The Phoenix Coyotes, still without young centerman Kyle Turris due to a contract holdout, were thin at that position. To address that need, General Manager Don Maloney traded a fourth round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for center Cal O'Reilly from the Nashville Predators.
"We are very excited to bring Cal to our organization," said Maloney in a press release. "He is a young, highly skilled player who will help us at the center position. We look forward to having him in our lineup very soon."
Coyotes blogs Five for Howling is happy with the deal:
Coyotes Pick Up Cal O'Reilly From Nashville For 4th Round Pick - Five For Howling
What is good is that he's only making 1.05 million this season and is an RFA next season. With similar production to another young center with potential that wants 3+, Cal seems like a deal to me.
Here's more on O'Reilly from the press release:
The 6-foot, 188-pound O'Reilly has appeared in five games with Nashville this season, collecting one assist and two penalty minutes (PIM). In 2010-11, he appeared in 38 games with the Predators, recording career highs in goals (6), assists (12) and points (18) in his first full season in Nashville.
The Toronto, Ontario native has recorded 11-24-35 and 10 PIM in 85 career regular season games with the Predators. He split the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons between the Predators and the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL), recording 22-87-109 and 28 PIM over those two seasons.
The 25-year-old recorded 56-197-253 and 70 PIM in 262 career regular season games with Milwaukee (AHL) from 2005-10. O'Reilly was drafted by Nashville in the fifth round (150th overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft.