DEL’s Straubing Tigers Sign Tyler Madden
Once a promising prospect in the Kings’ pool, Tyler Madden is off to Germany on a one-year deal with the Straubing Tigers of the DEL, the team announced.
Madden, 25, heads to Germany’s top league on the heels of a few years of stagnation in the minors. The son of longtime NHL center John Madden was a third-round pick of the Canucks in 2018 and quickly made a name for himself in college at Northeastern, turning pro after a sophomore season in which he had 37 points in only 27 games.
A few weeks before leaving college, Madden’s signing rights were sent to Los Angeles in the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to Vancouver. He quickly signed his entry-level contract, but the pandemic delayed his professional debut.
After playing just 14 games with AHL Ontario in 2020-21 as a result, Madden looked like he was well on his way to a full-time NHL role the following season when he put up 31 points in 48 games for the Reign. Unfortunately, that was the peak of the New York native’s production.
Madden’s AHL points per game totals went from 0.65 in 2021-22 to around 0.46 over the following two seasons, resulting in him never getting an NHL call-up. Midway through last season, the Kings traded him to the Wild in exchange for minor-league defenseman Joseph Cecconi.
He finished the season with two goals and 10 points in 20 games for AHL Iowa, not enough to convince Minnesota to give him a qualifying offer. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 as a result and presumably didn’t receive any NHL two-way offers that intrigued him.
The 2019 World Juniors silver medalist now heads to Straubing, where he’ll potentially look to fuel a return to North America with a strong performance. If not, it might be the start of a lengthy European career.
The Tigers have been in Germany’s top league since gaining promotion from the second division in 2006, but have largely been a middle-of-the-pack team over the last two decades. They’ll hope Madden offers them an offensive infusion after their top scorer last season, Josh Samanski, left to sign an entry-level contract with the Oilers.
Wild Acquire Tyler Madden From Kings
The Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings have made a minor league swap, with forward Tyler Madden headed to Minnesota for defenseman Joseph Cecconi. Both players are career AHL fixtures.
The Vancouver Canucks originally drafted Madden in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He spent the next two seasons in a top role at Northeastern University, where he potted 65 points across 63 games. With his eyes on a pro turn, Madden was traded to Los Angeles in a 2020 deal that sent Tyler Toffoli to Vancouver. Madden turned pro in the shortened 2020-21 AHL season and scored just five points in his first 14 career games. He grew to 31 points in 48 games the next year – but has stayed close to the 30-point mark through 71 games in each of the last two seasons. He’s on track to repeat his performance this year – with 25 points in 47 games – but a timely move to the Minnesota organization could give him the spark needed to break 35 points for the first time in his career.
In return, Los Angeles acquired full-frame defender Cecconi to fill the hole left when the Nashville Predators claimed Andreas Englund on waivers. Cecconi was in his first season with the Iowa Wild after two years with the Rochester Americans and five years with the Texas Stars. His 14 points and 41 penalty minutes in 51 games this season continue his tendency for low-scoring and hard-hitting defense through yet another move. Should the Kings face any more blue-line injuries, that style could be enough to earn Cecconi his NHL debut on a lineup that isn’t afraid to ice seven defenders.