The Toronto Maple Leafs have found a new home for Nick Ritchie.
The struggling forward was traded to the Arizona Coyotes along with a conditional second-round draft choice in exchange for defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Ryan Dzingel.
Arizona will choose either Toronto’s third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft or Toronto’s second-round selection in 2025 NHL Draft, according to the Maple Leafs’ press release of the trade.
The Maple Leafs signed the 26-year-old Ritchie to a two-year contract with $5 million this summer. Starting this season on the team’s top line alongside stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Ritchie quickly fell out of favour with the club.
He had two goals and nine points in 33 games with the club.
On Jan. 7, the Maple Leafs waived Ritchie after he fell outside of the team’s top 12 forwards. He continued to practice with the club as part of the team’s taxi squad, a COVID-19 temporary provision that expired after the NHL All-Star Game. Immediate after provision expired, Ritchie reported to the Marlies where he scored one goal.
The Leafs get a pair of players in return for Ritchie while removing the $1.375 million he occupied on the team’s salary cap as part of his burial in the AHL.
The #Leafsforever acquired Lyubushkin (1 yr $1.35M) & Dzingel (1 yr $1.1M) from #Yotes for Ritchie (Yr 1/2 $2.5M or $1.375M buried) & AZ choice of ’23 3rd or ’25 2nd.
Saves #LeafsForever $50K Annual Cap Hit w/ Ritchie in NHL, adds $1.075M vs Ritchie AHLhttps://t.co/Be2NwzVV39
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) February 20, 2022
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The 27-year-old Lyubushkin has appeared in 46 games for Arizona this season, recording nine assists. The Moscow, Russia native has skated in 180 games, all for Arizona, registering 19 points (one goal, 18 assists). Lyubushkin joined the Coyotes as a free agent in May of 2018.
The 29-year-old Dzingel has skated in 26 games for Arizona this season, registering four goals and three assists. In 398 NHL games between Ottawa, Columbus, Carolina and Arizona, the Wheaton, IL native has recorded 187 points (86 goals, 101 assists).