The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenceman Joel Edmundson from the Washington Capitals for a pair of draft picks Thursday.
The deal announced just over 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline adds size and experience to a blue-line that was also bolstered by the reacquisition of Ilya Lyubushkin last week.
Toronto sent a third-round pick in June along with a fifth-round selection in 2025 to the Capitals, who will retain 50 per cent of Edmundson’s remaining salary.
The six-foot-five, 221-pound Edmundson has 29 goals and 110 points 521 career games with St. Louis, Carolina, Montreal and Washington.
The Brandon, Man., product has added five goals and 21 points in 75 playoff games.
Edmundson won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019 and made the final with Montreal in 2021.
The Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic Division.
Habs make swap with Ducks
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens acquired forward Jacob Perreault from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for centre Jan Mysak.
Perreault, a Montreal native, has seven goals and 11 assists in 31 games with the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls this season. He has registered 91 points (32 goals, 59 assists) in 161 AHL appearances.
The 21-year-old right-winger made one NHL appearance with Ducks on Jan. 8, 2022, against the New York Rangers.
The son of former NHL player Yanic Perreault was selected by the Ducks in the first round (27th overall) of the 2020 NHL draft.
Oilers bring in Stecher
In other news, the Edmonton Oilers acquired defenceman Troy Stecher from the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL club announced Thursday.
The Oilers also get a seventh-round pick at this year’s draft in the deal, while the Coyotes receive Edmonton’s fourth-round pick in 2027.
No salary was retained by Arizona in the deal, which comes a day before the NHL’s trade deadline. Stecher, a pending unrestricted free agent, has a salary of $1.1 million US this season.
Stecher has a goal and four assists — and a plus-5 defensive rating — in 47 games this season.
The five-foot-10, 184-pound defenceman from Richmond, B.C., who has now been dealt at the trade deadline in three straight seasons, has 19 goals and 89 assists in 487 games with Vancouver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Arizona and Calgary.
Toronto’s move for Edmundson comes after a flurry of trades made Wednesday by the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers. Nine of FanDuel Sportsbook’s top 11 Cup favourites, have added at least one significant player since the all-star break, going back to Vancouver getting Elias Lindholm and Winnipeg trading for Sean Monahan igniting the wheeling and dealing in the Western Conference and Dallas acquiring Chris Tanev.
Lindholm, a pending free agent still without an extension, has been mentioned to be dealt again this week, as the Canucks consider trying to get a scoring winger — potentially Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh or Tyler Toffoli from New Jersey. With those players, Washington’s Nic Dowd and St. Louis’ Pavel Buchnevich among those available, the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes also could be active before the 3 p.m. ET deadline Friday.