Coyotes, Flames make brotherly swap
Brett Ritchie and Nick Ritchie were born less than two years apart in Orangeville, Ontario. They have been together in the NHL for several seasons.
Now they’re linked forever in hockey history.
The Arizona Coyotes traded winger Nick Ritchie and defenseman Troy Stecher to the Calgary Flames just before the deadline Friday for forward Brett Ritchie and minor leaguer Connor Mackey. According to NHL stats, it’s the first brother-for-brother trade in league history.
“I think it got leaked out, so they were laughing by the time I called them,” Flames General Manager Brad Treliving said. “It’s unique. If nothing else, we’re unique. It just worked out that way.”
Calgary is looking to climb into a playoff spot by adding Stecher and Ritchie, the latter of whom has 21 points in 58 games this season.
With Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko already dealt to the New York Rangers; Timo Meier in New Jersey; Ryan O’reilly in Toronto; the Boston Bruins bulking up their Nhl-leading roster with Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway and Tyler Bertuzzi; and Ottawa removing the last high-profile name off the market by landing Jakob Chychrun on Wednesday; the trades completed Friday paled in headline-grabbing attention.
The Minnesota Wild made the most notable moves by acquiring Anaheim defenseman John Klingberg for defenseman Andrej Sustr, the rights to forward Nikita Nesterenko and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft. The Ducks also retained half of Klingberg’s salary.
Minnesota, which began the day three points behind the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars, also acquired center Oskar Sundqvist for a fourth-round pick sent to the Detroit Red Wings. The Wild freed up roster room by trading underperforming forward Jordan Greenway to the Buffalo Sabres for a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 fifth-round pick.
Next in line were the Pittsburgh Penguins, who sit seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and made several last-day trades in a bid to secure their Nhl-leading 17th consecutive playoff berth.
The Penguins acquired Dmitry Kulikov from Anaheim for forward Brock Mcginn and a 2024 third-round pick. They also brought back forward Nick Bonino in a three-team deal involving San Jose and Montreal.
In trading Bonino to Pittsburgh, the Sharks acquired two draft picks and the rights to Penguins prospect Arvid Henrikson. The Canadiens acquired Sharks defenseman Tony Sund for retaining half of Bonino’s salary.
The Red Wings continued selling off players, dealing winger Jakub Vrana to St. Louis for a 2025 seventh-round pick and minor league player Dylan Mclaughlin while retaining half of Vrana’s salary through next season.
The Devils added more forward depth by getting Curtis Lazar from Vancouver for a 2024 fourthround pick.
Vladislav Namestnikov was on the move again. A day after being dealt by Tampa Bay to San Jose, the 10th-year player was shipped by the Sharks to Winnipeg for a 2025 fourth-round draft pick.
The Flyers made two trades, sending Patrick Brown to Ottawa and hard-hitting winger Zack Macewen to Los Angeles for Brendan Lemieux and a 2024 fifthround pick. Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher, however, was unable to find a trade partner for veteran forward and pending unrestricted agent James van Riemsdyk.
“You need someone to be a willing buyer,” Fletcher said. “I didn’t even get a firm offer of a fourth-round pick for JVR.”
Only 21 trades were completed involving 34 players Friday. By comparison, last year’s trade deadline day featured 32 trades, tying a one-day record set in 2020, involving 51 players and a recordmatching 26 draft picks.
AVALANCHE: Defenseman Cale Makar was cleared to return to the Colorado lineup after two different hits over an 11-day span landed him both times in the league’s concussion protocols.
“Ready to go,” Makar told reporters about his plans to play Saturday in Dallas.
The Norris Trophy winner missed five straight games and nine of the past 10 after two separate hits involving his head.
Kraken sweeps Blue Jackets
Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann each had a goal and an assist, and the Seattle Kraken beat the host Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, for their third straight road win and a season series sweep.
Jordan Eberle and Brandon Tanev also scored for Seattle, and Vince Dunn had two assists.
• OILERS 6, JETS 3: Ryan Nugent-hopkins had two goals and two assists as Edmonton beat visiting Winnipeg for its second straight win.
Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto each had two goals and an assist and Connor Mcdavid had three assists for his sixth straight multi-point game for the Oilers.