Flurry of trades highlights Day 2 of NHL draft
The Kings came into Day 2 of the NHL draft with a clear plan in place. With a flurry of trades, they put that plan into motion, moving up three times and finishing their day by the end of the third round.
Entering Saturday, the Kings held the 49th, 72nd, 89th, 109th, 136th and 168th picks in the draft. They ultimately picked at 42, 59 and 72, taking centers Francesco Pinelli and Samuel Helenius in the second round, then Russian defenseman Kirill Kirsanov in the third.
“We were gonna attack the guys that we felt strongly about, that we knew really well, that we did a lot of work on, and we were gonna go after those guys,” director of amateur scouting Mark Yannetti said. “So yeah, quality over quantity, if you wanna put a Twitter hashtag or whatever and only use a few characters, that’s exactly the way to describe it.”
The Ducks didn’t have quite the same level of fireworks, taking defenseman
Olen Zellweger with their scheduled pick in the second round. At 5 feet 9, Zellweger’s size is an obvious drawback, but he’s said to be a good skater with offensive ability, and has yet to turn 18.
The Ducks then grabbed right winger Sasha Pastujov at 66 overall and defenseman Tyson Hinds at 76 in the third round, after trading a 2022 third-rounder to move up. They added forward Joshua Lopina in the fourth and took left winger
Sean Tschigerl and goaltender Gage Alexander with their two fifth-round picks. They finished out in the sixth round taking forward Kyle Kukkonen, a Minnesota high schooler who’s committed to Michigan Tech in the fall.
The Philadelphia Flyers sent Jakub Voracek to Columbus for Cam Atkinson, the first major trade on the second day of the draft. The moves are expected to keep coming over the offseason.
It’s Philadelphia’s second major trade in two days after acquiring defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from Buffalo for the No. 14 pick and a 2023 second-rounder. After taking on Ristolainen’s big contract, general manager
Chuck Fletcher saved more than $2 million in cap space by swapping Voracek for Atkinson.
The Sabres continued their organizational fire sale by trading disgruntled forward Sam Reinhart to Florida for goaltending prospect
Devon Levi and the Panthers’ 2022 first-round pick. Reinhart is a five-time 20goal-scorer and has totaled 134 goals and 295 points in 454 games — all in the regular season since Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs in his seven-year career.
Before the second day of the draft got underway, the Colorado Avalanche signed top defenseman Cale Makar to a $54-million, six-year contract.
While the second round was going on, Edmonton completed a $4.4-million, two-year deal with 39-yearold goaltender Mike Smith, and the New York Rangers completed a buyout of defenseman Tony DeAngelo.
The Kings signed forward Trevor Moore, a Thousand Oaks native, to a twoyear contract extension worth $1.87 million annually.