The final full week of October was a relatively quiet one around the league but there were still a few newsworthy notes that are covered in our top stories of the week.
Perlini Wants Out: It has been a rough start to the season for Blackhawks winger Brendan Perlini as he has played in just a single game so far. Accordingly, he has asked for a trade and Chicago is working to find a new home for him and are believed to be seeking a draft pick in return. While his performance has been hot and cold throughout his career, he has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three seasons. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are also looking to move center Zack Smith. The veteran was acquired over the summer in a move that primarily amounted to freeing up some cap room with Artem Anisimov going the other way. If they could move him without taking a forward back, that could open a spot for more playing time for Perlini if they need to showcase him to any potential suitors.
Wild Open To Dealing: Minnesota is off to a slow start this season and GM Bill Guerin is believed to be open to many different options to change up his roster. To potentially get the ball rolling on that, it appears that they have made wingers Ryan Donato and Kevin Fiala plus center Joel Eriksson Ek available in trades. Considering all three are 23 or younger and the Wild, in general, are an older team, it’s unlikely that they’d be looking for picks and prospects for these players but rather more established pieces or other young NHL forwards that are a better fit for their roster. It’s still early in the season so it may be a little while yet before we start to see any trade activity of note but this may be a team to watch for on that front.
Gudbranson To Anaheim: The Penguins had a logjam on the back end and with their roster getting healthier, a need to clear out some salary with their players on LTIR getting closer to returning. They took care of both of those issues with the trade of defenseman Erik Gudbranson to Anaheim in exchange for winger Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 seventh-round pick. The return is certainly light but it clears $4MM off of Pittsburgh’s books for this season and next which gives them some much-needed flexibility. Meanwhile, the Ducks add someone that can step into their lineup and play a decent-sized role right away without parting with anyone off of their NHL roster or picks and prospects of impact.
Kravtsov Heading Home: After playing a very limited role with AHL Hartford in the early going this season, Rangers prospect Vitali Kravtsov will trigger the European Assignment Clause in his contract to return to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL. The move will allow him to return home to a team where he improved considerably in his post-draft season and presumably play a larger role than he did with the Wolf Pack. This won’t affect his contract in any way and New York has the ability to recall him at any time though presumably, they’d wait until after the KHL season and playoffs end to do so.
Heading Overseas: A pair of NHL veterans have decided to give up their quest to land an NHL deal this season and have headed overseas. Defenseman Andrew MacDonald was in training camp with Calgary but couldn’t secure a deal so he has signed a one-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA. Presumably, he’ll try to take another run at an NHL spot next season. Meanwhile, while winger Magnus Paajarvi posted a career-high 11 goals last season, he didn’t attract any NHL interest and has opted to go to the KHL, inking a two-year pact with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He’ll need to show more offensive skill if he wants to get another shot in the NHL when the deal is up.
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