AHL Trade Tracker 2017

Toronto Marlies defenseman Viktor Loov was traded by parent club Toronto Maple Leafs last weekend. Photo: Nina Weiss/Highland Park Hockey

Keep Track Of All Trades Affecting AHL-level Players/Teams

Written by: Tony Androckitis - Twitter/Facebook

With the NHL's trading deadline less than a week away, several moves will be made around the league for a variety of reasons - to add needed depth for a Stanley Cup Playoffs run, shed some salary and continue to rebuild for the future, etc.

There are a ton of places to get the latest NHL trade news, rumors and speculation leading up to Wednesday's 5 p.m. ET deadline but here at Highland Park Hockey the goal is to organize and detail trades made with direct effect on the 30 teams in the American Hockey League (AHL).

In addition to our annual trade deadline day live blog, this AHL Trade Tracker will hopefully be a good resource to keep an eye on the movement of players at the minor league level in the coming days.

Latest Trades

Wednesday, March 1st

Florida trades forward Shane Harper to New Jersey for defenseman Reece Scarlett.

AHL Take: Shane Harper (7G-12A in 39GP) heads to Albany, while Reece Scarlett (4G-17A in 50GP) will play with Springfield in this AHL-level swap of players. 

Chicago trades forwards Sam Carrick and Spencer Abbott to Anaheim in exchange for a 2019-7th round pick and forward Kenton Helgesen.

AHL Take: The San Diego Gulls get an a big boost in dependable AHL scorers Carrick and Abbott, while only seeing Kenton Helgesen - an ECHL player this season - going the other way in the trade.

New York Rangers trade forward Justin Fontaine to Edmonton for forward Taylor Beck

AHL Take: Swap of AHL-level forwards between Hartford and Bakersfield. Beck (13G-37A in 40GP) was Bakersfield's leading scorer and tied for 2nd in the entire AHL entering March. Fontaine (9G-21A in 50GP) was 2nd leading scorer on a struggling Hartford team.

Tampa Bay trades goaltender Adam Wilcox to Florida in exchange for goaltender Mike McKenna.

AHL Take: Another AHL-level swap that sees the Syracuse Crunch nab a veteran AHL goaltender in Mike McKenna, who recently won his 200th AHL game in February. The Lightning appear to be serious in making their AHL affiliate a contender this spring.

Detroit trades forward Tomas Vanek to Florida for defenseman Dylan McIlrath and a 2017-3rd round pick

AHL Take: McIlrath will be with his third organization this season, moving from AHL Hartford to AHL Springfield and now to AHL Grand Rapids. 

Washington trades goaltender Joe Cannata to Colorado for defenseman Cody Corbett.

AHL Take: With Washington acquiring Pheonix Copley in the Shattenkirk trade, their AHL affiliate in Hershey had three goalies, so Cannata is the odd man out and finds himself heading to Colorado's AHL affiliate in Tucson. Cody Corbett split time between AHL & ECHL this season, and is blue line depth for AHL Hershey.

Colorado trades forward Joe Whitney to Arizona for forward Branden Ranford.

AHL Take: This is simply a swap of AHL-level forwards between San Antonio & Tucson. Ranford was just acquired by Arizona in a trade with Dallas in February.

Vancouver trades forward Jannik Hansen to San Jose for forward Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional 2018-4th round pick

AHL Take: Initial reports are that Goldobin will report to Vancouver, but it's not out of the question that he's assigned to Utica (AHL) before Wednesday's 3 p.m. EST deadline to qualify him for AHL play down the stretch and in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs. Goldobin has 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) in 46 AHL games with the San Jose Barracuda this season.

Follow all the latest trades that affect AHL rosters all week long leading up to March 1st's deadline day. More recent trades with 'AHL Take' after the jump.



Recent Trades

Tuesday, February 28th

Dallas Stars trade defenseman Johnny Oduya to Chicago in exchange for forward Mark McNeill and a conditional 2018-4th round pick.

