The Phoenix Coyotes announced a minor trade on Saturday, sending Petteri Nokelainen and Garrett Stafford to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for center Brock Trotter and a seventh round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft. When rumor of a deal first leaked, some thought that Coyotes GM Don Maloney had pulled off a trade to get value back for holdout Kyle Turris. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
According to our friends at Five for Howling, the purpose of this trade is to free up space on the fourth line for hot prospect, Andy Miele. Miele was called up Friday and is expected to be in the line up on Sunday when the Coyotes face the Anaheim Ducks.
Coyotes Trade Nokelainen to Montreal - Five For Howling
In the end, the move is a minor one in terms of what pieces were involved. However, if Miele produces this season this move will be a net gain for the Yotes, regardless of how Trotter and the future 7th round pick pan out.
Here's more on Trotter from the official press release:
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Trotter has appeared in five games with the Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League) this season, registering 2-5-7 and four penalty minutes. In 2010-11, he appeared in 49 games with Riga Dynamo (Kontinental Hockey League), recording 9-17-26 and 39 PIM.
The Brandon, Manitoba native recorded career highs in goals (36), assists (41), points (77) and PIM (56) in 75 regular season games with Hamilton (AHL) in 2009-10. He appeared in 19 Calder Cup Playoff games with the Bulldogs, totaling 8-11-19 and 14 PIM.