The Ducks and Devils swapped offense for defense and draft picks Thursday, with Anaheim acquiring forwards Adam Henrique and Joseph Blandisi along with a 2018 third-round pick and New Jersey getting defenseman Sami Vatanen and a conditional pick, the teams announced.
Vatanen, 26, had a goal and three assists in 15 games with the Ducks this season after missing the team's first nine games while still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He was second in scoring among Anaheim defensemen last season with 24 points and led all Ducks defensemen the two seasons before that with 38 points in 2015-16 and 37 in 2014-15. In 280 career NHL games, all in four-plus seasons with Anaheim, he scored 33 goals and added 93 assists (126 points) with 116 penalty minutes.
"In acquiring Sami, we bring on a right shot, top-four defenseman who can play in all situations. … When acquiring a defenseman like Vatanen, you have to give back quality assets or players in return. That is the case in this situation with Adam and Joe," Devils GM Ray Shero said in a statement.
Henrique, 27, has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points (plus/minus: -6) with six penalty minutes in 24 games this season. The pick the Devils get depends on if/when Henrique re-signs before the 2019-20 season. (See the full conditions here.)
An eight-year veteran, all with the Devils, Henrique has 122 goals and 135 assists (257 points) with 144 penalty minutes. He's had 50 points in a season twice, in 2011-12, when he had 16 goals and 35 assists and was among three finalists for the Calder Trophy, and 2015-16, when he had a career-high 30 goals and 20 assists.
Blandisi, 23, was in his third season in the Devils organization. He had three goals and 11 assists with 26 penalty minutes in 19 games with Binghamton (AHL) this season. He split time last season between New Jersey (27 games) and Albany of the AHL (31 games). He finished the 2016-17 NHL season with three goals and six assists for nine points with 26 penalty minutes.