AHL Take: McNeill had back to back 20-goal, 20-assist seasons with the Blackhawks affiliate in Rockford the last two years, but the Hawks' 1st round pick in 2011 amounted to just one NHL game in now his fourth pro season. Dallas' AHL affiliate Texas receives a much-needed boost up front now with McNeill on their roster - looking up at the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division in 5th place currently.

New York Rangers trade defenseman Mat Bodie to Buffalo in exchange for forward Daniel Catenacci.

AHL Take: This is simply a swap of AHL-level players between Hartford (New York) and Rochester (Buffalo). Catenacci, a left-handed shooting centermen, has tallied 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 50 AHL games with Rochester this season. Bodie, an undrafted offensive defenseman in his third year of pro hockey, has tallied three straight 30-point seasons in the AHL with Hartford including eight goals and 22 assists in 45 games this season.

Carolina trades forward Viktor Stalberg to Ottawa for a 2017-3rd round draft pick.

AHL Take: Couple this trade with Ottawa's pickup of Alexandre Burrows Monday, and the Binghamton Senators have added two forwards to their AHL roster. No, not Burrows and Stalberg, but forwards Michael Blunden and Phil Varone re-join the BSens in hopes of eliminating an nine-point gap from a playoff spot in the North Division.

Detroit trades defenseman Brendan Smith to New York Rangers for 2017-3rd round and 2018-2nd round draft picks.

AHL Take: It will be interesting to see if the Rangers send a defenseman back to Hartford with Smith's addition, especially after they traded Mat Bodie today and called up Steven Kampfer as well. 

Monday, February 27th

St. Louis trades defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and goaltender Pheonix Copley to Washington for 2017-1st round pick, conditional 2019-2nd round pick and forwards Brad Malone and Zach Sanford.

AHL Take: The blockbuster deal has loads of implications for the Washington Capitals, but the Hershey Bears might be the biggest winners of the Kevin Shattenkirk trade as Washington re-acquired goaltender Phoenix Copley. The Bears' goaltending duo of Joe Cannata and Vitek Vanecek has been largely inconsistent to this point, and Copley's addition will certainly give the Bears a true number one goaltender to help them try to climb back into a playoff spot in the brutally challenging Atlantic Division. Hershey does lose a pair of forwards in Malone (7G-13A in 52GP) and Sanford (11G-5A in 25GP), but they address their largest weakness.

Vancouver trades forward Alexandre Burrows to Ottawa for prospect forward Jonathan Dahlen.

AHL Take: The Ottawa Senators add a forward without losing a player at the pro level, which should allow the Sens to send an extra forward back to Binghamton than originally planned.

Tampa Bay trades forward Brian Boyle to Toronto for forward Byron Froese and a 2017-2nd round pick

AHL Take: This is a big one for the Syracuse Crunch and Toronto Marlies. Froese was atop the AHL with 24 goals before being passed by Greg Carey over the weekend, and he's reported to be joining Syracuse. The Marlies lose a talented player off their roster, but with Boyle's addition to the Leafs there should be a body heading to the Marlies before too long barring other potential trades.

Minnesota trades forward Teemu Pulkkinen to Arizona for future considerations.

AHL Take: Pulkkinen cleared waivers, but is then traded to the Coyotes in what will be the third organization the Finnish born forward has been a part of this season having moved from Detroit to Minnesota earlier in the year. The fact that Pulkkinen cleared waivers before the trade could be good news for fans of the Tucson Roadrunners if Arizona decides to reassign him to the AHL on Wednesday to make him AHL-eligible for the rest of the season. 

Columbus claims forward Zac Dalpe off waivers from Minnesota, and assigns him to Cleveland (AHL)

AHL Take: It's been a rough week for the Iowa Wild, who have seen several players taken off their roster in recent times. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Monsters gain a top-six forward for their post-season push.

