Penguins Trade Philip Samuelsson To Arizona

Best of luck to Philip in his future endeavors with the Arizona Coyotes organization.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, riddled with injuries at the forward position, announce this afternoon they've traded defenseman Philip Samuelsson to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward Rob Klinkhammer and a conditional 5th round draft pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Klinkhammer, 28, tallied 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in 72 games with the Coyotes last year - his first full season in the NHL. Entering his 8th season of pro hockey, Klinkhammer has 19 goals and 17 assists in 129 career NHL games.  He's been a plus player in the plus/minus department the last three seasons with the Coyotes and will bolster the bottom-six forward depth while forwards Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist are out of commission. At 6-3, Klinkhammer adds size and could even get a brief look in the Pens' top-six amidst all of the injuries.

Samuelsson, 23, tallied four points (all assists) with a minus three rating and 20 penalty minutes in 22 games this season with the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Samuelsson, in his 4th year of professional hockey, made his NHL debut with the Penguins last season going pointless in five games with a minus one rating.

Samuelsson was a steady stay-at-home defenseman in a top pairing role for the Pens AHL affiliate the last two seasons. Samuelsson logged big minutes on the penalty kill and late-game situations and will leave a void on a Pens AHL blue line also paper thin due to injuries and call ups. Currently, the AHL Penguins only have six defenseman on the roster - including Taylor Chorney who is still recovering from an upper body injury he suffered last weekend.

For Samuelsson, this trade gives him a better chance at making every AHL players' dream come true - playing full-time in the NHL. And while he works his way to the NHL with Arizona, he'll be in Portland playing alongside his brother Henrik - the Coyotes 1st round (27th overall) pick in 2012.

EDIT: The AHL Penguins announced they've recalled defensemen Alex Boak and Clark Seymour. The two took the Wheeling Nailers morning skate earlier today before hitting the road for Wilkes-Barre. Both are expected to make it in time for tonight's game, and one should be in the lineup tonight.

I'll be live from Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre as the Penguins host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at 7:05 p.m. ET. Be sure to follow @H_P_Hockey on Twitter for the latest in-game updates of tonight's action, as well as stay tuned online for a full post-game recap shortly after tonight's contest goes final.