The Arizona Coyotes opened the final day of the NHL’s trading period by acquiring winger Sergei Plotnikov from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for prospect Matthias Plachta and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2017.
The teams announced the deal Monday morning, hours before the NHL trade deadline.
Signed out of the Kontinental Hockey League last offseason, the 25-year-old Plotnikov has just two assists in 32 games. He is set to be a restricted free agent this summer. Plotnikov carries a salary-cap hit of $743,000.
Welcome to the Pack, Sergei Plotnikov!
Full report: https://t.co/qhsiHn7gdf pic.twitter.com/t84A5b5EzM
— Yotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 29, 2016
The Edmonton Oilers re-signed two rookies — defenseman Brandon Davidson and goalie Laurent Brossoit — to two-year contract extensions. They also added two players who were placed on waivers a day earlier: Vancouver forward Adam Cracknell and Winnipeg defenseman Adam Pardy.
Though a number of trades were expected before the deadline, numerous teams spent the previous week adding players and freeing up salaries of players who are in the final years of their contracts.
One of the biggest moves occurred on Sunday, when the New York Rangers acquired Hurricanes captain Eric Staal in exchange for Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela and a pair of second-round draft picks.
Last week, the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks acquired Winnipeg forward Andrew Ladd in exchange for rookie forward Marko Dano and a first-round pick in this year’s draft. And the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers made three trades in acquiring Oilers forward Teddy Purcell, Calgary Flames forward Jiri Hudler and Detroit defenseman Jakub Kindl.