Tampa Bay claims forward Greg McKegg off waivers from Florida.

AHL Take: While McKegg is likely staying in the NHL due to waivers, it's possible the endless cycle of AHL players from Syracuse making round trips to Tampa Bay and back will come to a close down the stretch.

Sunday, February 26th

Arizona trades forwards Martin Hanzal, Ryan White and a 2017-4th round pick to Minnesota for a 2017-1st round pick, 2018-2nd round pick, a 2019-4th round pick (conditional) and AHL forward Grayson Downing.

AHL Take: One of a few big pre-deadline day trades that sees the Coyotes organization continue to stockpile picks. Former University of New Hampshire standout Grayson Downing is currently in his 2nd full year of pro hockey, recording 22 points (7G-15A) in 47 AHL games with Iowa this season, and will be reporting to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate in Tucson.

Tampa Bay trades goaltender Ben Bishop and a 2017-5th round pick to Los Angeles for goaltender Petr Budaj, prospect defenseman Erik Cernak, a 2017-7th round pick and a conditional 2017 draft pick.

AHL Take: While there aren't any AHL-level players involved in the trade, this deal provides stability in net for both AHL affiliates - Syracuse and Ontario - moving forward as the NHL tandems of Vasilevskiy/Budaj and Quick/Bishop are basically set in stone. 

Saturday, February 25th

Tampa Bay trades forward Jeremy Morin to Arizona for forward Stefan Fournier.

AHL Take: In a swap of AHL forwards, the physical Fournier (2G-2A, 95 PIM in 24GP) joins the Syracuse Crunch in the midst of their playoff race in the North Division. Morin (9G-12A in 43 GP) will join the Tucson Roadrunners, who are trying to hold onto the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

Friday, February 24th

Detroit trades forward Tomas Jurco to Chicago for 2017-3rd round pick.

AHL Take: While Jurco is staying in the NHL with the Blackhawks, forward Vincent Hinostroza was reassigned to the 'Hawks AHL affiliate in Rockford as a result of this move - a high-end talent at the AHL level. 

Thursday, February 23rd

Pittsburgh trades forward Danny Kristo and a 2017-2nd round pick to Carolina for defenseman Ron Hainsey

AHL Take: Pittsburgh needed to sure up their depth on the blue line due to injuries at the NHL level, sending a 2nd round pick and throwing in Danny Kristo - a player they acquired in a trade earlier this season with St. Louis (Reid McNeill was sent to STL). What this means for the AHL Penguins is a loss at the forward position, while possibly holding onto a defenseman they might have seen moved up to Pittsburgh for the stretch run.

Tuesday, February 21st

Montreal trades defenseman Philip Samuelsson to Carolina for defenseman Keegan Lowe

AHL Take: Samuelsson (40GP, 1G-4A, -7) will join AHL Charlotte where his father, Ulf, is head coach. Lowe, in his 4th full season of pro hockey, tallied 12 points (3G-9A) in 49 games in Charlotte and will join the St. John's IceCaps in the middle of their playoff run in the North Division. Both players are restricted free agents at the end of the season.

Saturday, February 18th

Toronto trades defenseman Viktor Loov to New Jersey for forward Sergey Kalinin

AHL Take: Kalinin, 25, was placed on waivers by New Jersey earlier this month and cleared. Likely traded to Toronto for purposes of adding depth to their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, who are decimated by injuries and call ups at the forward position. Both players are restricted free agents at season's end. 

Wednesday, February 15th

Los Angeles trades defenseman Tom Gilbert to Washington for a conditional 2017-5th round draft pick.

AHL Take: The Washington Capitals made a move to add some much-needed depth on the blue line for their AHL affiliate in Hershey, who is currently on the outside looking in on the Atlantic Division playoff race. Lost earlier in the year was highly-regarded prospect blue liner Madison Bowey, and he's not expected to make a return until March/April.