in exchange for minor league center Justin Kloos.  Both teams have announced the deal.

It has been an interesting year for Aberg.  He was waived by Edmonton late in training camp and was claimed by Anaheim.  However, less than a week later, he was back on the wire and with the Oilers passing on reclaiming him (as well as the rest of the league taking a pass), he was quickly assigned to San Diego of the AHL.

After just two games with the Gulls, Aberg was recalled to the Ducks and has done rather well.  His 11 goals in 37 games are just one shy of the team lead and have more than doubled his career total of five heading into the season.  Unfortunately for him and Anaheim, Aberg’s output has tailed off in recent weeks which has caused him to be a healthy scratch as of late.

The 25-year-old will add some depth on the wing for Minnesota at a cheap price.  Aberg is in the second and final season of a two-year, one-way contract that pays him the league minimum $650K.  He will be a restricted free agent this summer and will have salary arbitration eligibility.  Minnesota GM Paul Fenton is familiar with Aberg having drafted him back in Nashville back in 2012.

As for Kloos, he has had a very productive season with Iowa of the AHL, leading the team in scoring with 30 points (12-18-30) in 34 games, putting him on pace to surpass the 50 points he put up in his first full AHL campaign last season.  The 25-year-old will give the Ducks some extra firepower in the minors and the move allows them to get something in return for a player in Aberg that wasn’t likely to make it through waivers unclaimed once again.  Kloos is in the final season of his entry-level contract with an NHL cap hit of just over $790K and he will also be arbitration-eligible this summer.

Michael Russo of The Athletic was the first to report that the two sides were discussing the trade.