March 3, 2010
Coyotes busy at trade deadline, acquire Wolski, reacquire D Morris
It was a busy day at the NHL trade deadline, and perhaps no team made bigger waves than the Phoenix Coyotes, who made seven moves on Wednesday.
Phoenix acquired seven players, including the re-acquisition of defenseman Derek Morris, and new faces Wojtek Wolski, Lee Stempniak, Petteri Nokelainen, Alexandre Picard, Mathieu Schneider, Miika Wiikman.
The 24-year-old Wolski, who was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forwards Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter, is expected to add immediate scoring punch to the Coyotes lineup. In 62 games for the Avalanche, he had 17 goals and 30 assists.
"Wojtek Wolski is a terrific young offensive player," Coyotes GM Don Maloney said in a statement. "He is a talented goal scorer that will help us offensively and on the power play. He has great size and is just entering the prime of his career."
Mueller, 21, appeared in 54 games for Phoenix this season, scoring four goals and assisting on 13 others. Porter, 23, is a former Hobey Baker winner from the University of Michigan. He played in four games for Phoenix this season.
Morris, who was traded to the New York Rangers at last year's deadline, signed with Boston in the offseason. In 58 games, he has three goals and 22 assists. Phoenix gave up a conditional draft pick in the 2011 entry draft for Morris, who spent five seasons with the Coyotes organization prior to last season's trade.
"We are very excited to have brought Derek Morris back to the Coyotes organization," Maloney said. "Derek is a talented, versatile defenseman who will strengthen our blueline. His leadership and tenacity will be welcomed in our dressing room."
Stempniak, a right winger, was acquired from Toronto for defenseman Matt Jones and fourth- and seventh-round picks in the 2010 draft. In 62 games with the Maple Leafs he has 14 goals and 16 assists.
Jones, 26, has yet to play this season due to injury. He had two goals and four assists in 58 games with San Antonio (AHL) last season.
Nokelainen, a 24-year-old center, was acquired from Anaheim in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2011. He has four goals and seven assists in 50 games with the Ducks this season.
Schneider, a defenseman, came over from the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Sean Zimmerman and a conditional pick in the 2010 NHL draft. He has two goals and three assists in 17 games this season. A 21-year veteran, he has appeared in 1,281 career games for nine teams.
Zimmerman, 22, has played in 54 games for San Antonio this season, scoring two goals and assisting on five others.
The 24-year-old Picard has appeared in 67 career NHL games since making his NHL debut with Columbus in 2005. This season, he's appeared with 42 games with Syracuse of the AHL, scoring 17 goals and assisting on 18 others.
Picard, the eighth-overall selection in the 2004 draft, came over from Columbus in exchange for center Chad Kolarik. Kolarik, 24, has scored 17 goals and has 18 assists in 59 games for San Antonio this season. Picard is expected to report to San Antonio.
Wiikman, 25, was acquired from the Rangers for defenseman Anders Ericksson and seventh-round pick in 2011. Wiikman was assigned to San Antonio. He has appeared in seven games for New York's AHL affiliate, Hartford, notching a 2-4-0 record with a 4.20 GAA and a .869 save percentage.
Ericksson, 35, had three assists in 12 games for Phoenix this season.
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