American Hockey League

Penguins trade for Barber, Varone

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forwards Riley Barber and Phil Varone from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forwards Joseph Blandisi and Jake Lucchini.

A Pittsburgh native, Barber signed with Montreal on July 1, 2019, after four seasons with the Washington Capitals organization. Barber has appeared in 39 games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket this season, compiling 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points. He has also skated in nine NHL games with the Canadiens in 2019-20.

Barber has skated in 276 career AHL games with Laval and Hershey, totaling 103 goals and 108 assists for 211 points. He has added five goals and 10 assists in 38 postseason games, including a trip to the Calder Cup Finals in 2016.

A sixth-round selection by Washington in the 2012 NHL Draft, Barber made his NHL debut with the Capitals in 2016-17 and has appeared in 12 career NHL games.

Varone, who signed with the Canadiens on July 3, 2019, tallied four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 27 games with Laval this season.

The AHL’s MVP in 2017-18, Varone has totaled 127 goals and 283 assists for 410 points in 515 career AHL matches with Laval, Lehigh Valley, Binghamton and Rochester.

Originally selected by San Jose in the fifth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, Varone has compiled eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 97 career NHL games with Philadelphia, Ottawa and Buffalo.

Blandisi, a fifth-year pro, has six goals and eight assists in 26 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, as well as two goals and three assists in 21 NHL contests with Pittsburgh.

A sixth-round pick by Colorado in the 2012 NHL Draft, Blandisi has totaled 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 101 career NHL games with the Pittsburgh, Anaheim and New Jersey.

The native of Markham, Ont., has played 184 AHL games over his four professional seasons, amassing 48 goals and 86 assists for 134 points with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, San Diego, Binghamton and Albany.

Lucchini has recorded seven goals and eight assists in 53 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, his first campaign as a pro.

Lucchini played four seasons at Michigan Tech before making his pro debut with Wilkes-Barre at the end of 2018-19, recording six goals and one assist in 15 games.

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